Viking girls hold off Cony

CARIBOU – Freshman Lise Carter of Caribou, with the pressure of a tied match and an Eastern Maine regional championship team tennis berth on the line, survived a 2 1/2-hour, three-set match to lift the host Vikings to a 3-2 victory over Cony High School of Augusta at Teague Park here Friday afternoon.

With the match tied 2-2, Carter defeated Cony’s Hanekke Goosens 7-5, 2-6, 6-4 to send the top-seeded Vikings, now 13-0, into their second straight EM Class A championship match.

Caribou, which lost to Cony 5-0 in last year’s regional title match, will play the winner of Saturday’s Waterville-Gardiner semifinal on Wednesday at a time to be determined.

While Cony’s No. 1 single Anna Chai (6-1, 6-1 over Anne Bernard) and No. 3 single Jen Lipman (6-2, 7-6 (7-5) over Chelsea Belanger) gave the Rams a pair of victories, Caribou’s doubles teams knotted things at 2-2.

The Vikings’ Karen Rockwell and Sherri Dyer defeated Dawn Johnston and Ellen Konieczko 6-4, 6-3 while Tiffany Pelletier and Jessica Huck topped Jenny Ezzy and Kathy Blais 6-1, 6-2.

The rest was then up to the freshman Carter, who responded the way fifth-year coach John Habeeb had hoped. At 3-3 in the final set, Carter broke Henekke’s serve and then held serve on her next two attempts to post the win.

Also on Friday afternoon, the Cony boys defeated Caribou 4-1 to advance into that regional final while defending EM Class B champion Community High School of Fort Kent shutout Maine Central Institute of Pittsfield 5-0.

The fourth-seeded Ram boys, now 11-3, handed top-ranked Caribou its first loss in 13 matches to advance to the EM finale against the winner of Saturday’s Old Town-Brunswick match.

Third-seeded Fort Kent, now 11-2, will trek to No. 2 Dexter on Saturday for a 2 p.m. semifinal match.

Class A Girls Semifinals AT CARIBOU

Caribou (13-0) 3, Cony (9-4) 2

Singles: Anna Chai (Co) def. Anne Bernard 6-1, 6-1; Lise Carter (Ca) def. Hanikke Goosens 7-5, 2-6, 6-4; Jen Lipman (Co) def. Chelsea Belanger 6-2, 7-6 (7-5); Doubles: Karen Rockwell-Sherri Dyer (Ca) def. Dawn Johnston-Ellen Konieczko 6-4, 6-3; Tiffany Pelletier-Jessica Huck (Car) def. Jenny Ezzy-Kathy Blais 6-1, 6-2.

Class A Boys Semifinals AT CARIBOU

Cony (11-3) 4, Caribou (12-1) 1

Singles: John Gasink (Co) def. Troy Caverhill 1-6, 6-3, 6-2; Seth Meyer (Co) def. Eric Salminen 7-6 (7-5), 7-5; Wade Lindsay (Co) def. Ryan Genz 6-1, 6-2; Doubles: Jason Brann-Brian Rizzo (Co) def. Chris Davidson-Doug Dorman 4-6, 6-1, 6-1; Brian Hunter-James Davis (Ca) def. Jeff Meyer-Trevor Laubenstein 6-4, 6-3.

Class B Girls Quarterfinals AT FORT KENT

Fort Kent (11-2) 5, Maine Central Institute (6-7) 0

Singles: Caryn Dumond (FK) def. Carolyn Wright 6-0, 6-0; Beth Gagnon (FK) def. Katherine Wright 6-4, 0-6, 6-0; Jessie Daigle (FK) won by forfeit; Doubles: Shannon St. Amant-Monique Michaud (FK) def. Andrea Wright-Amy Quint 6-3, 6-4; Julie Toussaint-Monica Theile (FK) def. Kate Billings-Celine Sierra 6-2, 6-1