Rams’ plan on target with victory over Witches

BANGOR – The season is pretty much proceeding according to plan for the Bangor High School boys tennis team.

The Rams already looked to be in good shape after losing only one senior from last season’s playoff squad, and that sizeable hole (No. 1 singles spot) was filled perfectly by freshman phenom Bryan Brown.

All that remained was to put the lessons learned and experiences earned from last season to work as the Rams strove for the top ranking in Class A’s Northeast Division.

Based on their 3-2 win over Brewer in a Wednesday divisional semifinal that wasn’t as close as the score indicates, the 13-0 Rams appear to be right where they hoped to be at this time of the year.

“It’s hard to get a rhythm, especially when a team is playing that well,” said Brewer coach Phil Burns, whose fourth-seeded Witches wound up 8-6.

Bangor will host a familiar foe in a Saturday afternoon regional crossover final: No. 2 Southeast seed Brunswick.

“They’ve ended our season the last three years and I think we’ve only won one match in that time, so we’re looking for a little bit of revenge,” said senior tri-captain Jeremy Yardley.

“Their team is strong. I knew singles would be tough,” Burns added. “I don’t think you’ll find a better 1-2-3 than what Bangor has. Bryan’s very strong, Kyle’s amazing when he’s hitting shots, and Jeremy just doesn’t lose.”

Ironically, Bangor’s two losses came in areas of strength as Brown was defeated 6-2, 7-6 (7-5 tiebreaker) by junior Ian Robinson, one of the state’s top high school players, and previously unbeaten doubles duo Pat Frazier and Bret Brookings lost 6-3, 6-4 to Brewer senior-junior duo Nick Crosby and Will Prescott.

“Our singles is pretty tough to compete with, other than when we play against Ian because he’s so good. So we were pretty confident we’d get two and three singles,” said Rams coach Rick Ylagan. “It kind of surprised me they beat our doubles team, but they’re a little stronger now.”

“Some of our guys who were playing singles slid down a bit after challenge matches and it turns out they’ve become better doubles players,” Burns said. “We’re a stronger team than we were because of that.”

Bangor defeated Brewer 4-1 and 3-2 in their two previous meetings.

After No. 3 singles player Yardley dispatched Brewer’s Kevin Adams 6-0, 6-0 and the second doubles team of junior Ryan Saucier and freshman Nate Cutshall disposed of Brewer’s Mike Corbett and Sam Boyd 6-0, 6-0 to give Bangor a 2-1 lead, Kyle Cutshall had a chance to clinch it for Bangor.

“I wasn’t too worried,” Ylagan said. “We needed Kyle to play a decent match when it got down to it and figured he’d come through.”

The senior tri-captain, whose team nickname is Green Hornet for his green-tinted sunglasses, was much better than decent as he frustrated Brewer’s Adam Eldridge with well-placed lobs, passing shots, and drop shots en route to a 6-0, 6-0 win.

“I hadn’t played him before,” Cutshall said. “But I’m pretty tall, so I try and get my first-serve percentage high and get to the net to win the point. I played two years of doubles before playing singles, so my volleys are pretty solid.”