Stein gives Camden Hills girls 1st title Capers take boys crown

LEWISTON – Two years ago, Laura Stein found herself in exactly the same situation she faced Saturday afternoon.

She was Camden Hills’ No. 1 singles player, hers was the final and deciding match, the stakes were the Class B girls team state tennis championship, the opposing team was Yarmouth, and Stein held a 1-0 set lead in the best-of-three affair.

This was beyond eerie and something more than d?j? vu, this was a second chance … a second chance Stein would make the most of.

“It was definitely in the back of my mind,” said Stein. “I just didn’t want what happened last time happen all over again.”

The only differences were the location of the match – Bates College in Lewiston (Saturday) and Deering Oaks Park in Portland (2001) – and the individual opponent standing on the other side of the net – Louise Taylor (Saturday) and Kathleen Fleury (2001).

Well, there was one other major difference: The final result. Two years ago, Stein, along with her Windjammers teammates and fans, watched in stunned disbelief as Yarmouth rallied back from a 3-6 opening set loss to win the next two sets and pull out a 3-2 team match victory. Saturday, Stein followed up a 6-4 first-set win with a 6-3, match-clinching victory to give Camden Hills its first-ever girls state tennis title.

Camden Hills won two singles matches and one doubles match (another dramatic win) to beat Yarmouth 3-2 and foil the 14-2 Clippers’ attempt at a third straight state crown.

In boys action, Cape Elizabeth capped an unbeaten season with a 4-1 win over previously unbeaten Camden Hills for the Capers’ second straight state title.

The girls match was one of rallies, and even though Stein won in straight sets, she needed a couple comebacks to do it.

She started off down 2-1 in the first set before going up 3-2, but it was the second that weighed more heavily on her psyche as she watched a 1-0 lead turn into a 3-1 deficit.

“I could feel it getting away again when she won those three straight,” Stein said. “I got on myself and said there was no way I was going to let down in that second match again.”

She didn’t. After holding serve, Stein broke Taylor’s, held again, and then broke Taylor one more time to take a commanding 5-3 lead before serving out the match.

Another big comeback win came from the No. 1 doubles team of seniors Lindsay Ames and Charlotte Croce, who each got about four hours of sleep after attending their senior prom Friday night. The prom lag didn’t seem to hurt them. After dropping the first set 5-7, they fought back to win the second 7-5 and cruised in the third to a 6-1 win.

“They were really, really consistent and they could place their shots very well, so I just took all the power off my serve and we worked on just getting the ball in play,” said Croce. “It was like a lob game.”

Ironically, prom-goers Stein, Ames, Croce, and No. 3 singles player Emily O’Connor were the least rested, but all won.

“I think I got about six hours of sleep,” said O’Connor, whose style of play can best be described as boring/frustrating opponents to death.

“I can hit a hard ball, but during a match, I have a different strategy and like to just get it back,” explained O’Connor, who capped an unbeaten season with a 6-2, 6-3 win. “I like to try to wear them down by staying back at the baseline, lob it, hit high backhands … just all the shots people don’t like. That’s what I like to hit.”

Sue Sulzer’s Windjammers’ finished 16-0 in only the second season during which they advanced to the state finals. Calling this a surprise season might be an understatement.

“We lost a lot of really good players two years ago, so I don’t think anyone even in our town – including us – really had faith in us this year,” said Ames, who along with Croce is only in her second year of varsity tennis.

In the boys match, coach Andy Strout’s boys finished 16-0 in convincing fashion. The Capers’ only loss en route to their ninth B crown was in second doubles, where Camden sophomore Adam LaFleur and junior Marty Laurita edged seniors Sam McCarthy and Tom Rowe 6-4, 6-3.

“These guys were all here last year, so they knew what was in front of them and their desire to get back here was greater this year than last year,” Strout said. “They knew exactly what to do to continue that run.”

Strout’s veteran group of four seniors and two juniors won 48 of the other 55 sets against the 15-1 Windjammers.

“They’re much more talented than any team we’ve faced,” said Camden coach Chris Spencer, a former Camden-Rockport player who won two state and four region titles. “You can see that especially in the play of their doubles players, where there isn’t as much lobbing as you normally see.”