Hawks take cracked road to success Hermon’s girls tennis team overcomes less-than-ideal court conditions

The three cracked courts the Hermon High girls tennis team call home loom in stark contrast to the success the program is experiencing these days.

At 10-0 entering Wednesday’s match against Mount Desert Island, the Hawks are having the best season in school history.

“It’s something that I knew was possible and had hoped for for the girls’ sake because they’ve worked very hard,” said Hermon coach Lee Cliff. “It’s new territory for us.”

Hermon has had some individual tennis success – but that’s come primarily on the boys side, most recently in Josh Warren, who now plays second singles at the University of Southern Maine, and current senior Jeremy Cliff, who has lost just two regular-season matches in the last three years and has qualified for the state singles Round of 40 for the third straight season.

As for the girls’ program, it’s been one of steady progress led by juniors Amanda Ellis and Jill Ingalls.

That duo played tennis for the first time as freshmen – as a second doubles duo.

“When I first started playing, one of my friends got me into it and I never even thought I was going to go through with it or even practice,” said Ellis. “The tennis wasn’t very good. We had never played before in our lives and made second doubles. It’s a lot better now.”

And with persistence during the high school seasons, and a dedication to the sport during the summer, fall and winter, these Hawks have emerged.

“Five years ago, no one on the team could ever remember winning a single match in a season,” said Cliff. “Some of the girls decided they had had enough and they really worked hard at it. They won one match one year and we celebrated, and the next year we won three, the next year we won five, and last year was our first winning season at 7-5.”

Hermon lost to Camden Hills of Rockport 4-1 in the 2006 Eastern B quarterfinals, but with Ellis, Ingalls and third singles player Meagan Keith all returning – and still just juniors – there was reason for optimism this spring.

“A lot of us went to summer clinics, so I knew we’d have a chance to be undefeated but I wasn’t sure how well we’d do,” said Ellis. “I’m really surprised at all the teams we’ve beaten this year. MDI was one team I don’t think we’d ever beaten in Hermon history, so I’m really thankful and lucky that our team has done such a good job.”

“The whole team practiced inside all winter,” added Ingalls, “so I thought this was going to be a good season for us.”

Ellis, Ingalls and Keith have combined to go 25-4 in singles play this spring, with Ellis and Ingalls also advancing to the state singles Round of 40 on May 25 at Bates College in Lewiston.

The Hawks also have gotten solid doubles play this spring, with junior Amanda Coleman and freshman Molly Ingalls at first doubles and junior Kate DeCoste and freshman Melissa Cliff at second doubles.

“It’s really been exceptional, these girls have knocked themselves out,” said coach Cliff. “They’re playing in the summertime, they’re playing tournaments, they’re ranked by the USTA in New England. They’ve taken it very seriously, and this is what happens when kids do that.”

Not that the season has been without challenges, particularly when it comes to hosting matches or practices. The courts are located at Hermon Elementary School.

“We just don’t have the facilities,” said Cliff. “Our courts are in terrible shape. They’re broken, which actually makes how well the girls are doing kind of surprising. “There’s no junior tennis program at Hermon, no rec program for tennis, no decent courts to play on, yet these girls have found a way to do it.”

Hermon residents earlier this year voted 235-86 to reject a plan that would have allocated $400,000 in town funds toward a $1.3 million project that would have included eight outdoor lighted tennis courts, an open-aired pavilion, elaborate gardens, outdoor restrooms and improvements to the school’s field hockey and soccer fields.

But even had that measure passed the new courts would not have been ready for this season, so the school’s tennis teams have played on and persevere – with considerable success.

“We’ve played our matches at Hermon despite the cracks,” said Cliff. “When other teams show up I walk the courts with the coaches and we agree that we play the cracks as they fall and hopefully it will be even, but it’s really not a good place to put a real athlete.”

Hermon, currently first in the latest Heal Point ratings, will enter postseason play as one of the top-ranked teams in Eastern B, a new status for an upstart program seeking to create its own tradition.

“Hopefully more people will try out and want to play next year because they know that tennis is a good sport, and Hermon is actually good at it,” said Ellis.

But what ultimately will constitute success for this team? The answers vary, from spurring interest in having new tennis courts built, to winning championships, to enjoying the experience.

“I’m not going to hang it on whether or not we go undefeated or how far we advance,” said Cliff. “As long as I see improvement and I see players fighting on the court, and they learn from the losses and celebrate the wins, we’re happy as long as we’re having fun.

“But we do have expectations. If you don’t have expectations you can’t reach them, but we’re not going to complain if we don’t meet them, either.”