The pressure has been there from the day of the team’s very first practice last November.

Winthrop was loaded. Everybody knew it. And anyone who was an informed high school basketball observer firmly believed that the Ramblers should win it all again.

The talented Winthrop team has accomplished a difficult task this winter, living up to all those great expectations by earning its second consecutive Western Maine Class C basketball championship.

Coach Dave Poulin’s Ramblers take a pristine 19-0 record into Friday’s 8:45 p.m. state championship game against Eastern Maine kingpin Limestone (17-3) at the Bangor Auditorium.

Not only has Winthrop dominated Class C basketball this season, the Ramblers have seldom been challenged. Only twice in their 19 games have they won by less than 20 points.

In spite of all the lofty expectations, Winthrop’s players have approached the season, game by game, with purpose.

“They’ve welcomed (the pressure), if anything,” Poulin said. “They’ve enjoyed the fact that people have expected them to win. Throughout the season we were able to focus and have a lot of respect for our opponents.”

Opponents have had no difficulty respecting Winthrop, a team which returned all five starters from the 1992 title ballclub. Senior sharpshooter Jeff Love, senior power forward Bill Harris, senior point guard Geoff Cobb, senior center R.J. Jenkins, and senior two-guard Larry Ciembroniewicz all came back as proven commodities.

Yet, the Ramblers have shored up their lineup with T.J. Caouette, a 6-foot-6 freshman phenom, and the return of senior guard Dana Gross, who missed last season with a knee injury.

“We feel we have seven starters,” Poulin said.

The Ramblers initiate the action, letting their variety of 3/4-court and half-court defenses to put the pressure on their opponents.

“Everything starts with our defense,” Poulin said. “When we’re in transition we like to look for the outside shot, the 3-pointer. In the half-court, we like to look inside.”

The reason Winthrop is so hard to contain is because of the quality and versatility of its personnel. Love (15.1 points per game) is among the state’s best long-distance shooters and rises to the ocassion in important games.

Caouette (15.9 ppg), who has already received attention from Division I colleges, can take charge underneath coming off the bench. He has plenty of help in Harris (14.4 ppg), a 6-5 banger. Jenkins (10.1), a 6-5 center, gives Winthrop more size, scoring and rebounding.

Cobb, Ciembroniewicz and Gross can also contribute in the scoring column. The Ramblers had five players average double figures during the WM tourney.

Further down the bench, senior guard Mike Piper, senior forward Brian Doughty, sophomore swingman Jeff Packard, junior swingman Adam Wagner and sophomore guard Steve Contreras have all seen plenty of action.

And the Ramblers have played well together.

“We have excellent team chemistry,” Poulin said. “Each one is willing to step back and do what is best for the team.”

Winthrop and Limestone both rely on an uptempo style to play at their best, but Saturday’s game will pit the Ramblers’ frontcourt size against the Eagles’ backcourt quickness.

“We may have a hard time going out on the perimeter with them, whereas they may have trouble matching up with us inside,” Poulin said.

Limestone is sparked by senior guard Tony Tobin, who averaged 41 points in the EM tournament. Other keys for the Eagles are senior guards Robert McDougal, Angelo Malfatti and Dave Holmes, and senior center Trevor Patten.

The Eagles have tremendous quickness, but can’t afford to get into a half-court game against Winthrop’s tall frontcourt trio.