After falling short of the regional final in recent years, the Saints are determined to take that next step this spring. The veteran St. Dom’s team is feeling good about its chances.
“I think we’re ready,” junior co-captain Bethany Hammond said. “We’ve built our game to get to this. So I think we’re all ready as a team.”
The undefeated Saints moved a step closer to that goal Thursday with a convincing 5-0 Class C South quarterfinal win over Madison. St. Dom’s advance to Friday’s semifinal and will host North Yarmouth Academy, which beat Hall-Dale Thursday.
“I think we’re a lot more confident,” junior co-captain Laurel Christoper said. “We’re undefeated this year and that gives us a lot more confidence. We know we have the ability to work our way up and be a really good team.”
The last three seasons, the Saints have been a contender in the C tournament but stumbled in the semifinals. Last spring, St. Dom’s was seeded third but lost to Waynflete 3-2 in the semifinal. In 2014, the Saints were the top seed but fell shy of the regional final with a 3-2 loss to Winthrop. In 2013, St. Dom’s was ranked fourth but lost to NYA 4-1 in the semis.
“With them, a lot of them have played on varsity for two years, getting knocked out in the semifinal both times,” St. Dom’s coach Andrew Girouard said. “That’s our goal. We want to get at least to the regional finals and maybe the states if we can.”
The Saints have no seniors on the team but are a seasoned squad. They’ve been playing together and working toward this season for years now. St. Dom’s claimed its second Mountain Valley Conference championship this spring. The Saints also won the title in 2014 but are rejoining the Western Maine Conference next year.
“We’re all very close because we’re all in the same grade,” junior co-captain Clare Kramer said. “We’ve all been playing for a long time. We’re closely knit and we know how each other plays. So we’re very apt to cheer each other on.”
Kramer and Christopher were part of a middle school team that Girouard coached a few years ago. That was the start of this group forming a solid bond on and off the courts.
“We’re all juniors,” Christopher said. “We’re all in the same class. We see each other every day. So it’s like we’ve built a family.”
The Saints have also built a consistent winner, and as the players improved their skills, the better they’ve made each other. That shows each season as St. Dom’s depth improves.
“I think we’re a very strong team and we’ve improved a lot since last year,” Kramer said. “We’ve all improved in our skill levels. So that’s good. It means there’s competition inside the team. That makes us very strong and we can work better against other team.”
St. Dom’s already beat Madison (4-9) earlier this season with a 5-0 sweep. The Saints (13-0) made quick work of the Bulldogs Thursday. St. Dom’s won all five matches in just two sets.
“One of the things we talked about was coming out strong,” Girouard said. “Just like the boys (Wednesday), we wanted to play a hard first set and keep the momentum going into the second and not let up on the throttle.”
Hammond, who was the state’s No. 2 ranked singles player and lost in the semifinals of the state singles tourney earlier in the week, beat Madison’s Emily Oliver 6-0, 6-0. Kramer won her third singles match by the same score, beating Caitlyn Morgan.
Wins in the doubles matches clinched the victory. The team of KK Linck and Kassaundra Stacy beat Madison’s Chelsea Newhall and Emily Lin, 6-1, 6-0. Then Christopher and Hannah Phelan beat Jenna Davis and Breanna Kanagy 6-0, 6-1.
The second singles match was the last to start, but St. Dom’s got a win there from Rachel Kurtz. She beat Jillian Holden 6-2, 6-0.
“I think we’re better prepared,” Girouard of entering this year’s tourney. “A lot of the girls have been playing together a lot of the last four years now. They have great chemistry. They’re all friends inside and outside of tennis. I can’t ask for a better group of eight girls.”
St. Dom’s hasn’t played NYA in the regular season since the change in conferences. Girouard is familiar with a few of their players, but the Panthers are still an unfamiliar foe.
“We haven’t played NYA in a few years,” Girouard said. “That’s kind of playing the unknown with them. I’ve talked to a few coaches trying to get a scouting report.”
The Saints will undoubtedly face a stiffer challenge in the next round. Considering their season has ended at this stage the last few years, St. Dom’s knows it has to respond.
“We’re definitely going to have to adjust,” Hammond said. “I think with the work we’ve put in the entire three years, that’s enough to raise our level.”
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