Edward Little’s Mya Vincent hits a shot back to Julia Barber of Erskine Academy during the state singles tournament in May at Bates College in Lewiston. Russ Dillingham/Sun Journal

Mya Vincent likes the spotlight of the biggest weekend in high school tennis in Maine.

“The state singles tournament is always the highlight of the year; it’s the most fun weekend I look forward to the whole year,” Vincent said.

This spring’s Maine Principles’ Association state singles tournament was a memorable one for Vincent. As the No. 4 seed, the Edward Little junior earned a first-round bye and then made a run to the semifinals. She defeated Julia Barber of Erskine Academy, 6-3, 2-6, 1-0 (5), in the second round. In the Round of 16 she took out Laura Chapman of Boothbay 7-5, 6-1, and in the quarterfinals dispatched Amber of Scarborough 6-4, 6-3. Her run came to an end in the semifinals with a loss to Lydia Gomez of Maine Central Insititute, the top seed and the eventual state champion.

Vincent’s performance against some of the state’s best players has earned her the Sun Journal All-Region Girls Tennis Player of the Year honor.

Edward Little coach, and Mya’s dad, Kevin Vincent said he wasn’t sure what to expect from his daughter this past season after she had reached the quarterfinals in 2021.

“I don’t try to put my expectations on her,” Kevin Vincent said. “She’s pretty much self-driven on her own; she pushes herself a lot harder than I ever push her. It’s one of those things: The sky is the limit for her.”

Mya Vincent’s stellar play extended beyond that one great weekend in May. She had a 9-2 record in team matches as Edward Little’s No. 1 player. Both losses —  one in the regular season and once in the playoffs — came against Coco Meserve of Brunswick, who was the runner-up to Gomez in the state singles championship.

Edward Little’s Mya Vincent hits a shot to Julia Barber of Erskine Academy during the state singles tournament at Bates College in Lewiston in May. Russ Dillingham/Sun Journal

Vincent’s success carried over to the rest of team: The Red Eddies defeated Lewiston for the first time in 40 years and reached the Class A North quarterfinals, where they fell to state runner-up Brunswick.

“It was really a successful year, all around,” Mya Vincent said. “I am proud of how far I made it, and our team did great.”

Vincent has already started working to be even better for the 2022-23 season. She said she wants to emulate Gomez’s game.

“I am working on hitting the ball harder, more consistently, so I can hit more winners and have shorter (rallies),” Mya said. “It’s a more fun way to play, when you are hitting harder.”

Kevin Vincent said that the singles tournament loss to Gomez was a learning experience for Mya and gave her an idea of things she needed to improve in her game.

“(Mya) realized what the difference was between Lydia and herself,” Kevin Vincent said. “Lydia didn’t necessarily move better than Mya — she wasn’t faster on the court or stuff like that — Lydia had a bigger forehand, bigger backhand and a bigger serve.”

Kevin said Mya has already added 15-20 miles per hour to her forehand and backhand since the end of the high school season.

Mya Vincent of Edward Little High School returns a shot during her No. 1 singles match against Libby Forgues of Lewiston High School in Lewiston in April. Daryn Slover/Sun Journal

Mya competes in local adult tournaments, and she has been playing more aggressively in those tournaments so she can work on new shots for next year’s high school season.

“This offseason, I am more focused on progress than results,” Mya said. “I haven’t been competitive in the tournaments that I have played (this) summer, but I am improving —  that’s really my number one focus right now.”