The Caribou Parks and Recreation Department hosted the County Doubles Tennis Tournament Thursday at the Teague Park tennis courts for area youths between the ages of 8-18.
Contributed photo
Caribou’s Jordan Bevins tosses up the ball for a serve, while doubles mate Gabe Massey, at right, gets ready to play the net during a semifinal match in Thursday’s Aroostook County Doubles Tennis Tournament held at Teague Park.
There were over 50 participants from Caribou, Presque Isle and Van Buren. Players competed in 10-12, 13-15, and 16-18 male/female age brackets by playing eight-game pro sets in the early rounds and best two-of-three six-game sets in the finals.
Teams earned two points for every first-place finish and one point for a runner-up in the County Singles (held at the UMPI and Mantle Lake courts July 27) and County Doubles Tennis Tournaments. Caribou was in the lead after the County Singles Tournament with 13 points. Presque Isle was in second with three points and Van Buren trailed with two points.
At the end of the doubles tournament, Caribou earned 14 more points and ended with a final point total of 27. Presque Isle scored three more points to come in second place with a total of six points while Van Buren added just one point and finished in third with three total points.
This was the 28th straight year that Caribou has taken home the team title after the annual youth tennis tournaments.
In the 10-12 girls’ division, four teams had entered the competition. Presque Isle’s Hillary Boucher and Michelle Cawley came out on top in the final by posting a well-played 6-2, 6-0 victory over Kassie Krul and Gabrielle Marquis of Caribou. Boucher and Cawley defeated Audrey Ouellette and Jessica Deschaine of Van Buren 8-0 in one semi-final, while Krul and Marquis beat Sarah Morneault and Martha Herzog of Presque Isle 8-3 in the other semi. Both teams looked sharp and played courageously throughout the beautiful weather, but the tandem of Boucher and Cawley would not be denied their first title.
The 10-12 boys’ age bracket had eight teams looking to take home the championship. In the end, it was a Caribou vs. Caribou final. Top-seeded Ethan Plourde and Josiah Krul of Caribou cruised in the last match of the day by defeating teammates Bailey Griffeth and Gabe Rand by a score of 6-1, 6-1. Plourde and Krul defeated Byron Winslow and Jason Boone of Presque Isle 8-1 in one semi-final, while Griffeth and Rand beat Gabe Massey and Jordan Bevins of Caribou 8-6 in the other semi-final. Plourde and Krul applied superior skill and strategy to upend the feisty, hard-working duo of Griffeth and Rand.
Contributed photo
Erin Patton of Caribou, right, talks over strategy with doubles partner Clara Collins during Thursday’s Aroostook County Doubles Tennis Tournament held at the Teague Park courts. Patton and Collins ended up placing second in the 13-15 girls division.
There were no surprises in the 13-15 girls’ division as five teams tried to make it to the championship match. Top-seeded Katie Keaton and Alexa Massey of Caribou played well together and were also teammates on this year’s varsity high school eastern Maine championship team. They lost only two games on the day and faced Clara Collins and Erin Patton of Caribou in the finals. Keaton and Massey used their experience to post a 6-0, 6-0 victory. Keaton and Massey defeated Courtney Parent and Kayla Durette of Van Buren 8-2 in one semi-final, while the Collins-Patton duo beat Ashley and Amy Trask of Presque Isle 8-3 in the other semi-final.
The 13-15 boys’ age bracket had four teams competing for the championship. In the end, it was a Caribou-Presque Isle final that proved to be the most exciting match of the day. Top-seeded Tyler Willey and Zachary Gorence of Caribou survived a 7-5, 4-6, 6-4 marathon match over No. 2-seeded Liam Hughes and Chris Carroll of Presque Isle. Both teams played at the top of their games to provide a thrilling final. Willey and Gorence defeated Adam Thibeault and Tyler Levesque of Presque Isle 8-1 in one semi-final, while Hughes and Carroll beat Chad Norton and Mike Michaud of Presque Isle 8-0 in the other semi-final.
Only two teams competed in the 16-18 girls’ division. However, the finals pitted familiar high school tennis rivals from Caribou and Van Buren against each other and offered one of the most intriguing final matches of the entire tournament. Van Buren’s No. 2-seeded Haley Lizotte and Natasha Bourgoin were looking for an upset as they ventured into the 16-18 age bracket for the first time. They faced last year’s defending champions and top-seeded Jenna Selander and Laura Collins of Caribou. Selander and Collins were coming off a great year in high school tennis as both played in the state singles championships and anchored their team to its ninth eastern Maine championship. In the end, Selander and Collins took home another crown with a 6-1, 6-4 win.
The boys’ 16-18 age bracket had only three entries but several talented players competing for the title. Jon Ouellette and Nick Willey of Caribou were the top-seeded team and were up to the challenge posed by the No. 2 team of Brandon Ouellette and Nathan LaPlante of Van Buren. Ouellette and Willey employed strategic positioning combined with tactical experience and ousted Ouellette and LaPlante by scores of 6-2, 6-3. Ouellette and LaPlante defeated teammates Mark Levasseur and Ethan LaPlante 8-4 in their semi-final while Willey and Ouellette drew a bye.
Other players for Caribou were Parker Deprey, Sawyer Deprey, Noah Heidorn, Emerson Duplissie-Cyr, Brandon Manter and Cullin Caverhill. The Caribou Parks and Recreations Department’s tennis teams are coached by 28-year veteran John Habeeb and assistant coaches Casey Lancaster and Nick Willey.
