HOULTON, Maine — It has been a trying first few weeks for the Houlton boys and girls tennis teams. Between rainouts and tough opponents, the Shires are sporting 0-3 records and have struggled to find their rhythm on the courts. But coach Nancy Mooers remains optimistic the two teams will turn things around.
“We’ve been competitive in both the Van Buren and Presque Isle matches [played this past week],” Mooers said. “We are starting to address some strategical points of the game that will hopefully swing those close matches that we lost in tiebreakers our way next time we meet those teams.”
Results from the Shires two matches this week were as follows:
Presque Isle boys 4, Houlton 1 — At Houlton Friday, Nolan Porter fell to Andre Daigle, 7-9; Owen Gallop lost to Jordan Bonville, 6-8; and Devin Ivey fell to Mason Young, 1-8. In doubles, Tim Youngfellow and Nate Delucca lost to Isaac Madore and Gage Young 3-8; and Jaron Gentle and Isaac Vega won by forfeit.
Van Buren 3, Houlton 2 — At Van Buren Thursday, the results with the Shire players listed first were: in singles, Porter fell to Travis Lebel, 2-8; Gallop lost to Brandon Sytulek, 1-8; and Ivey was beaten by Brenton Soucy, 1-8. In doubles, Youngfellow and Delucca beat Luc Perreault and Dominic Belanger, 8-5; and Gentle and Vega defeated Skylar Paradis and Manny Deschaine, 8-6.
Presque Isle girls 4, Houlton 1 — At Houlton Friday, the individual results with Houlton players listed first were, in singles, Rebecca Mooers lost to Sarah Morneault, 8-9 (5-7 in tiebreaker); Sydney Lorom lost to Miranda Bragan, 3-8; and Maddie Grant lost to Hana Boucher, 8-9 (5-7).
In doubles, Nadja Messerschmidt and Tess McCormick fell to Anna Robinson and Gabby Haley, 3-8; and Emily Miller and Grace Johnson won by forfeit.
Van Buren girls 3, Houlton 2 — At Van Buren Thursday, the results with Shires listed first, were: in singles, Mooers defeated Lindsey Gendreau, 8-4; Lorom beat Erica Ouellette, 8-2; and Grant lost to Tiffany Morrow, 8-9 (1-7). In doubles, Messerschmidt and McCormick lost to Emma LaJoie-Kaila Roy, 5-8; and Johnson and Carolyn Hannigan fell to Emilia Nicknair-Armanda Nicknair, 1-8.
