Over the course of two-plus hours April 24 in their second match of the season, the Boothbay Region High School boys tennis team lived up to Coach Mark Gorey’s high expectations.

At the YMCA field house, the Seahawks won every match against Dirigo except one; and that one ended in a tiebreaker.

“This is our first win against Dirigo in the four years I've been coaching,” Gorey said. “Coach Thompson always brings athletes with skill to the match, and I think our strength and depth surprised Dirigo.”

Senior Sam Schwehm, playing first singles, lost to Dirigo’s Jeremy Grignon in a hard fought match that went 32 games and ended in a tiebreaker, 10-10, (5-7).

Gorey said he was pleased with Schwehm’s tenacity.  “At number one singles, Sam modeled the mental strength and tactical grit I am encouraging all of our players to adopt. He was down 2-6 in the tiebreaker and saved two match points,” Gorey said.

In second singles, freshman Nick Gorey beat Yossapat Chanarune, 10-6. Gorey and the smaller Chanarune exchanged searing serves and return shots, but Gorey’s better control allowed him to dominate and win the match.

In third singles, senior Brady Duncan defeated Thomas Barnett in a close match, 10-8.

In first doubles, senior Evan Stevens and junior Ben Betts won 10-5 against Cliff Boynton and Loren Keim. In second doubles, freshmen Raymond Perry and Daniel Drummond defeated Jesse Hutchinson and Griffin Smith, 10-7.

Coach Gorey added the following comments after the match, “I am ecstatic at the way that each of our players dug deep when the scores pulled close; none of our players gave up. In several matches, once we got rid of the opening nerves, I could see the belief in the players' faces. We move forward now with increased confidence.”

The team travels to Lisbon on Friday, April 26 for a match there and returns home to face Monmouth at the YMCA field house at 4 p.m.

Coach Gorey said he happily anticipates the return of junior Ethan Walker, a strong first doubles player, on Friday to aid the Seahawks in their upcoming contests.

Below is a brief video of Drummond and Perry versus Hutchinson and Smith:

Sue Mello can be reached at 207-844-4629 or sumello@boothbayregister.com.