The Boothbay Region High School boys tennis team punched their playoff tickets following two home wins against Carrabec and Madison. Although they lost to Hall-Dale last week, their 8-2 record and fourth place standing as of May 14 assured their playoff spot.

On May 8 at home, the Seahawks made quick work of the Carrabec team, winning all games with relative ease and the overall match, 5-0.

At first singles freshman Nick Gorey won 10-1 against Carrol Handley. Senior Sam Schwehm defeated Avery Bouche, 10-1, in second singles. In third singles, senior Brady Duncan beat Seth Burns, 10-6.

In doubles, the first doubles team of junior Ethan Walker and freshman Dan Drummond easily defeated Adam Poulin and Damian Green, 10-2. In second doubles, junior Ben Betts and freshman Ray Perry won 10-6 again Trevor Edes and Steven Handey.

Coach Mark Gorey offered the following comments on the match, “Last year Carrabec had to forfeit the second doubles match due to insufficient players, but this year they had a full roster plus an exhibition doubles team.

“Nick and Sam won their singles matches easily, as did Ethan and Daniel at number one doubles. Evan, Eli, and Collin won decisively 8-1 in their exhibition match. Collin will be a key doubles player for us next season,” Gorey said.

On May 10 at Hall-Dale, the Boothbay boys lost 0-5 against a tough Hall Dale team. At first singles, Spencer Shagoury won 7-5, 6-2 against Gorey and in second singles, Schwehm lost 6-4, 0-6, 1-6, to Derek Vigue. In third singles, Josh Peterson beat Duncan 6-0, 6-2.

In first doubles, Hall-Dale’s Nick Bates and Bryson Camp won 6-0, 6-0 against Walker and Drummond. In second doubles, Ryan Branscom and Andy Peterson won 6-2, 6-2 against Betts and Perry.

Gorey reported, “Hall-Dale is truly a deep squad this year. Our doubles teams have been competitive all season, but Bates and Camp were able to beat us to net and their height hurt us as we struggled to lob them effectively.

“At first singles, Nick played aggressively and pushed senior Spencer Shagoury to a 7-5 first set; the points in this set were long and dramatic with both players running down ball after ball.”

At home on May 13, the Seahawks won a close 3-2 match against Madison.

At first singles, Gorey lost 11-10 to Dylan Price. Schwehm, at second singles, beat Hunter Clark, 10-3, in the only decisive victory of the day. Duncan, playing third singles, defeated Steven Lawrence 10-8.

Boothbay and Madison split the doubles matches. Madison’s Alex Morrow and Josh Girgis took the first doubles match, beating Walker and Drummond 10-8. Betts and Perry won the second doubles match, defeating Andrey Fernandez and Dustin West,10-8.

Coach Gorey reported, “Madison came to Boothbay with only one loss. I expected a close result. Brady led at the time out, but Madison's #3 player surged, pushing Brady to a 10-8 finish. Sam won decisively against Hunter Clark, who really struggled to get his first serve in. Ben and Ray were behind at the time out, but came back playing higher percentage tennis in a crucial third win for us.”

“Ethan and Daniel faced a very tough #1 doubles team. Madison's junior Josh Girgis really understands doubles positioning. Ethan and Daniel because of their court coverage ability are highly entertaining to watch as they and their opponents played long points.”

“Nick played against a highly athletic senior Dylan Price. Price used slice to keep a lot of his shots very low, forcing Nick, the taller player, to have to bend low for a lot of his approach shots. This last match was tense all the way through to the final tiebreaker point.”

Regular season play ends this week. The Seahawks travel for a match against Mountain Valley on May 15 and end their season at home on May 20 against Wiscasset.

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