Kennebunk High School wins second girls tennis championship in program history

SOUTH PORTLAND  – When push comes to shove, members of the Kennebunk High School girls tennis program value team over self. It's a classic tenet of what high school sports is about, no better exemplified by the Class A championship winning Rams.

The Class A South regional champion Rams, the No. 3 seed in in the South, completed their perfect season with a 5-0 win over North champion and top-seeded Brunswick on Saturday at South Portland High School.

Kennebunk ended its season with a record of 16-0, while Brunswick finished at 14-2.

"We have such a diverse group of people," said Kennebunk senior and No. 2 singles player Sadie Yentsch with a massive grin. "It's people from different friend groups, different sports, but when we're together on the court, we're like a family."

While the Rams girls tennis program technically had three state championship appearances, including winning in 2003, on the program's resume, the 2022 run is different.

Kennebunk broke from its longstanding girls tennis co-op with Wells High School in 2020, and coach Jacqui Holmes has built a flourishing program, now with a roster up to about 30 players. Some of the singles players are year-round tennis players, and all four varsity double players came to the program with little tennis experience.

"I'm just so proud of them," Holmes said. "It's a really special thing for a group of girls to come together, love being around each other and love playing tennis together. If they're having fun out there, then it all falls into place. That totally happened this year."

Save for 3-2 wins against Falmouth in the regular season and again in the regional final, Kennebunk collectively dropped just one other set in 2022.

Yentsch got it started in the state championship, dispatching Brunswick senior Abby Sharpe 6-0, 6-0, finishing her match before most of the other six courts in action finished their first sets.

Kennebunk junior Andie Lamontagne, at No. 3 singles, was next, defeating Brunswick sophomore Sadie Levy, 6-1, 6-3.

Kennebunk clinched the title when seniors Ainsley Morrison and Audrey McEnaney, at No. 2 doubles, beat Brunswick seniors Emily Davison and Logan Brown, 6-2, 6-3.

In No, 1 doubles, Kennebunk seniors Arija Grant and Hazel McEnaney beat Brunswick freshmen Hazel Goodwin and Izzy Leitzel, 7-6 in a first set tiebreaker (5) and won the second set, 6-4.

Kennebunk finished off the sweep when freshman Olivia Cutone topped Brunswick sophomore Coco Meserve 6-1, 6-0 at No. 1 singles.

Cutone made quick work of Meserve, the runner-up and No. 2 seed in the state singles tournament. Cutone, who is the No. 1 ranked player in the New England 16-and-under division and is nationally ranked in both that age group and the 18-and-unders, did not win May's state singles title because she was playing at a United States Tennis Association tournament in Georgia.

Jentsch, who was seeded eighth in the state singles tourney, played No. 1 singles last year for the Rams, but ceded the top spot this season to Cutone.

Jentsch knew Cutone was coming to Kennebunk, and there were never any hard feelings. Jentsch said she was only excited to play with Cutone and grateful for the opportunity to spend time together.

"Everyone knows she's an amazing tennis player, but only a few people get to experience her as a teammate, and she's been a great one," Jentsch said.

The feeling is mutual from Cutone, who wasn't sure if she was even going to play for the high school team and instead focus on the juniors circuit. Cutone said she "felt a little bad" at first when taking the top spot, but it all worked out fine.

"We became close right away," Cutone said. "Everyone's really nice."

Holmes credited Cutone and Yentsch's willingness to do what's best for the team.

"Both of them are total sweethearts and really competitive," Holmes said. "The goal for both of them was always a team state championship, so whatever we needed to do to make that happen – it worked."

Kennebunk also earned the sportsmanship award as voted on by their peers.

"I wouldn't have wanted to do it with any other girls," Jentsch said. "It's been an amazing experience."

This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: Kennebunk High School beats Brunswick for MPA Class A girls tennis championship