Sports Desk

Even a strong burst by the Mountain Valley baseball team wasn’t enough to earn a Class B playoff berth; finishing in 10th, one spot shy. The Falcons pulled off an 8-7 upset over then Class C No. 1 Dirigo and the very next morning beat Jay. Izaak Mills pitched a complete game shutout. The team started five sophomores and graduated Brandon Jacques and Cam Kaubris, so the future bodes well.

If anybody needs to hear about a remarkable turn around; look at the MV girls’ tennis team.

After failing to win a single meet in 2010, the Lady Falcons finished 5-7 and earned the No. 8 seed in Class B. The reward was a trek to top-ranked Falmouth and were a sacrificial lamb. Still, they persevered this spring led by seniors, Alyssa Greene, Hillary Cayer and Kelcie Virgin at singles.

Juniors Katie Billings and Stephanie Garcia, first doubles and sophomores Taylor Dickson and Vanessa Swett, second doubles.

Dirigo upset Jay 3-2 in a quarterfinal girls' tennis meet. The Cougars had lost to the Tigers by an identical 3-2 score the final week of the regular season.

Dirigo was missing Addy Fuller, so they adapted by moving Meredith Brown up to #2 and put in Emily Ray at #3 to keep both doubles together. Coral Howe and Grace Hebert won 2nd doubles. Brown took control early and withstood a second set charge by winning the last two games of the deciding set.

Ryanne Dailey and Cassidy Bigos trailed 1-3 in their first set, came alive to win 6-4 and second set 6-2.

“So those two matches were the key,” said coach Art Chamberlin. “In order to win, we had to have both of them. Meri finished just before the doubles so they actually decided it.”

The Cougar boys' tennis team is MVC co-champions as their meet at Winthrop wasn’t completed due to tornado warnings.

They beat Georges Valley 4-1 in a quarterfinal meet. No. 1 singles Josh Turbide won in straight sets, as did both doubles, Mike Smith and Garret Carver, Jeremy Briggs and Tom Barnett. Mason King won in three sets. No. 3 Joel Cloutier battled, but lost the tiebreaker 7-5. Both Dirigo teams hosted semifinal events.

The spring season is the shortest and the most compressed, compared to fall and winter. In track, the teams are small, so most of the individuals complete in multiple events.

Dirigo's Bryan Blackman ran the 100 and 200 meters, 4x800 relay and high jump. In a five-team meet at Telstar, Blackman won the two aforementioned sprints, was a member of the winning relay and finished second in the high jump. Those feats rekindle memories of former Mountain Valley standout Joe Bedard, who regularly won four events in 1991.