BLUE HILL—With five players returning to the George Stevens Academy girls varsity tennis team, and two new members with junior varsity or outside experience, Coach Tim Farrar is anticipating another strong season. In 2018, a competitive varsity team made it to the northern championship contest, falling to Lincoln Academy. Farrar has already set sights on returning to the tournament as a goal.
“I think once again [GSA] will be very competitive,” Farrar said, with the goal of “winning as many matches as we can and make it into the tournament.”
Singles players Juliana Allen, Courtney Bianco and Chloe Politte, and doubles players Yulia Heggestad, Libby Weed, Hattie Slayton and Erika Hipsky fill the 2019 team, with Slayton and Hipsky new to the team.
Farrar said matches against strong teams across divisions, like Class B Ellsworth and Mount Desert Island, and Class C Orono, and Lincoln Academy, which Farrar called “the prohibitive favorite” as the 2019 Class C state champion, will help the Eagles be ready as the season progresses.
“By the tournament, I want everyone playing at their [expected] level,” he said. “We have to work on everything but I think ball striking and getting the feel for playing competitive matches [is important].”
The Eagles girls varsity team has a strong record over the last decade, competing in four state championships alongside regional title matches.
“We always want to win a state championship,” Farrar said. “But more than that, I just want the girls to be playing really well and be confident in their positions.”
The Eagles host Deer Isle-Stonington on Friday, April 26, 4 p.m., at the Blue Hill Country Club.
The 2019 George Stevens Academy girls tennis team includes, from left, Libby Weed, Hattie Slayton, Erika Hipsky, Chloe Politte, Kylie Chase, Callie Gray and Chi Nguyen. Not pictured are Yulia Heggestad, Julianna Allen and Courtney Bianco. Photo courtesy of Larry Gray