How close were the Windham High boys from unseating the six-time defending Class A state tennis champion Lewiston Blue Devils?

Let’s just it would be nearly impossible to have come any closer. An inch, maybe just a centimeter, could have given Windham the title.

Instead, Lewiston escaped with a 3-2 win on Saturday at Colby College in Waterville for its seventh straight state championship. It was the only loss of the season for the Western Maine champion Eagles, who finished at 15-1.

With wins at No. 1 and No. 3 singles already notched, Windham had a chance to clinch the championship at No. 1 doubles. Windham’s Kurt Stultz and Nick Rallis – the two-time SMAA doubles champions – had the upper hand in the third set against Scott Gagne and Alex Chicoine.

“We had triple championship point, if you will,” recounted Windham coach Wayne Martin on Monday. “Gagne returned Rallis’ serve, just got a racket on it. It hits the tape on the net – it hits it square, it didn’t skim the net like you typically see where it comes off the net and you can at least get to it – he hit it square and it just trickled over the net on match point.

“From there, it was like someone let the air out of the balloon. We were kind of struck by that. We could never really get the momentum back. It was a huge momentum swing for Lewiston.”

The Lewiston duo rallied for a 7-5 win in the third set and won 6-4, 6-7 (3-7), 7-5 in what Martin said, “was one of the best matches I’ve ever seen, singles or doubles.”

It took an improbable second-set comeback by Stultz and Rallis just to force the third set, as they fought off seven match points before winning the tiebreaker. Lewiston fought off five match points in the third set.

“We were disappointed because we knew we had it and could taste it,” Martin said. “We were all saying ‘one more point, one more point’ and that point never happened. Credit to Lewiston. Credit to both teams.”

Windham got wins from Nate Johnson at first doubles and Dan McGovern at third doubles.

Johnson defeated Michael Butler, the No. 3 seed in the state singles tournament, 7-5, 6-4. Martin said he wasn’t surprised that Johnson won, but that he did so in such a decisive, straight-set manner impressed the coach.

“Nate’s been playing at a pretty high level, especially the last two weeks of the season,” Martin said. “He’s picked up his game.”

McGovern also won in straight sets, 6-1, 6-4 over Eric Hall. McGovern, a junior, has been a near lock for the Eagles. He won all his matches this season and has never lost in the regular season during his career.

At No. 2 singles, Windham’s Dan Crocker fell to Ben McDonough, 6-1, 6-4.

In second doubles, the Windham team of Ryan Johnson and Fernando Leon-Prado lost in three sets to Keagan Cote and Eric Morin, 6-7 (5-7), 6-4, 2-6.

It was the second time in four years that the Blue Devils bested the Eagles for the state title, though this time was a lot different, Martin said.

“We played them in the 2006 state final,” the coach said. “That year, we were happy to be there. Lewiston was by far the best team in ’06. This year, we knew we could compete with them, we knew that we could beat them. Just to know our program has come that far – to take the team that’s the standard for the whole state to the brink says a lot about how far we’ve come.”

Leon-Prado is the only senior on the Windham team. His doubles partner, Ryan Johnson, is a freshman. The other five players are juniors, so the Eagles expect to be back in the title hunt next season. Lewiston has five underclassmen in its top seven, but will have to replace its top two singles players, both seniors.

Martin said the Eagles already have high hopes for next season, though a possible rematch with Lewiston is no guarantee.

“We have a great shot,” he said. “Our conference is very strong. You can’t really count out anyone in Western Maine. Just to get there, we’re going to have to earn it like we did this year.”