Entering the girls tennis season, it was no secret that Kennebunk’s Maria Varano was going to be a good No. 1 singles player.

After all, the 16-year-old decided to join the high school team after years of playing in the United States Tennis Association’s New England circuit, where she earned a top 15 ranking in New England in the 18-year-old division.

It was expected that Varano, a right-handed player, would play well this year. Just how well, however, no one could have predicted.

Varano crushed all of her competition during the regular season, going 12-0. More impressive was she only lost three games out of a total 147 games played. That’s almost unheard of in a sport where mental errors can creep in and destroy a player’s game every now and again despite their talent level.

Varano didn’t let that happen, which is a testament to her skill and mental toughness.

“She trains with a lot of intensity,” Kennebunk girls tennis coach Paul Gaylord said. “I knew she would be good this season, but she has gone above my expectations.”

Varano said earlier in the season that she joined the team to have fun with her schoolmates and that winning wasn’t her main concern.

Could have fooled the high school tennis world.

Her dominance earned her the No. 1 seed for this weekend’s final eight Maine Principals Association’s girls singles tennis tournament at Bates College in Lewiston.

“This is where her real season begins,” Gaylord said.

True, but the competition has already been difficult. Varano has played each team’s No. 1 singles player, meaning she has faced that team’s best player. She beat them without mercy as if these girls were their team’s best junior varsity players.

Last weekend, she entered the singles tournament, where she advanced from the round of 32 with a 6-1, 6-0 win. She then advanced to this weekend’s tournament after winning her round of 16 match 6-1, 6-1. Keep in mind this tournament features the best 32 female players from Maine.

In order to win the state championship on Saturday, Varano will need to once again win two matches in one day. If she wins her first match, she competes an hour later for the championship. Somehow, I think she will be more than up for the challenge.

During USTA tournaments, she routinely plays two matches in one day. The competition is just as strong and she wins more often than not.

“I think she’s prepared for it,” Gaylord said.

If her season record is any indication, she definitely is.

A tennis athlete such as Varano is rare. York County has had some solid tennis players, but it has never seen a player who has dominated the court in quite this way. She hits a heavy ball, said Gaylord, which makes her approach to each match more like that of a boxer.

“She hits hard and into the body,” Gaylord said.

Varano’s match Saturday at Bates College could potentially be the caption of one of the best singles tennis seasons Maine has ever seen.

— Contact Al Edwards at 282-1535, ext. 323.