LEWISTON — The Thornton Academy boys tennis squad is currently in uncharted territory as the Trojans’ program had never reached the Western Maine final before this season.

Now that they are in the regional final ”“ where they meet Falmouth today ”“ the Trojans are hoping to continue their historic run.

“We are going into new territory for us,” said TA coach Andrew Carlson, who was hoping to fine-tune some things heading into today’s match. “This will be a totally new and unique experience for the guys. (We worked) on finding a rhythm and confidence in our play … cleaning up some technical aspects of play and reminding the guys of various tactical situations and adjustments.”

The Trojans are led by a talented group of players, including singles standouts Victor Menezes, Carlos Jiminez and Vojtech Brtinsky.

The Trojans also feature two strong doubles teams with Eric Gooch and Jared Waterhouse forming one unit and Dylan Gooch and Simon Belliveau also working together.

Carlson said he was happy with his team’s effort in a 3-2 win over Portland in the semifinals on Saturday.

“The guys played very well. They came in focused and ready to play every point,” said Carlson.

Despite losses at No. 3 singles and No. 1 doubles, Carlson felt his team played extremely hard.

“They were not worried about the result, they were only looking to focus on the point they were playing,” said Carlson. “Clearly you saw the results with Victor, Carlos, and Eric and Jared. This was obvious also in the way that Vojtech, and Dylan and Simon battled too.”

The strong effort on Saturday came as no surprise to Carlson.

“We have been playing well all season … taking care of business and looking to improve. I think the guys showed this again on Saturday,” said Carlson.

Carlson gives credit to his players and his assistant coaches.

“We have played a lot of tennis and know what to do. We understand what needs to be done to be successful and coach (Chris) Kohl and coach (Bill) Gooch have worked hard to get to the guys to play at a certain level,” said Carlson.

One thing that has helped the Trojans put together an incredible season, which included an undefeated run through the regular season, is the play of Menezes at the No. 1 singles position.

“Victor is a special player,” said Carlson.

Menezes stepped up on Saturday with the match on the line to lead the Trojans to victory.

“He has been leading us for the last three years and we saw that again on Saturday,” said Carlson. “He knows what is expected of him ”“ he looks forward to the chance to be a difference maker. Saturday was one of the few times we truly needed him to perform and he did.”

The Trojans (14-0) know that if they need a big win at the end of today’s match, they can count on their ace, said Carlson.

“It is great to have someone like Victor to close out a match. We have absolute confidence in him coming through for us,” said Carlson.

Carlson believes Menezes’ work ethic has rubbed off on his teammates.

“He goes about his development in a veteran way … this has influenced other guys in the program,” said Carlson.

The Thornton coach is hoping his team will step onto the court today and leave it all out there.

“The key is to embrace the opportunity and enjoy the experience,” said Carlson.

The top-seeded Trojans’ regional final contest against No. 3 Falmouth (13-1) is scheduled for a 12:45 p.m. start today at Bates College in Lewiston.

— Sports Editor Pat McDonald can be reached at pmcdonald@journaltribune.com or at 282-1535 ext. 322. Follow the Journal Tribune Sports Department on Twitter @JournalTsports.