LEWISTON — During an undefeated regular season Thornton Academy didn’t lose a match at Nos. 1 and 2 singles or No. 2 doubles. That streak likely needed to continue if the Trojans were to beat defending state champion Falmouth in the Western Maine Class A regional final Thursday. The top-seeded Trojans came close, winning at two of those three spots and going to three sets with the other, but the No. 3 Yachtsmen edged out a 3-2 victory at Bates College to make it back to the state title match.

For Thornton, it was the first time getting to the penultimate match in the state tournament. For Falmouth, it was just repetition. And it showed in the first sets of the first four matches of the day ”“ Nos. 2 and 3 singles and both doubles ”“ as the Yachtsmen took the first set in each match.

“They’ve been here a lot, so they’re used to tournament play. I think for some of our guys it took us maybe a set to settle in,” said Thornton head coach Andy Carlson.

Falmouth won its first point at No. 3 singles, as Peter Stegemann swept TA’s Jackson Dohse 6-2, 6-3. For Dohse, it was just his third match of the season, as he was thrown into action as normal No. 3 player Vojtech Brtinsky had to return to his native Czech Republic to take exams. Still, Dohse extended the match despite being overmatched against Stegemann.

“Jackson at (No. 3 singles) gave (Stegemann) all he possibly could have. The way Jackson plays, I think it really frustrated him,” said Carlson. “It was good to see him play in that environment.”

Falmouth went up 2-0 as its No. 1 doubles team of Jordan Bruce and Trey Fallon downed Simon Belliveau and Dylan Gooch 6-3, 6-3.

“First doubles guys, Simon and Dylan, really fought hard, battled. I don’t think the score indicates how close that match was,” said Carlson.

Both Carlos Jiminez at No. 2 singles and Jared Waterhouse and Eric Gooch at No. 2 doubles were able to force third sets after dropping the first set.

Jiminez lost his first set against Alex Klemperer in quick fashion, as he fell 1-6. But he rounded back into form to beat Klemperer ”“ who, like Jiminez, is just a freshman. Jiminez secured TA’s first point with a 1-6, 6-3, 6-3 victory, while also keeping Jiminez’s unbeaten team season intact.

“You can see the way he was playing in the first set. He was really frustrated, he was high-anxiety, he was trying to do too much. We just talked about just settle down,” Carlson said of Jiminez. “You saw him kind of grind it out and change how he was playing. He turned that second set around, and then he really came out in the third set and said, ”˜okay, this is how I should have been playing in the beginning.’”

The Trojans nearly pulled off the same feat at No. 2 doubles, as Waterhouse and Gooch dropped their first set against Greyson Cohen and Matt Adamowicz 4-6 before rallying with a 6-2 second set.

But the TA tandem ran out of gas in the decisive third set, as the pair fell 6-1, clinching the match for Falmouth.

It was the first loss of the team season for the Thornton pair, which lost in the semifinals of the SMAA doubles tournament.

The match was decided before TA’s Victor Menezes and Falmouth’s Aiden McGrory took the court for the No. 1 singles showdown, but neither top player let that fact deter them.

“I’m playing as a captain. You have to represent your school, and you are representing yourself. I knew it would be my last match in high school, so I have to give my best,” Menezes said about his mindset heading into the match. “It’s always a fight. It doesn’t matter what’s the overall score, you’re always fighting for yourself and representing your school for every, single point.”

Menezes, whose only loss was to eventual singles state champion Isaac Salas of Waynflete in the quarterfinals of that tournament, jumped out to a 5-2 lead against McGrory ”“ himself a state singles quarterfinalist. But McGrory rallied to take a 6-5 lead in the opening set, only to have Menezes win the set 7-6 with a 7-0 tiebreaker.

Menezes completed his personal victory with a 6-3 second set, ending his high school career with some redemption. Menezes lost to McGrory in last year’s singles tournament on a tiebreaker ”“ a moment in Menezes’ career that Carlson said made him mature into the player he was this year.

“It does feel awesome ending like that. Two days ago I didn’t know if I would be playing. I had a cold and I started taking antibiotics,” said Menezes. “Getting to play, represent your school, and just try your best is the best feeling you can have.”

“The good thing is, you saw Victor come out there and he knew what the outcome was, and he said I’m going to continue to lead and continue to make this close and continue to represent the school, himself and the program,” said Carlson.

The loss ended Thornton’s longest playoff run in the boys tennis program’s history. Carlson said much of the praise deserved to go to his assistants, Chris Kohl and Bill Gooch, who worked with the players on both the physical and mental aspects of the game.

Carlson said that while he’s disappointed that the season came to an end, he’s more sad to have coached his final match with this group.

“This is a great group of guys. Best group of guys I’ve coached in all the sports I’ve coached in high school ”“ almost 50 season total of high school sports. These guys get along, they work hard, they’re coachable, you see the way they battle,” said Carlson. “They did a great job, and more importantly I think they really taught people about what we’re capable of, what they’re capable of, and hopefully we can use this to continue to grow and develop the program at TA.”

— Sports Staff Writer Wil Kramlich can be contacted at 282-1535, ext. 323 or sports@journaltribune.com. Follow him on Twitter @WilTalkSports.