By STEVE MAZZONE

Sports writer

PAWTUCKET - It doesn't matter what match it is - whether it's the first of the season or the championship finals - rarely does Mount St. Charles Academy coach Richard Lawrence relax.
Often times he can be seen doing numerous laps around the courts, walking briskly while watching how his players are doing.
Friday night's Division I semifinal match with No. 3 seed Lincoln School was no different. Besides the obvious goal of winning the match, however, there was one other reason that Lawrence may have done a few extra laps at the Slater Park courts.
"I felt a little self-imposed tension (today)," said the longtime mentor, whose second-seeded squad is the two-time defending state titlist. "I wanted so badly for the girls to succeed because they have worked so hard. The girls have put so much time and effort to achieve their level of excellence. More than anything I wanted them to get to the finals so that they could have that feeling again."
Well, the Mounties will have the feeling again.
Surviving another hard-fought match against the Lynx, Mount St. Charles earned their third straight trip to the championship finals with a 4-2 decision on a cold and brisk night at the Pawtucket venue. Top singles' player Taylor McEldowney nailed the clinching point in a gutsy, two-set victory over the Lynx's Kara Hole.
McEldowney's win capped off a nearly two-hour match between the two powerhouses that could have gone either way.
"We beat (the Lincoln School) 5-2, and 6-1 this season, but if you go back to the matches they were so competitive and so tough," Lawrence said. "I knew this was going to happen. All you had to do was look at the scores."
The Mounties, who earned a bye in the first round and were 12-1 during the regular season, now take on unbeaten Bay View Academy (13-0) in the finals this Sunday afternoon at 2 back at Slater Park. The Bengals are the only team to put a blemish on the Mounties' record with a close 4-3 decision Sept. 23.
"It was a challenge to try and keep the girls fresh for today," said Lawrence, whose team had an 11-day layoff since their last match - a 7-0 blanking of North Kingstown. "But this was the kind of match we needed to get ready for a mounumental task facing an undefeated team. They have a No. 1 singles players (Rebecca Curran) that's undefeated and a No. 1 doubles team (Victoria Azar and Victoria Babcock)  that's undefeated. They were both state champions. We embrace the challenge. Certainly we are not going to be inimidated. This is the third time in a row we have been to the finals."
Based on what she did on Friday, McEldowney should have some increased confidence this weekend when she faces Curran -  the Bengals' player who defeated her for the individual crown a few weeks ago. After winning the first set against the Lynx's Kara Hole, 6-3, the talented senior avoided a third set with a come-from-behind 7-5 win in the middle set.
"She was down 5-3," Lawrence said. "She had triple-set point at 5-3. That tells a lot about her character and resilence."
The Mounties got the early edge in the match when Meghan Lydon was the first to leave the court with a 6-2, 6-1 decision over Danielle Benoit.
"She's just been playing some great tennis," Lawrence said. "She has just come a long way since the beginning of the season."
After the Lynx tied the score at 1 when Kirsti Toegemann swept Meryl Lynch, 6-4, 6-2, at No. 2 singles, Mount was able to take the lead for good when its second and third doubles teams of Kayla Flynn-Aimee Barone and Lauren Porcaro-Jesse Howard pulled out a pair of two-set victories.
With an injury to one of his doubles players (Kathleen Porcaro), Lawrence shifted his lineup a little, putting Lauren Porcaro and Howard at third doubles. The tandem normally is his fourth doubles team.
"I needed to put in kids that have played together," he said. "Boy did they come up big."
 ***
Singles - Taylor McEldowney, MSC, def. Kara Hole 6-3, 7-5; Kirsti Toegemann, LS, def. Meryl Lawrence 6-4, 6-2; Meghan Lydon, MSC, def. Danielle Benoit 6-2, 6-1; Lauren Benoit, LS, def. Lauren Benoit 6-3, 6-4.
Doubles - Grace Nartin-Mekala Bertocci, MSC, vs. Francesco DiOrio-Emily Burns, dnf; Kayla Flynn-Aimee Barone, MSC, def. Hayley Leogh-Lindsay Howard 6-1, 6-4; Lauren Porcaro-Jesse Howard, MSC, def. Elizabeth Ericson-Gabby DiBattista 6-1, 6-2