Sofia Kirtchev’s coach heaps some impressive praise on the junior tennis star.

“She’s one of the toughest kids I’ve encountered,” Falmouth coach Larry Nichols said.

Kirtchev faced several challenges, and challengers, but battled through them all and always found a way to succeed this spring. She reached the singles semifinals for the third straight season and this time won the state championship despite being sick.

“During the tournament I was telling myself, ‘You still have 60 percent in you, so you got to fight to be that dog. You got to be an animal on the court. You got to give it your all and then something might come out of it,’ and it did for me,” Kirtchev said. “So I’m really proud of myself for that.”

Kirtchev also led Falmouth to the Class A team championship for the second year in a row. Her will to win makes her the Varsity Maine Girls Tennis Player of the Year.

Kirtchev won each set of the singles tournament in May despite being dehydrated throughout. She took the final 6-2, 6-3 against Molly Tefft of Brunswick at the Colby College indoor courts, a day after playing outside in 80-plus-degree temperatures at Bates College, which amplified her sickness.

“On Friday, we had the trainer watch her. She made it through the session and the heat, but that night had to get fluids at Brighton Medical (in Portland) from an IV because her fluid levels were so low,” Nichols said. “And then she comes back the next day and she ends up winning the state singles championship. She doesn’t drop a set the entire tournament.”

That wasn’t the first time Kirtchev battled illness during a high-stakes match. Last year she missed the early rounds of the team playoffs due to the flu but returned for the Class A championship match.

“We didn’t see her for two weeks. She was very sick, and then she showed up the day of the state (final) and she tried her best. And after two weeks of not playing she ended up winning the thing,” Nichols said.

Kirtchev defeated 2023 singles champion and 2024 runner-up Coco Meserve of Brunswick in three sets, 6-3, 1-6, 6-4, to give the Navigators to a 3-2 win and the 2024 team state title. Meserve was also ill, and each player needed a five-minute medical timeout during the decisive No. 1 singles match.

“It was crazy. I was physically impaired twice in a row. I think (the sickness) was there to truly teach me lessons and show me that I’m more than physicality, and I have to push myself to the nth degree to come out ahead,” Kirtchev said. 

Kirtchev credits tennis for her tough mindset. She was introduced to the sport by her father when she was 5 years old. It has become a constant in her life, but Kirtchev believes she became truly invested when she started playing competitively at age 12.

“Tennis has taught me so many things, from mental toughness to perseverance,” Kirtchev said. “I always feel like I can find solace in tennis. That’s where it has led me to keep going, and I don’t think I can stop from here.”

Even during her freshman and sophomore years, when she lost in the state singles semifinals, Kirtchev was able to find peace with her results.

That’s part of the reason she was so successful this season. After players like Sofia Mavor and Meserve took center stage for the past few years, this spring was Kirtchev’s time. 

“For my freshman and sophomore years, I had to learn to lose and learn to cope with that, and through that I was able to think of myself as just any other player. I’m just here to play another point, and that’s all I was really thinking about,” Kirtchev said.  “Whether I would win or lose, it wouldn’t really affect me that much.”

The work Kirtchev puts into tennis does not go unnoticed by Nichols. Last week, he was motorcycling through northern Maine with limited cell reception. Yet when he heard Kirtchev was the Varsity Maine Girls Tennis Player of the Year, he made it a priority to speak to a reporter. 

“Players that excel in their particular sport and stand out, they all have that thing where people have no idea how much they work behind the scenes,” Nichols said. “She’s certainly one of those kids that, like other star athletes, puts in a lot of time. It doesn’t happen by accident.”

But Kirtchev’s work is not done. She has one high school season remaining and is still making her mark.

So how does she top a season that featured singles and team state championships? By staying healthy, according to Nichols.

“I want her to be healthy the whole season,” Nichols said. “I want her to not have the stress of sickness. I want her to be able to smell the roses, for her to enjoy the moment.”