While local singles tennis players fell just short of their championship goal, teams are now in hot pursuit of hardware with Falmouth, once again, leading the charge.

Team tournament

Both Falmouth teams figure to have as much success in the team tournament.

The girls, the four-time defending Class B champions, take a 73-match win streak into the postseason. The Yachtsmen finished the regular season 12-0 for the fourth successive season after 5-0 home wins over Waynflete and York last week. Falmouth will host either No. 8 York (5-7) or No. 9 Mountain Valley (5-7) in the quarterfinals Thursday.

Yarmouth wound up second in Western B with a 10-2 mark following a 5-0 home victory over NYA last Tuesday. The Clippers will welcome No. 7 Fryeburg (6-6) in the quarterfinals.

Greely is the No. 3 seed with a 9-3 mark, its first winning record since 2008. The Rangers closed with a 5-0 victory at Freeport and a 3-2 home win over Fryeburg. Greely is home with No. 6 Cape Elizabeth (7-5) in the quarterfinals.

Freeport (2-10 and 14th in Western B) and NYA (4-8 and 10th in Western C) fell short of the playoffs. It was the first time the Panthers failed to qualify since 1997.

On the boys’ side, Falmouth also went 12-0 and is No. 1 in the Heals. The Yachtsmen closed with 5-0 victories over Fryeburg, York and NYA. Falmouth is home against either No. 8 Yarmouth (4-8) or No. 9 Mountain Valley (4-8) in Thursday’s quarterfinal round.

The Clippers qualified for the first time since winning the Class B title in 2009.

Freeport qualified for the first time since 2006 after winding up 4-8 and seventh in Western B. The Falcons go to No. 2 Lincoln Academy (12-0), a team they don’t see in the regular season, in the quarterfinals.

Greely wound up 1-11 and 11th and fell short of the playoffs.

In Western C, NYA punched its postseason ticket for the first time in five years after going 7-5, good for the ninth and final spot. The Panthers went to 7-5 Madison in Tuesday’s preliminary round. If victorious, NYA would face top-ranked St. Dom’s (12-0) in the quarterfinals Thursday.

The playoffs continue Saturday with the semifinal round on the courts of the higher remaining seeds. The regional finals are Wednesday at Bates College in Lewiston. The state finals are Saturday, June 9, at Colby College in Waterville.

Singles

A pair of Falmouth players made it to the finals of the singles tournament, but both were ousted there.

In the boys’ competition, Justin Brogan, seeded second, advanced courtesy wins over North Yarmouth Academy’s Burke Paxton (who had won his first match, 6-3, 7-5, over Marshwood’s Jackson Towle), 6-1, 6-0, St. Dom’s’ Zach DeBlois, 6-1, 6-0, Waynflete’s Isaac Salas, 6-0, 6-0, and third-ranked Matt Gilman of Cape Elizabeth, 6-1, 6-3.

But in the final, Brogan had no answer for No. 5 Jordan Friedland of Lincoln Academy in a three-set thriller, 4-6, 7-5, 3-6.

Falmouth’s Brendan McCarthy, ranked eighth, was a 6-0, 6-1 winner over Bangor’s John Szewczyk, then was eliminated by ninth-ranked Satchel McCarthy of Cape Elizabeth, 4-6, 6-7 (3).

On the girls’ side, second-ranked Annie Criscione and No. 3 Analise Kump of Falmouth each made it to the semifinals before running into each other.

Criscione was a 6-1, 6-3 winner over Olivia Lopes of Waterville, a 6-1, 6-0 victor over Deering’s Molly Gallagher and a 6-1, 6-1 winner over Shoshanna Moll of Belfast in her road to the semifinals.

Kump defeated Mt. Desert Island’s Julia Christie, 6-0, 6-0, Brunswick’s Ali Stankiewicz, 6-1, 6-1, and Yarmouth’s Hannah Potter, 6-1, 6-0.

In the semis, Criscione eliminated Kump, 6-1, 6-4, but in the finals, she dropped a tough 3-6, 6-4, 4-6 decision to top-ranked Maisie Silverman.

Falmouth’s Olivia Leavitt, the No. 5 seed, also reached the semifinals. Leavitt won, 6-2, 6-0, over Mt. Ararat’s Sarah Hill, 6-0, 6-0, over Hall-Dale’s Wendy Goldman, and 6-1, 6-0, over No. 12 Emma Blakeley of Camden Hills.  But in the semis, Leavitt couldn’t counter Silverman and lost, 5-7, 6-0, 3-6.

Prior to losing to Kump, Potter beat Portland’s Margot Andreasen, 6-1, 6-0, Kaitlyn Thompson of St. Dom’s, 6-2, 6-1, and No. 6 Addie Devine of McAuley, 7-5, 7-2.

NYA’s Sarah Jordan won her first match, 6-0, 6-2, over Dirigo’s Addy Fuller, then lost to Silverman, 0-6, 0-6. Yarmouth’s Lindsey Robinson also won her first match, 0-6, 6-1, 6-4, against Lewiston’s Paige LeBlond, then was eliminated, 2-6, 1-6, by No. 4 Mea Clark of MDI.

Sports Editor Michael Hoffer can be reached at mhoffer@theforecaster.net. Follow him on Twitter: @foresports.