The Maine Principals’ Association Region 1 tennis singles tournament has begun.

Saturday at Deering High School, Scarborough’s Jenna Posey and South Portland’s Amanda Junkins qualified for the state championships, which will be held May 27, 28 and 30 in Lewiston.

No. 13 seed Junkins eliminated Thornton Academy’s Kayleigh DeFrancesco, 6-1, 6-1, while Posey, ranked 14th, was a 6-3, 6-3 winner over Kennebunk’s Hannah Rush.

Scarborough’s Rachael Webber won her first round match, 8-2, over Greely’s Marina Goding, then lost to NYA’s Anna Jaeger, the No. 7 seed, 1-6, 4-6. All three Cape Elizabeth singles players won their first match, then were eliminated. Madeline Ciraldo defeated Kennebunk’s Ella Mallory, 8-3, before falling to 17-th ranked Emily Campbell of York, 1-6, 1-6. Sarah Cummings downed Waynflete’s Emily White, 8-3, then lost to NYA’s Charlotte Briggs, 1-6, 0-6. Catherine Macdonald downed Portland’s Kayla Berg, 8-3, before losing to Cheverus’ Abby Harrison, the No. 15 seed, 1-6, 2-6.

Scarborough’s Fernanda Delboni lost in a walkover to DeFrancesco in the first round. South Portland’s Kelsey Berglund (3-8 to York’s Olivia Cavalieri) and Morgan Lundgren (1-8 to Gorham’s Sarah Moir) also fell in the first round.

The boys’ competition was held in South Portland. Three Capers and one Red Storm moved on.

Cape Elizabeth’s Matthew Gilman, the No. 2 seed, was an 8-0 winner over Greely’s Patrick Riley in the first round and ousted Cheverus’ Connor O’Neil, 6-1, 6-1 in the qualifying round. Eleventh-ranked Ross Sherman beat Deering’s Dejan Varajic (8-0) and Falmouth’s Nate Mailly (6-0, 6-2). Satchell McCarthy, the No. 13 seed, ousted NYA’s Dean Walters (8-2) and Thornton Academy’s Bohao Lu (6-3, 6-0). Scarborough’s Alex Henny, ranked fifth, was an 8-4 winner over Bonny Eagle’s Zachary Cary and a 6-1, 6-0 victor over Westbrook’s Matt Cottrell.

Scarborough’s Dennis Liu, seeded 17th, defeated Thornton Academy’s Tyler Gaylord, 8-2, in the first round, then was eliminated by Gorham’s Kyle Curley, 2-6, 1-6.

Local teams are also sitting pretty.

The defending Class B state champion Cape Elizabeth boys are second to Falmouth in the Heal Points standings with a 7-1 mark. In Western A, Scarborough is at the top at 8-0 and has a good chance to run the table. South Portland was 1-6 and 10th at press time (only eight teams make the playoffs).

On the girls’ side, in Western A, Scarborough fell to 6-3 and fourth in the Heals after Tuesday’s 3-2 loss to Cheverus. South Portland has won three straight matches and is 4-4, but the Red Riots were ninth in the latest Heals, one spot out of playoff consideration. South Portland still has pivotal matches remaining versus Portland, Cheverus and Scarborough. In Western B, Cape Elizabeth was 6-2 and fourth in the Heals at press time.

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