Tennis has gotten a jump on the other spring sports in bestowing hardware.

The fun began last weekend when conference champions were crowned in doubles play.

The singles tournament is underway and the team tournament starts Tuesday of next week.

Doubles

The Portland High tandem of Kayla Berg and Lilly Bruenjes won the Southwestern Maine Activities Association girls’ doubles title Saturday, downing Scarborough’s Maria Philbrick and Katie Wahrer in the final, 6-4, 5-7, 10-8.

Waynflete’s Clancy Mitchell and Stephen Epstein made it to the semifinals of the Western Maine Conference boys’ doubles tournament, but lost to eventual champions Sam Sherman and Mike Mills, 1-10.

Singles

The singles tournament began last week with the Region 5 first and qualifying rounds.

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McAuley’s Devri Ramsey, seeded fourth, advanced, 6-0, 6-0, over Bonny Eagle’s Katie Quinn. Waynflete’s Emily White, ranked seventh, beat Westbrook’s Kimberly Duong in a walkover, then advanced by virtue of a 6-1, 6-2 win over Deering’s Jazmine Abasta (who beat Massabesic’s Gemma Lundrigan in a walkover). Cheverus’ Katy Galligan, seeded eighth, eliminated Waynflete’s Phoebe Suva, 8-1, then downed Scarborough’s Megan Nathanson, 6-1, 6-1. Portland’s Annette Denekas, the No. 9 seed, handled Windham’s Jillian Levesque, 8-2, and Greely’s Anna Collins, 6-1, 6-0. Teammate Sophie Hulbert, the No. 11 seed, was an 8-1 winner over Cape Elizabeth’s Madeline Ciraldo, then advanced, 6-0, 6-0, over Kennebunk’s Ella Mallory. A third Bulldog, Margot Andreasen, the No. 12 seed, was an 8-2 winner over Windham’s Kate Kneeland, then defeated Biddeford’s Michelle Cote, 6-0, 6-1. Deering’s Maddie Abbott, who was unseeded, advanced with wins over Kennebunk’s Maddie Thompson, 8-4, and No. 15 Kayla Cote of Sanford, 6-2, 6-1. Cheverus’ Lan Zhou, ranked 16th, also advanced by virtue of wins over North Yarmouth Academy’s’s Marina Stam (8-6) and Kennebunk’s Serina Kuun (6-0, 6-1).

Falling short were Cheverus’ Jessica Soucy (an 8-2 winner over Courtney Duval of Biddeford before falling, 0-6, 0-6, to NYA’s Lena Rich), McAuley’s Siobhan Kenneally (who beat Waynflete’s Abby Cough in a walkover before losing, 1-6, 3-6, to Greely’s Alison Eaton), McAuley’s Mary Furlong (a 1-8 loser to NYA’s Rich) and Deering’s Ava Koeningsberg (by walkover to Scarborough’s Megan Nathanson).

On the boys’ side, Waynflete’s Patrick Ordway, the No. 2 seed, handled Scarborough’s Kane Corbeau, 8-0, and NYA’s Brad Potter, 6-0, 6-0, to advance. Waynflete’s Isaac Salas was an 8-0 winner over Sanford’s Jake Nieto and a 6-1, 6-2 winner over Falmouth’s Sam Holland. Waynflete’s Ben Shapiro downed Marshwood’s Darren LaPointe by default, then advanced with a 6-0, 6-0 victory over Freeport’s Nathan Small. Unranked James Butler of Deering beat Windham’s Jordan Crowley, 8-3, then upset No. 16 Kyle Legasse of Biddeford, 6-4, 6-4, to move on.

Falling short were Cheverus’ John Devine (who won his first match, then lost, 1-6, 0-6, to NYA’s Burke Paxton), Portland’s Matthew Livermore (a 1-8 loser to No. 3 Matthew Gilman of Cape Elizabeth), Portland’s Jonny Gatti (bested, 0-8, by Cape Elizabeth’s Peter Higgins, the No. 4 seed), Portland’s Curran Clere (a 6-8 loser to Gorham’s Milan Vidovic, the No. 13 seed), Deering’s Will Weeks (who lost, 6-8, to Yarmouth’s Sam Beaulieu), Cheverus’ George Budri (who fell, 2-8, to No. 14 Jeffrey Sirocki of Scarborough) and Cheverus’ Reed Fernandez (who was ousted, 1-8, by8 No. 15 Bryce Tetreault of NYA).

The state singles tournament begins with the first and second rounds Saturday at Lewiston High School. The round of 16 and semifinals are Monday at Bates College in Lewiston and the semifinals and and finals are May 29, also at Bates.

Waynflete’s Ordway will be the No. 3 seed on the boys’ side. Salas is ranked eighth.

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McAuley’s Ramsay is the No. 10 seed for the girls’ competition.

Team tourney

Portland’s girls’ team will likely be the No. 1 seed in Western A. The Bulldogs improved to 11-0 with 5-0 wins last week over Biddeford, South Portland and McAuley and closed Monday at home versus Deering. Cheverus (9-2 and fifth), McAuley (5-6 and seventh) and Deering (5-6 and 11th) are also playoff bound. Two-time defending Class C champion Waynflete came into its final match, versus powerhouse Falmouth, 7-4 and sixth in the Heals.

On the boys’ side, five-time Class C champion Waynflete was 9-2 and second to St. Dom’s in the Western C Heals heading into Monday’s finale against Falmouth. In Western A, Portland continues to dazzle, sitting fourth in the standings with a 9-2 record entering Monday’s finale versus Deering. Cheverus (6-5 and eighth) and Deering (6-5 and ninth) will also take part in the postseason.

The playoffs begin Tuesday of next week with the preliminary round. The quarterfinals are May 30 and semifinals June 1. Each of those rounds will feature the higher seeded team host. The regional finals are June 5, at Bates. The state championship matches are June 8, at the University of Maine in Orono.

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

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Portland’s (from right) Kayla Berg and Lily Bruenjes defeated Scarborough’s Maria Philbrick and Katie Wahrer to win the SMAA doubles tennis title Saturday.


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