The stakes keep getting higher on the tennis court and local players and teams are rising to the occasion.

The singles tournament was down to its final four at press time, with one local boy still in the running for glory.

The team tournament is about to commence as well and every city team earned a berth.

Here’s a glimpse:

Singles

Waynflete’s Patrick Ordway stood two victories from an individual state title at press time.

Ordway, the No. 3 seed, beat Deering’s Tyler Butler (a 6-0, 6-0 winner over Hall-Dale’s Derek Vigue in the first round), 6-0, 6-0, Saturday, then handled Mt. Desert Island’s Luke Horton, 6-1, 6-0, and No. 11 Burke Paxton of NYA, 6-3, 6-0, Monday. Ordway met No. 2 Brendan McCarthy of Falmouth Wednesday morning in the semifinals at Bates College in Lewiston. No. 1 Jordan Friedland of Lincoln Academy and fourth-ranked Matt Gilman of Cape Elizabeth met in the other semifinal. The final was Wednesday afternoon.

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Ordway’s teammate Ben Shapiro beat Caribou’s Ethan Plourde, 6-0, 6-1, then upset No. 12 seed Wei Yen Huang, 7-5-, 6-3. Shapiro was ousted Monday by fifth-ranked Sam Leeman of Morse, 1-6, 0-6. A third Flyer, No. 8 Isaac Salas, was a 6-0, 6-2 winner over York’s Jack Lawlor, then downed No. 9 Jai Aslam of Messalonskee, coming from behind, 3-6, 6-4, 6-1. Salas’ quest to make the final four was denied by Friedland, 2-6, 2-6.

On the girls’ side, Portland’s Sophie Hulbert was a 6-2, 6-1 winner over Presque Isle’s Sara Gilson, then blanked Jess Allen of Hermon, 6-0, 6-0, to make it to the third round. There, she was ousted by top-ranked, defending champion Maisie Silverman of Brunswick, 0-6, 0-6. Hulbert’s teammate, Margot Andreasen, advanced with wins over Charlotte Reiter of George Stevens Academy, 6-1, 6-1, and 11th-ranked Ashley Richards, of Caribou, 6-4, 4-6, 6-1. Monday, Andreasen lost, 2-6, 0-6, to No. 6 Libby Voccola of Falmouth. McAuley’s Devri Ramsey, the No. 10 seed, advanced with a 6-1, 6-1 win over Mt. Ararat’s Christine Levesque Saturday, then lost Monday to seventh-ranked Ashley Woodside of Hampden Academy, 2-6, 1-6.

Deering’s Maddie Abbott was a 6-2, 6-0 winner over Dirigo’s Ryanne Dailey, then lost, 2-6, 0-6, to No. 8 seed Shashanna Moll of Belfast. Cheverus’ Caty Galligan was a 6-1, 6-7 (7), 6-4 winner over Cape Elizabeth’s Allie Briggs, then was eliminated, 2-6, 4-6, by Camden Hills’ Abby Blakeley. Waynflete’s Emily White was a 7-5, 6-2 winner over Scarborough’s Ella Mahoney, then lost, 1-6, 3-6, to Voccola. Cheverus’ Lan Zhou ousted Belfast’s Julia Ward, 6-1, 6-1, then fell, 4-6, 2-6, to Ali Stankiewicz of Brunswick. Portland’s Annette Denekas beat Greely’s Alison Eaton, 6-0, 6-3, then lost, 4-6, 0-6, to Woodside.

Team tournament begins

Portland’s girls capped a 12-0 regular season with a 5-0 win over Deering last Monday. The Bulldogs earned the top seed for the Western A tournament and will host a quarterfinal Thursday against the winner of Tuesday’s preliminary round match between No. 8 McAuley (6-6), the reigning regional champion, and No. 9 Biddeford (7-5). The Lions and Tigers didn’t play this spring. Portland blanked both squads by 5-0 margins in the regular season.

Cheverus earned the No. 4 spot with a 10-2 mark and hosts No. 5 Gorham (9-3) in Thursday’s quarterfinals. The Stags and Rams didn’t play this season.

Deering was the 11th and final team in at 5-7. The Rams played at No. 6 Kennebunk (8-4) in a prelim Tuesday. The teams didn’t square off this spring. If Deering pulled the upset, it would go to No. 3 Windham (10-2) for the quarterfinals Thursday. The Rams lost the season opener at home to the Eagles April 22, 3-2.

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In Western C, two-time defending state champion Waynflete wound up sixth at 7-5 and visits 9-3 Dirigo, the No. 3 seed, in the quarterfinals Thursday. The teams don’t play in the regular season.

On the boys’ side, five-time defending Class C champion Waynflete finished 9-3 after a 3-2 regular season-ending loss to two-time defending Class B champ Falmouth. The Flyers are ranked fourth for the playoffs and welcome No. 5 Monmouth (9-3) in Thursday’s quarterfinals. The teams don’t play in the regular season.

In Western A, Portland impressed this spring with a 9-3 record, although the Bulldogs did lose their finale to rival Deering, 4-1. Portland earned the No. 4 seed in the region and will host No. 5 Thornton Academy (8-4) in Thursday’s quarterfinals. On May 8, the Bulldogs edged the visiting Golden Trojans, 3-2.

Deering moved up to sixth and wound up 7-5 with the win over Portland, avoiding a prelim in the process. The Rams go to No. 3 Kennebunk (10-2) Thursday for the quarterfinals. The Rams and Rams didn’t play this year.

Cheverus earned the No. 9 seed after a 6-6 regular season and had to play at No. 8 Scarborough (7-5) Tuesday in the preliminary round. The Stags lost, 3-2, at home to the Red Storm back on April 24. If victorious, Cheverus draws top-ranked Gorham (12-0), the reigning state champion, in Thursday’s quarterfinals.

Looking ahead, the semifinals are Saturday, hosted by the teams with higher seeds. The regional finals are Wednesday of next week at Bates College. The state matches are Saturday, 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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Waynflete’s Patrick Ordway made it to the “final four” of the boys’ state singles tournament.


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