The sport of tennis has been very good to Forecaster Country and that continued recently at both the singles and team levels.

The state singles championship concluded Monday with Waynflete’s Isaac Salas making a run to the title.

Salas, seeded second, defeated Waterville’s Ilyas Khan (6-0, 6-1) in the second round Friday, Mt. Ararat’s Peter Mao (6-0, 6-0) in the round of 16 and Thornton Academy’s Victor Menezes (6-2, 6-0) in the quarterfinals Saturday, then, in the semifinals Monday, Salas got past Lee Academy’s Luka Stevic (6-3, 6-3) to advance to the final, where he capped his title run with a dramatic 7-6 (5), 6-3 win over top-ranked Nick Mathieu of Mt. Ararat.

Deering’s Conor Doane, Portland’s Peter Barry and Waynflete’s Brandon Ameglio also took part, but didn’t get as far.

Doane was ousted by Thornton Academy’s Carlos Jiminez, 6-7 (1), 4-6 in the first round.

Barry defeated Mt. Blue’s Alex Bunnell (5-7, 6-1, 7-5) in the first round, then lost, 0-6, 0-6, to top-ranked Nick Mathieu of Mt. Ararat.

Ameglio downed Hall-Dale’s Andrew Peterson (6-3, 6-1) in the first round, then was eliminated by fifth-ranked Aidan McGrory of Falmouth, 6-1, 6-2.

On the girls’ side, Portland’s Margot Andreasen got as far as the quarterfinals before finally meeting her match. Andreasen, the No. 11 seed, defeated Waterville’s Emma Cristan (6-0, 6-1) in Friday’s second round, then upset No. 6 Sarah Gray of Morse, 6-1, 7-6 (2). Andreasen was ousted by No. 3 Rosemary Campanella of Wells in the quarterfinals, 2-6, 2-6.

Cheverus’ Natalia Mavor ousted Ivy Wallace of MDI (6-0, 6-3) in the first round, then defeated Maddi Roy of Lewiston (6-3, 6-2) to get to the round of 16, where she was eliminated by second-seeded Bethany Hammond of St. Dom’s, 2-6, 0-6.

Waynflete’s Lexi Epstein downed Lewiston’s Kyleigh Letourneau in the first round, 6-0, 6-1, then dropped a tough match to Scarborough’s Megan Nathanson, 6-3, 5-7 ,1-6,  in the second round.

Teaming up

The team tournament is underway and champions will be crowned in a little over a week.

Waynflete’s seven-time defending Class C boys state champion lost its first match of the season to defending Class B champion Cape Elizabeth, then won its final 11 to go 11-1 and earn the No. 2 seed. The Flyers host Madison in the quarterfinals.

In Western A, Deering had another strong campaign, winning 10 of 12 matches and earning the No. 2 seed behind Falmouth. The Rams welcome No. 7 Windham (7-5) in the quarterfinals. Deering won, 4-1, at the Eagles May 13.

Cheverus went 9-3, good for the No. 4 spot. The Stags host No. 5 Portland, which went 8-4 in the regular season, in the quarterfinals. Back on May 13, Cheverus won, 4-1, at the Bulldogs. The teams hadn’t met in the playoffs since a 4-1 Portland victory in the 1997 Western A quarterfinals.

On the girls’ side, Portland enjoyed another stellar season, winning its final 11 matches to go 11-1 and earn the No. 3 seed. The Bulldogs will host either sixth-ranked Gorham (9-3) or No. 11 South Portland (5-7) in the quarterfinals. Portland won, 3-2, at the Rams May 8 and blanked the visiting Red Riots, 5-0, 12 days later.

Cheverus went 8-4 to wind up seventh, while Deering (4-8) was 10th. The teams squared in the preliminary round Tuesday. The Stags won the regular season encounter, 5-0, at home May 20. The Rams won the only prior playoff meeting, 5-0, in the 2004 quarterfinals.

McAuley, after missing the playoffs last season for the first time this century, qualified as the ninth seed after a 6-6 regular season. The Lions went to No. 8 Marshwood (7-5) for the preliminary round. The Hawks won in the regular season, 3-2 at home back on April 28.

Four-time Class C champion Waynflete was the second-to-last team to qualify this year, going 5-7 and winding up seventh, but don’t be surprised if the Flyers make another title run. Waynflete visits No. 2 Winthrop (10-2) in the quarterfinals.

Schedule

The playoffs continue with the semifinals Saturday, on the courts of the higher seeds. The Western A and C Finals are Thursday, June 11 at Bates College in Lewiston. The state championship matches are Saturday, June 13, at Bates.

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

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Waynflete’s Isaac Salas (joined by coach Jeff Madore) shows off the trophy after winning the boys’ singles championship Monday afternoon.