LEWISTON, Maine — An exchange student from northern Spain will represent eastern and northern Maine in Monday’s state singles tennis championships at the Wallach Tennis Center on the campus of Bates College.
Joaquin Perez-Marsa, a junior at Medomak Valley of Waldoboro from the Spanish province of Cantabria, easily advanced through the round of 16 and quarterfinals Saturday to earn a semifinal berth against two-time defending state champion and top-seeded Mike Hill, a senior from Mount Ararat of Topsham.
Hill, who has not lost a set since losing to Hampden Academy’s Eliot Potvin in the 2006 state final, is seeking to become the first Maine schoolboy player to win three consecutive state titles since Eric Blakeman of North Yarmouth Academy won four in a row between 1987 and 1990.
“I’ve seen him play,” said Perez-Marsa. “He’s very good, but I will just go out and give it my best.”
Second-ranked Brandon Thompson of Waynflete of Portland, who outlasted Old Town’s Janis Schafer 6-4, 6-4 in a hard-fought quarterfinal, will face No. 6 Tom Dillman of Greely of Cumberland Center in the other semifinal.
Two-time state champion and top-seeded Christine Ordway of Waynflete will face No. 5 Annie Criscione, a freshman from Falmouth, in one girls semifinal, while No. 2 Kasia Jania, a freshman from Scarborough and the sister of 2005 and 2008 state champ Camille Jania, will play third-ranked Chantalle Lavertu of Lewiston.
The semifinals are scheduled for 9:30 a.m., followed by the state finals at noon.
Perez-Marsa, seeded fourth on the boys side, showed off his skills by defeating Nate Johnson of Windham 6-1, 6-0 in the round of 16 and fifth-seeded Devin Van Dyke of Waynflete of Portland 6-1, 6-2 in the quarters.
Perez-Marsa combined a powerful forehand, a two-handed backhand with heavy topspin and the willingness to attack the net in both matches, particularly against Van Dyke, a talented junior who reached the round of 16 a year ago.
“The first match I didn’t play well at all,” Perez-Marsa said. “I played better in the second match. I didn’t have as many unforced errors, I was keeping the ball more on the court.”
Schafer edged Bonny Eagle of Standish freshman Tyler Adams 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 in a round of 16 baseline battle. The senior German exchange student from Berlin struggled early with unforced errors but wore down Adams during a third set in which he never trailed.
“[Adams] didn’t have many winners, but he played many balls back,” said Schafer. “That made it tough because I had to go to the net and put more pressure on him.”
Schafer was much stronger in defeat, engaging in a high-quality battle of lefthanders against Thompson, a sophomore who reached last year’s semifinals.
Thompson’s experience in this championship setting may have been one difference, as Schafer led each set 4-3 before the Waynflete standout rallied to win the final three games of each set — finally ending the duel on his sixth match point of the final game of the second set.
“I think the experience helped,” said Thompson. “I was able to stay comfortable and to stay within my game, but he played unbelievably well.”
Thompson also exploited Schafer’s second serve with punishing forehand returns during a match that was moved to an indoor site in Falmouth midway through the first set due to rain.
“I played much better against him, I came up to his level and played almost as well as he did,” said Schafer. “It was a good match, but he was a little better on the big points and that made the difference.”
Five other Eastern Mainers fell in the round of 16: Jenna Selander of Caribou lost to No. 4 Kelsey Boyce of Morse of Bath 6-4, 6-3 and Emma Blakeley of Camden Hills of Rockport lost to Lavertu 6-0, 6-0 on the girls side, while Pat LaCivita of Belfast lost to Hill 6-1, 6-1, John Bapst of Bangor’s Bob Tom Flynn fell to No. 8 Mike Hickey of Yarmouth 6-4, 6-2 and Ian McDonnell of Bangor lost to Dillman 6-2, 6-0.
For McDonnell, the No. 2 singles player for Bangor’s unbeaten boys team, reaching the round of 16 represented both a strong individual showing and good preparation for the team playoffs that begin this week.
“Last year I lost in the first round, so this was a good result,” said McDonnell, a senior who plans to attend Colby College in Waterville this fall. “I played some of the best tennis I’ve ever played.”
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