While the tennis team tournament won’t begin for a couple weeks, local singles standouts began competing for top honors Saturday.

In girls’ action, in the first round, Deering’s Molly Gallagher, seeded 11th, defeated Biddeford’s Emily Doyon, 8-1, No. 12 Sophie Hulbert of Portland was an 8-2 winner over Biddeford’s Alyson Roy, McAuley’s Ally Strewn, the No. 13 seed, beat North Yarmouth Academy’s Jessica Powers, 8-6, No. 14 Emily White of Waynflete defeated York’s Olivia Cavalieri, 8-3, Portland’s Margot Andreasen, ranked 15th, blanked Massabesic’s Gemma Lundrigan, 8-0, No. 17 Caty Galligan of Cheverus was an 8-0 winner over Thornton Academy’s Kayleigh DeFrancesco. Deering’s Jasmine Abasta beat Windham’s Sarah LeRoyer, 8-4, Waynflete’s Emily Trafton was an 8-2 winner over Biddeford’s Curtney Duval.

Portland’s Nyador Nguany lost in a walkover to Kennebunk’s Ella Mallory. Deering’s Courtney McGorrill was defeated by No. 16 Lindsey Robinson of Yarmouth, 1-8. Waynflete’s Phoebe Suva was eliminated by South Portland’s Brianna Woodward, 4-8.

In the qualifying round, McAuley’s Addie Devine, the No. 4 seed, was a 6-1, 6-2 winner over Windham’s Julia Richardson. McAuley’s Devri Ramsey, ranked fifth, ended Trafton’s stay with a 6-0, 6-0 victory. No. 7 Maria Cianchette of Cheverus beat NYA’s Alexandra Morrison, 6-0, 6-4. Ninth-ranked Abby Harrison of Cheverus survived Cape Elizabeth’s Allie Briggs, 4-6, 6-1, 6-4.

Gallagher advanced with a 6-2, 7-5 win over Rachel Eaton of Gorham. Hulbert ousted Greely’s Anna Collins, 6-4, 6-1. Strewn outlasted Sierra Kuun, 6-7 (6), 6-3, 6-1. White beat Ella Mallory of Kennebunk, 6-0, 6-0. Andreasen was a 6-4, 7-6 (3) winner over Greely’s Alison Eaton. Galligan ousted Scarborough’s Rachael Webber, 6-3, 6-1.

Deering’s Abasta was eliminated by No. 3 seed Olivia Leavitt of Falmouth, 0-6, 0-6.

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On the boys’ side, all three Waynflete singles players moved on. Top seed Patrick Ordway eliminated Cheverus’ John Devine (who had ousted Biddeford’s Dakota Nightingale, 8-0, in the first round) by a 6-0, 6-0 margin in the qualifying round. Ben Shapiro, ranked 11th, beat Ryan Johnson of Windham, 8-5, and Biddeford’s Tyler Vigue, 6-4, 6-3. Isaac Salas blanked Braden Becker of Yarmouth, 8-0, then shut out Cheverus’ Ryan Hoffman (who advanced with an 8-4 victory over Thornton Academy’s Bohao Lu), by scores of 6-0, 6-0.

Deering’s Jesse Butler, seeded eighth, also advanced, beating Milan Vidovic of Gorham, 8-0, and Lake Region’s Wesley Sulloway, 6-0, 6-0.

Deering’s Noah Finberg won his first round match, 8-1 over Liam Dougherty of Greely, then dropped a qualifying round match to Cape Elizabeth’s Satchel McCarthy, 6-4, 4-6, 0-4 (retired). Curran Ciere of Portland was an 8-3 winner over Massabesic’s Matthew Bullard in the first round, then lost, 0-6. 1-6 to No. 9 Charlie Merry of Kennebunk.

Portland’s Isaac Jaegerman was ousted in the first round, 0-8, by fourth-ranked Tyler Adams of Bonny Eagle. Deering’s Dejan Varagic (0-8 to Merry) and Jonny Gatti of Portland (3-8 to No. 13 Andrew Lamonica of York) were also eliminated in the first round.

The qualifiers advance to the singles championships, May 25-28, at Colby College in Waterville.

Teams hit stretch run

Local teams are finishing up their regular seasons.

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The girls had a showdown last week when McAuley hosted Cheverus in a battle of unbeatens. The Lions prevailed, 4-1, then improved to 7-0 with a 5-0 victory over Deering Friday. McAuley (first in the Western Class A Heal Points standings) has a key test at home with Scarborough Wednesday and visits dangerous Portland Friday. The Stags and Bulldogs entered the week 7-1 and tied for second in Western A. Deering dropped to 0-8 and 15th after the loss to McAuley.

In Western C, defending state champion Waynflete was 4-4 and fifth in the Heals entering the week. The Flyers hosted rival NYA Monday and close the regular season next Monday at four-time defending Class B state champion Falmouth.

On the boys’ side, Deering is in firm control of the top spot in Western A with an 8-0 mark after recent wins at Cheverus (5-0) and Scarborough (3-2). Portland (5-3 and fifth) closes the regular season at home versus Deering Monday. Cheverus was 5-3 and seventh in Western A at the start of the week. The Stags close at home versus once-beaten Windham Monday.

In Western C, defending champion Waynflete improved to 6-2 (fifth in the standings) after recent wins over Yarmouth (5-0) and NYA (4-1). The Flyers visit Cape Elizabeth Monday.

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

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Waynflete’s Isaac Salas returns a shot during the Flyers’ win over NYA last week. Salas, along with teammates Patrick Ordway and Ben Shapiro, all advanced in last weekend’s state singles tournament.


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