May 17—LEWISTON — Sofia Mavor and George Cutone took care of business on the first day of the MPA singles tennis state tournament Friday at Bates College.
The two top seeds each won 6-0, 6-0 in the second-round — their only matches of the day after receiving first-round-byes.
Mavor of Yarmouth, the girls No. 1 seed, defeated Hattie Moss of Camden Hills, while boys No. 1 Cutone of Kennebunk defeated Paul Seah of York.
"He's a good player. He definitely hits the ball hard, hits his spots on the court," Cutone said of Seah. "Overall, staying consistent and not trying to overhit, and, yeah, kind of playing smart out there."
Cutone will face Xavier Deschaine of Van Buren in the Round of 16 on Saturday at Bates.
Mavor, meanwhile, said the key to her victory was keeping her game simple.
"I stayed focused, and getting my shots in and try to keep it deep in the court and not do anything too crazy," Mavor said.
In the Round of 16, she will face Alyssa Conley of Windham.
Mavor, a senior who has committed to play at the Air Force Academy, returned to high school tennis this season after playing in a United States Tennis Association event the previous two seasons. She won the MPA state singles championship her freshman season.
Mavor said she was anxious about being the No. 1 seed in the state singles tournament after a few years away.
"There was a little bit of natural nerves playing the matches, but I would say it's more excitement being a part of an event like this," Mavor said. "Being in Maine for my last year is super exciting because, during freshman year, I was kind of fresh into it. Being my last year, it's bittersweet as well, but there's excitement just to compete and play."
There weren't many second-round upsets as the high seeds held serve.
The lone upset on the boys side was Vivaan Chriwalla defeating No. 12 Issac Swain of Medomak Valley 6-3, 6-2.
There was a big upset on the girls side when Molly Tefft of Brunswick defeated No. 3 Haylie Peaco*ck of Gardiner. Tefft won 6-1, 1-6, 10-6.
"It feels good, I am kind of in shock," Tefft said.
The first set took a lot out of her.
"I think I felt really tired in the second set," Tefft said. "I know we had to reset and act like it's a new game."
Tefft will take on unseeded Lucy Hart of Waynflete in the Round of 16.
Boys No. 3 Alberto Cutone of Kennebunk hopes to see his brother — George, the No. 1 seed — later in the tournament after defeating Dominic Clifford of Skowhegan 6-0, 6-0.
"I am looking forward to winning another match," Alberto Cutone said. "I will see what I can do. Hopefully, I can meet my brother in the final."
No. 2 Matthew Morneault of Falmouth defeated Abe Bouchard of Caribou 6-1, 6-1, and will face Ethan Stockwell of Scarborough.
No.7 Charles Segal will face off No. 10 Jeff Adey in the round of 16
No. 11 Gabe Berman of Cape Elizabeth took out Will Guerin of Portland in the second round 6-1, 6-0. Berman will face sixth-seeded Terry Ma of Thornton Academy in the Round of 16 on Saturday.
"Terry is good at everything," Berman said. "I don't want to take him to the net because he's very good at the net. I am a baseline player. I will probably keep the ball deep and try to get most of my serves in."
No. 4 Sofia Kirtchev took out Megan Jordan of Ellsworth 6-0, 6-0. Kirtchev is playing in her second singles tournament. She said Jordan gave Kirtchev some trouble in the middle of the first set.
"When she was leading me 40-0, I had to work really hard to slowly work my way back up and beat her in the (advantages)," Kirtchev said.
Kirtchev will take on unseeded Eliza Naftoly of Berwick Academy in the Round of 16.
Sixth-seeded Becca Naftoly of Berwick Academy will face Claire Dwyer of Maranacook on Saturday morning.
Coco Meserve of Brunswick, the No. 2 seed and reigning state champion, defeated Sadie May of Old Town 6-0, 6-0. Meserve will take on Adea Cobajof Yarmouth next.
No. 10 Laura Chapman defeated Tessa Castrucci 6-0, 6-0 and will face Thornton's Vittoria De Lisio, the No. 7 seed. De Lisio defeated Emma Vardaros of Nokomis 6-4, 7-5.
A handful of Sun Journal-area players made it through the first round and competed in the second round.
Calvin Vincent of Edward Little defeated Kaiden Plourde of Old Town 6-4, 7-5, but later lost a two-and-half-hour match to Sam Hebert of Caribou. Hebert won 7-5, 2-6, 11-9.
"I really needed that first set," Hebert said.
Hebert added that it was important to stay consistent and let Vincent make the mistakes. Hebert faces Alberto Cutune in the round of 16.
Austin Vincent of Lewiston defeated Kameron Plourde of Old Town 1-6, 6-4, 1-0 (8) in the opening round before falling to ninth-seeded Drake Turcotte of Skowhegan in the second round 6-1, 6-0
"I was moving him around, playing my shots, coming to the net to close the point out when I had to, and putting pressure on him to hit a better ball than I hit," Turcotte said of Vincent.
Turcotte will face No. 9 Andi Cobaj of Yarmouth in the Round of the 16.
After defeating Annabelle Holman of Foxcroft 3-6, 7-5, 1-0, Mt. Blue's Gracie Ross was bounced by No. 12 Zoe Castrucci of Hampden Academy 6-1, 6-0.
Castrucci said she kept Ross running.
"I think moving the ball around, throwing in some lobs, keeping her on her toes," Castrucci said.
"She did a good job of getting a lot of balls back to me," Castrucci said.
Castrucci will face No. 5 Ava Vardaros of MCI on Saturday morning.
Spruce Mountain's Aubrey Kachnovich defeated Arianna Crosby of Piscataquis 6-3, 6-2 in the first round. Kachnovich then gave Lucy Hart a match in the second round before Hart prevailed 6-1, 6-4.
Other area players competing Friday included a pair of Spruce Mountain boys. Jaziah Lavoie lost to Nick Agrawal of Orono 6-4 in straight sets, and Ian York lost his first-round match to Medomak Valley's Kory Donlin 6-3 in straight sets.
Sam Hebert of Caribou defeated James Stinson of Mt. Blue 5-7, 6-0, 10-5. Lewiston's Caleb Paris fell to Ethan Stockwell of Scarborough 6-1, 6-1.
On the girls side, Charlotte Williamson of Falmouth defeated Lewiston's Claudia Cucubica 6-0, 6-1. Molly Tefft of Brunswick defeated Honora White 6-1, 6-1. And Sadie May of Old Town defeated Ella Young of Mountain Valley 7-6 (7-2), 7-5.
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Central Maine tennis players embrace the return of state doubles tournament
Watch: Sofia Mavor gives up a game but moves on to state singles semifinals
