Staff Writer
PRESQUE ISLE – Eight area high school tennis players will represent Region 1 at the Class B Maine singles tournament on the weekend of May 30-31 at Lewiston High School and Bates College. Presque Isle’s Sarah Porter, Alex Carter and Caleb Mathers and Caribou’s Franz Zehentner, Jenna Selander, Octavia Panzeri, Shane Belanger and Casey Lancaster all move on to the state competition after winning their bracket at the Eastern Maine Region 1 Class B tennis singles tournament on Saturday.
Staff photo/Meridith PatersonOctavia Panzeri returns a serve during the tennis singles state qualification on Saturday.
Porter took her final round 6-2 and 6-0 over Viking Laura Collins. Selander defeated Wildcat Madelyn Carson 8-0 in the semifinals to face Jessica Caron in the final match; both matches went to Selander 6-3 and 6-3. Panzeri qualified for the state competition defeating Meghan Murphy 6-2 and 6-4.
Zehentner volleyed for an easy 6-0,6-0 victory in his final round against Nathan Beaulieu. Carter moved through 6-0, 6-1 over Fort Kent’s Adam Bouchard. Mathers pulled off a 6-3, 7-6 victory for the winning slot.
Lancaster defeated David Levasseur 6-0 and 6-2 to move on to states. Belanger defeated Presque Isle’s Ben Picard 6-0 and 6-1 for the final position.
Madawaska takes second fall under Viking tennis skills
Caribou tennis held their own at the Viking courts last Thursday as they faced Madawaska. The Caribou boys won all five matches, and the girls posted their fifth win with a score of 3-2.
Viking singles players Franz Zehentner, Shane Belanger and Casey Lancaster gave no leeway to their opponents to sweep every game 8-0. In doubles, Taylor Jepson and Spencer McElwain took their match 8-2, and Keegan Wakana and Tim Langlais swept their opponents 8-0.
In girls’ singles, Jenna Selander and Laura Collins took their matches 8-2 and 9-7, respectively. Octavia Panzeri put in a hard fight, but fell in her match 8-6. Doubles duo Missy Nadeau and Elizabeth Barbosa posted their win 8-6 while Nicole Nadeau and Megan Nadeau fell 8-4.
Rivals face off
The Wildcats and Vikings faced off at the Presque Isle courts for a Class B tennis rematch on May 13. The Caribou boys continued on the undefeated path with a 7-0 record winning their match 5-0 while the girls capitulated to Presque Isle 4-1.
In boys’ singles, Zehentner defeated Alex Carter 8-3, Belanger defeated Ben Picard 8-0 and Lancaster defeated Sam Picard 8-2. The doubles team of Jepson and McElwain volleyed past Chris Cawley and Caleb Mathers 8-4 while teammates Wakana and Langlais defeated Bryce Fagin and Michael Picard 8-6.
On the girls’ courts, Viking Selander hit for the win over Amy Michaud 8-4. Panzeri fell to Sarah Porter 9-7, and Collins to Allison Dean 8-2. In doubles, N. Nadeau and Megan Nadeau lost to Brittany Bearden and Alyssa Farley 9-7, and Missy Nadeau and Barbosa to Jen Steeves and Madelyn Carson 8-5.
Staff photo/Meridith Paterson
Franz Zehentner puts the ball back across the net in his first singles match on Saturday.
