By Kevin Sjoberg
Sports Reporter
CARIBOU – The Regional Singles Tennis Qualifier was finally held last Wednesday after rain had postponed the tournament on three occasions.
jMavor Photography photo
Caribou’s Jenna Selander hits a forehand during her match against Meagan Ouellette of Madawaska in last Wednesday’s regional singles tournament.
In the end, two Caribou players earned the right to move on to the state tourney, which is scheduled to get under way Friday at Bates College in Lewiston.
Jenna Selander, who was the top seed in the competition and had advanced to the quarterfinal round of the state tourney a year ago, defeated Meagan Ouellette of Madawaska in her only contested match of the day, 6-1, 6-0.
Laura Collins, who advanced to the Round of 16 last season, was the second seed in the regional and she also had to play just one match, defeating Divya Bisht of Presque Isle, 6-2, 6-2.
Carlee Pinette also competed for the girls, while Ezra Duplissie-Cyr, Phil Smith and Matt Coty were Viking players taking part in the boys’ event.
The regular season continued for the Viking teams, which were scheduled to play their final matches yesterday at Houlton.
The Caribou girls were in third place according to the most recent Eastern Maine Class B standings.
The Vikes, who dropped an early-season match at Mount Desert Island, are at 10-1 and behind only top-ranked Camden Hills (12-0) and MDI (11-0) in the rankings.
Caribou is coming off a 4-0 week, which included a 3-2 win over John Bapst, a 4-1 victory over Fort Kent and 5-0 triumphs over both Old Town and Mattanawcook.
On the boys’ side, Caribou is currently in sixth place with a 7-4 record.
Ellsworth leads the way in the division with an 11-0 record and second-place Camden Hills is also undefeated at 10-0.
The Vikings went 3-1 last week. Caribou was blanked by John Bapst in a home make-up match, 5-0, but edged both Old Town and Fort Kent by 3-2 scores and in its most recent match shut out Mattanawcook, 5-0.
The quarterfinal round of the team tournament is scheduled to begin Thursday, June 2.
The semifinals are set for Saturday, June 4, with the EM Class B finals to be played at Colby College in Waterville Wednesday, June 8.
The state championship will be held Saturday, June 11, also at Colby College.