PRESQUE ISLE, Maine — The regular season started well and ended with some struggles, but the Presque Isle boys’ tennis team is still heading to the playoffs.
The Wildcats went 7-5 on the regular season and will play a preliminary playoff match next Tuesday, May 29. PI is currently ranked ninth and cannot move up, so the team will be on the road for the post-season opener against a still to be determined opponent.
Presque Isle began the season with victories in six of its first seven matches, then lost one player for three matches due to a family trip and another was lost for the season to grades. The team lost four of its final five down the stretch.
Fifth-year coach Brian Massey has a top-notch No. 1 singles player in Andre Daigle. The junior has put together an excellent record and Massey calls him “a very well rounded and coachable kid.”
“He likes to mix up his shots and pick and choose the moment to move up and strike,” Massey said of Daigle, who will be competing in the state singles tournament this weekend in Portland.
Mason Young, another junior, plays second singles and Massey calls him a “workhorse” who has slowly built up his confidence throughout the season. The third singles player is senior Jordan Bonville, who plays a methodical style but is very reliable.
The doubles players are seniors Gage Young and Austin Moreau and freshman Elijah Russell. The team is short a player heading into the post-season matches so will be forfeiting one of its matches.
The team won two of its three matches last week and the results are as follows:
Fort Kent 4, Presque Isle 1 — Singles: Andre Daigle (PI) def. Niko Naranja 8-6, Jonathan Blanchette (FK) def. Mason Young 9-7, Reece Voisine (FK) def. Jordan Bonville 8-2; doubles: Caleb Delisle-Sam Johnson (FK) def. Gage Young-Austin Moreau 8-2, Raphael Babin-Cole Bennett (FK) won by forfeit.
Caribou 4, Presque Isle 1 — Singles: Parker Deprey beat Andre Daigle, 6-1 6-1; Alec Cyr lost to Mason Young, 0-6, 3-2 (match ended with Cyr forfeiting due to injury); and Gabe Rand beat Jordan Bonville, 6-0, 6-2. Doubles: Bailey Griffeth and Sawyer Deprey beat Gage Young and Austin Moreau, 6-1, 6-2; and Emerson Duplissie-Cyr and Sawyer Deprey won by forfeit.
Presque Isle 4, Fort Kent 1 — Singles: Andre Daigle (PI) def. Niko Naranja 8-5, Jonathan Blanchette (FK) def. Mason Young 8-4, Jordan Bonville (PI) def. Reece Voisine 8-4; Doubles: Isaac Madore-Gage Young (PI) def. Caleb Delisle-Sam Johnson 8-5, Austin Moreau-Elijah Russell (PI) def. Samuel Albert-Raphael Babin 9-8 (9-7 tie-breaker).
