OLD TOWN – Two teams looking to get on a roll may have taken a small revolution toward that goal as traditional rivals Orono and Old Town clashed on the courts on a warm and sun-splashed Friday afternoon.

The Old Town boys and Orono girls came away with wins, but had to work hard for them as each team pulled out a 3-2 squeaker.

Both matches were won in the singles competition as both the Red Riot girls and Indians boys took two of the three matches.

In the girls match at Old Town High School, the Red Riots used a slight advantage in experience to edge the youthful Indians.

While neither team is blessed with loads of veteran talent, the Riots’ wins came in the few matches where they could send up returning starters or seniors: senior Mai Techaphan with an 8-2 win in the second singles, junior and returning starter Jen Brooks with an 8-0 win in third singles, and the No. 1 doubles team of Julia Vollmers (senior) and Heidi Crosby (junior veteran) with an 8-5 win.

“This was an important match for us,” said Orono coach Dean Armstrong. “We struggled, still got the win, and now we’re 4-2.”

The abundance of youth and inexperience on the courts made both Armstrong and Old Town coach Julie Hammer thankful for a long-requested rule change which went into effect this season.

The change allows coaches to instruct and counsel their players during changeovers. Before this season, coaches couldn’t talk to players once matches started.

“That’s been one of my primary gripes for a long time. I think it’s wonderful,” said Armstrong. “Finally we’re able to talk to our kids.

“As it is, we were asking these kids to be scorekeepers and officials, they don’t need to be their own coaches, too. How many times do they call timeouts in baseball or basketball games?”

The rule change is used only if both coaches agree to it.

“I think it’s a definite plus, especially for teams like ours that have a lot of freshman or first-year players,” said Hammer. “I use it a lot for instruction, like if they’re standing in no-man’s land, or playing flat-footed, just little things.”

Sarah Horne appeared to benefit as she helped Old Town end the match on a positive note with an 8-4 win over Jen Cheng.

In the boys match at Herbert Sargent School, coach Marty Clark’s Indians improved to 2-3 with their second win in the team’s last three matches.

“We had a tough early schedule with Bangor and Hampden our first two matches and those should be our toughest opponents this year, so now I’m hoping we can go on a little roll,” Clark said.

Top singles player Jon Maurais led the Indians by knocking off Orono’s Ben Enos 8-3 in the deciding match. Junior and No. 3 singles player David May wound up a great week with his fourth straight victory, 8-1 over Brad Munson.

May’s winning formula – a patient baseline game designed to wear Munson down – was about 180 degrees away from his approach last season.

“Last year I tried to overhit a lot and it would always go long. I always got frustrated with myself – even this summer,” said the former No. 2 doubles team member. “I’d throw my racket and get down on myself.

“Last year before a playoff, I broke a racket and I had to go out and buy another one. That’s when I decided `No more breaking rackets’ because it’s too expensive.”

Old Town’s other win came from its top doubles team of Adam Boynton and Jason Landry.

The Indians’ junior duo was taken to the limit by Orono’s freshman team of Jared Wade and Andrew Wilcox before finally pulling out a 9-8 victory, thanks to a 7-5 win in the tiebreaker.