Rain washes out Round of 40; Rams’ Brown has ‘tough draw’

LEWISTON – Mother Nature had an April flashback Saturday, with the resulting rain and temperatures in the mid-40s forcing postponement of the high school tennis singles Round of 40 playdown just after opening ceremonies for the event had concluded.

“A few of the matches barely got under way,” said tournament referee Roland Gilbert. “But about half the matches didn’t even get started.”

The playdown has been rescheduled for Tuesday at Lewiston High School and the Wallach Tennis Complex at Bates College. The original rain date was Monday, but that was moved back a day in large part to accommodate players who had traveled up to six hours for Saturday’s scheduled matches – particularly the nine players from Aroostook County schools still in the field.

Matches are slated to begin shortly after 8 a.m. Tuesday, with the final four survivors in the boys and girls divisions advancing to Thursday’s semifinals and finals at the Waynflete School in Portland.

After reaching the quarterfinals in each of his first two years as the No. 1 player for Bangor High School, Bryan Brown certainly hopes his singles season will continue beyond Tuesday’s playdown.

“After not getting to the final day my freshman and sophomore years, it’s a motivation for me,” said Brown, a junior who is the No. 4 seed in the boys field. “I’ve got a tough draw this year, but hopefully I’ll go out and play good tennis.”

Brown is scheduled to face the winner of the preliminary-round match between Mat Lavertu of Madawaska and Peter Stein of Camden Hills of Rockport in his first match Tuesday, and is seeded to face No. 5 Mike Burke of Lewiston in the quarterfinals.

“That would be a tough match for me,” he said.

The 5-foot-9, 140-pound Brown found instant success on the high school tennis scene, leading Bangor to an undefeated record and the state Class A team championship as a freshman.

A year ago, the Rams also raced through their Penobscot Valley Conference regular-season schedule unbeaten, and advanced to the Eastern Maine semifinals before being eliminated.

Bangor again is one of the top-ranked teams in the region this spring, battling Hampden Academy for PVC supremacy and looking forward to the team playoffs that begin next weekend.

“We’re looking pretty good,” Brown said. “Our doubles and singles are coming along great. I think we’re ready for the tournament.”

Brown is joined by junior Nate Cutshall and senior Cam Webb in the singles’ rotation for coach Cindy Howard’s Rams. Junior Justin Turcotte and senior Shawn Dennis play first doubles, while senior Brian Tomassetti and junior Jue Wang play second doubles.

As for Brown, one of three PVC players seeded in the boys state singles field – along with No. 2 Eliot Potvin of Hampden Academy and No. 8 Josh Warren of Hermon – his motivation for playing tennis is simple.

“Tennis is all about having fun,” said Brown, who also plays ultimate Frisbee competitively. “If you’re not having fun, there’s no reason to play.”

Brown began his tennis career playing primarily on the baseline, but has been broadening his game to incorporate serve-and-volley aspects with the help of his personal coach, Bob Christie of Lamoine.

“I’ve been working on my serve, and on playing a more attacking game,” Brown said.