HA’s Potvin, Rams’ Brown in state semis Top EM seeds play Thursday for titles in singles tourney

PORTLAND – Eastern Maine’s top two players will square off against the top two seeds from perennial tennis power Cape Elizabeth when the state schoolboy singles championships are held Thursday at the Waynflete School in Portland.

No. 2 seed Eliot Potvin of Hampden Academy and No. 4 Bryan Brown of Bangor qualified for the final day of singles play with three victories each during the Round of 40 playdown held Tuesday at the Racket & Fitness Center.

Potvin will face No. 3 Sam Maurey in the semifinals, while Brown will play top-ranked Garret Currier.

Potvin, a freshman, didn’t lose a game in defeating Newt Rogers of Fort Kent and Jonny Asen of Waynflete, but was tested by Peruvian exchange student Gabe Bedoya from Dirigo High in Dixfield in the quarterfinals before emerging with a 6-3, 6-3 victory.

“It felt like I was playing myself, he played so much like me,” said Potvin of Bedoya, the No. 7 seed. “He was quick, with a big forehand, and he moved well and was good at the net.”

But Potvin was better, thanks in part to a serve that enabled him to win many points without having to endure extended baseline rallies.

“I had some big serves in the second set when I got in trouble in a couple of games that helped me come back,” he said. “I knew he was going to be tough.”

Brown earned his berth in the semifinals with a 6-1 6-4 quarterfinal survival of No. 5 Mike Burke of Lewiston.

The Bangor junior actually won nine of the first 10 games in the match before starting to tire, enabling the baselining Burke – who had won his previous match by walkover – to win four straight games for a 4-3 lead in the second set.

But Brown responded by attacking the net, first holding serve and then breaking Burke to regain a 5-4 lead. Burke then fought off two match points on Brown’s serve, but a service winner on the third match point gave Brown the victory.

“Mike really took control of the four games he won, and to get control back I had to be even more aggressive and get to the net even more,” Brown said.

“He’s quite a rallier from the baseline, and if I could just approach and get some good volleys I could usually win the point.”

Brown had defeated Peter Stein of Camden Hills of Rockport 6-1, 6-1 and Matt Dubois of Westbrook 6-0, 6-0 to reach the quarterfinals. Burke had to play just one earlier match, a 6-0, 6-0 victory over James Little of Mount Desert Island. Burke won by default in the Round of 16 over Jesse Keith of Hermon, who had to leave for a work commitment after defeating Greg Whitaker of Presque Isle 6-3, 6-4 in a first-round match.

That left Burke seemingly the fresher of the two late in the second set, and left Brown with a sense of urgency to win the set and not allow the match to be extended.

“It was very important to win in straight sets,” Brown said. “I was feeling pretty tired and I knew I just had to win three games in a row after I got behind, so I worked really hard not to get to a third set.”

Maurey earned his semifinal bid by outlasting No. 6 Adam Wilding of Lewiston 5-7, 7-5, 6-3 in the day’s only three-set match on the boys side, while Currier advanced with a 6-3, 6-0 quarterfinal defeat of unseeded Owen Gilmore of George Stevens Academy of Blue Hill. Gilmore had chances to gain momentum early in the match, but Currier gained control late in the first set and cruised in the second set past an opponent he had defeated 6-0, 6-0 in last year’s Round of 32.

Still, it was a pretty good day for Gilmore, who earned his quarterfinal match with Currier with a 6-2, 6-2 win over Jim Gensheimer of Yarmouth and a 6-3, 6-3 victory over Danny Epstein of Falmouth.

Epstein, who upset No. 8 Josh Warren of Hermon 6-1, 6-3 in his opening-round match, jumped out to a 3-0 lead against Gilmore, but the GSA senior won the next six games to win the first set and then used superior ground strokes to complete the win.

“When I started the match I felt a little intimidated, but then once I got a run going I felt a lot more confident,” said Gilmore.

Epstein suffered a left-leg injury while trying to chase down a Gilmore drop shot midway through the first set, but after an injury timeout between sets he rallied early in the second set only to fall victim to Gilmore’s strong play from both the baseline and the net.

“During the regular season I hadn’t been playing that great, but during the first round of the playoffs at Colby [College in Waterville] I was probably hitting the ball the best I have all year, maybe my whole life,” said Gilmore. “I think it carried over to today. I’m probably playing the best I’ve ever played, and it feels good.”