Potvin, Brown hope to meet today Both players advance to semifinal round in state singles

PORTLAND – They had barely left the tennis court after battling for last year’s state schoolboy singles title, and already anticipation was building for a similar championship showdown in 2005.

Now Bangor senior Bryan Brown and Hampden Academy sophomore Eliot Potvin are just one win away from that rematch. Brown, the defending state champion, and Potvin, this year’s top seed, each advanced to the semifinals in convincing fashion Saturday, dominating their opponents during Round of 40 matches at the Racquet & Fitness Center in Portland.

Brown, the No. 2 seed, didn’t lose a game while defeating Levi Lucy of Fryeburg Academy and Peter Stein of Camden Hills of Rockport. He then gained a quarterfinal walkover victory when No. 7 Jonny Asen of Waynflete of Portland had to default due to a knee injury he aggravated during a 6-3, 6-3 Round of 16 win over Caribou’s Ben Wakana.

“I played pretty well, and got through,” said Brown. “I didn’t get down on myself a lot, so it was good. I got to practice my shots, and it’s good competition down here so that’s always good.”

Potvin shook off a cold to earn three straight-set victories while yielding just four games. He topped Newt Rogers of Fort Kent 6-0, 6-0, Greg Goldstein of Cape Elizabeth 6-2, 6-1 and No. 8 Joey Michalakes of Camden Hills 6-1, 6-0.

“I’ve had the cold for a week and it’s getting on my nerves,” said Potvin. “But I thought I played through it pretty well, it didn’t affect me much. I felt like I was moving pretty well, hitting my forehand and serving well, so overall it was a good day.”

Despite the final score, Potvin’s most competitive match came against Michalakes, who reached the quarterfinals with a 7-6 (7-4), 7-6 (8-6) survival of Sam Hyland of Falmouth in a Round of 16 match that lasted two hours.

“It took me a while to adjust to Sam’s pace because he hits a really flat ball, but once I did I was able to have some success,” said Michalakes.

Michalakes won his first game against Potvin, but while he extended the Hampden standout on several other occasions, the Camden Hills junior couldn’t break through again.

“That match was a lot closer than 6-1, 6-0,” Potvin said. “We had a lot of deuce games, a lot of game points. I think I just played the big points a little better.”

Today’s semifinals, slated to be held outdoors at Bates College in Lewiston at 11 a.m. weather permitting, will have Potvin facing No. 5 Parker Swenson of North Yarmouth Academy and Brown squaring off against No. 3 Garret Currier of Cape Elizabeth in a rematch of a 2004 semifinal that Brown won en route to a three-set victory over Potvin in the final.

“I’m really excited about Monday, I’ll have to play well,” Brown said. “[Currier’s] gotten better, it looks like he’s hitting the ball hard.”

Swenson scored the only upset among the eight seeded players with a 6-3, 6-4 quarterfinal victory over No. 4 Adam Wilding of Lewiston. Currier topped No. 6 Neall Oliver of Deering of Portland 6-0, 6-0 in his quarterfinal.

The girls’ semifinals will be an all-southern Maine affair, with top-seeded freshman Camille Jania of Scarborough facing No. 4 Ginny Petrovek of Yarmouth and No. 2 Kristen Meahl of Falmouth matched up against No. 6 Lauren Coupal of York.

Jania, the prohibitive favorite on the girls side, lost one game in three matches to reach the final four, while Petrovek advanced with a 6-1, 6-2 quarterfinal win over Camden Hills freshman Erika Blauth.

The unseeded Blauth had one of the busiest days of anyone on the girls side, outlasting Amanda Slack of Cape Elizabeth 6-3, 3-6 (10-6) and earning a 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 upset of No. 5 Marcia Gilbride of Mount Ararat of Topsham before falling to Petrovek.

“Coming in as a freshman, I’ve never been in any kind of big tournament like this before, so I was really pleased with how I did,” said Blauth. “It was just a lot of fun. My forehand was working well, I was able to move the opponent around. My serve was a little iffy, but it worked most of the time.”

Meahl advanced with a 6-3, 6-4 quarterfinal win over No. 7 Messalonskee of Oakland’s Deahna Giguere, while Coupal earned her semifinal bid with a 6-2, 6-0 victory over unseeded Jenn Charette of Mount Ararat. Charette reached the quarterfinals with a 2-6, 7-6 (7-4), 6-1 upset of No. 3 Emily Christie of Mount Desert Island.

Christie earlier had played in one of the more dramatic first round matches of the day, winning a decisive 15-13 tiebreaker over Liza Comeau of Penquis of Milo after the two had split two sets.

The boys’ and girls’ finals will be played about an hour after the completion of the semifinals.