Bryan Brown’s arrival on the high school tennis scene came three years ago when, as a freshman, he upended 2002 state singles champion Pat Conway to lead Bangor High past Deering of Portland to win its first state Class A team title.

Brown is now a senior, with a 2004 state singles title of his own in addition to his earlier team hardware. And the Rams are 12-0 and top-seeded in Eastern Maine Class A and will host No. 9 Morse of Bath (5-6) as the regional quarterfinals in all division continue.

Brown anchors a Bangor singles tandem that also includes Nate Cutshall, a state singles Round of 40 qualifier, and Eric Pelletier. Justin Turcotte and Drew MacDermott play first doubles, with freshmen Adam Bernstein and Ricky Segal at second doubles.

“The team is very compatible with each other,” said Bangor coach Cindy Howard. “They’ve all been helping each other out. They’re all close, and I think that has a lot to do with the team doing as well as they are.”

Bangor reached the regional final last year before bowing to Lewiston, the two-time defending Class A state champion. The Blue Devils are right back in the thick of the hunt, undefeated at 10-0 and ranked second in Eastern A.

“I was kind of surprised we finished ahead of them because we play B teams and they play all Class A teams,” said Brown.

Bangor and Lewiston aren’t the only undefeated team in Eastern Maine beginning a quest for tennis gold today.

Defending Class A girls state champion Mount Ararat of Topsham is 11-0 and top-seeded.

In Class B, the Caribou girls and Camden Hills boys, both 12-0, hope to defend their 2004 EM titles, while the Camden Hills girls (12-0) seek to return to championship form after winning the 2003 state title.

The Camden Hills boys, in search of their third straight EM crown, feature a strong singles contingent in Joey Michalakes, Peter Stein and Quinn Bardon. All made the singles Round of 40, with Michalakes advancing to the quarterfinals.

“What’s great is we’re able to give each other people to hit with during practice,” Michalakes said. “We’re always pushing each other in challenge matches. I have to always be watching my back, because if I’m not on top of my game Peter’s going to take my spot. He knows the same thing when he’s No. 1.”

Camden Hills is after its third straight EM crown, having lost to three-time state champion Cape Elizabeth in the state final the last two years

“Heading into the tournament, we like our chances,” said Windjammers’ coach Chris Walker-Spencer, “But there are some tough teams out there. MDI will be tough and Caribou will be tough.”

The Caribou girls are rich in tennis tradition, with Eastern Maine titles in 1999 and 2000 in Class A before last year’s run in Class B. In addition, the Vikings won four straight state crowns from 1992 to 1995.

“It’s a drawing point,” said Habeeb. “If you’re a parent in Caribou and have a girl, you want to give her some tennis lessons because you’re pretty sure she’s going to be part of a good team in the future. We’ve always benefited from that.”

Caribou has its top two singles players back from last year’s team, Jessica Belanger and Michelle Ouellette, both of whom reached the Round of 40 last week. Sophomore Casey Corriveau has stepped in at third singles to provide quality depth.

Caribou defeated Camden Hills in last year’s EM final, and the Windjammers are back in contention. Reigning state singles champion Laura Stein has graduated, but freshman Erika Blauth has stepped in to lead the Windjammers, battling her way to the quarterfinals of the singles tournament

Habeeb also expects Mount Desert Island (11-1) and Ellsworth (9-3) to mount formidable challenges.

In Class C, the Washington Academy of East Machias girls, led by Maria Musarskaya and Maya Vyssokikh, finished 8-0 to edge 10-2 Stearns of Millinocket for the top seed. Penquis of Milo (9-3) is third, with 9-4 Orono fourth and already through to the semifinals after a 4-1 quarterfinal win over No. 5 Dexter on Wednesday.

The WA boys also went 8-0, but had to settle for a sixth-place ranking and a preliminary-round match against No. 11 Calais, which the Raiders won 4-1 on Wednesday behind top singles players Bill Bellows and David Ross.

The defending state champion George Stevens of Blue Hill boys team is in search of its fourth consecutive Eastern C title. The Eagles (10-2) are seeded second, just behind top-ranked Madawaska (10-2) and just ahead of No. 3 Orono (11-1).