Lavertu rallies by John Bapst’s Flynn Leighton, Ordway, Giguere, Von Vogt, Hill, Oliver, Hyland also in semis

LEWISTON – For Erin Flynn, it was a tough loss.

The John Bapst of Bangor junior had three match points for a straight-set victory in Saturday’s state singles quarterfinals, only to have Lewiston’s Chantalle Lavertu rally for a 2-6, 7-5, 6-4 victory at the Wallach Tennis Center on the campus of Bates College.

But while many in her tennis shoes might have been prone to vent utter disappointment in the aftermath of that 21/2-hour marathon, Flynn still could appreciate what she had accomplished.

“When [Lavertu] came back in the second set, I could have just totally broken down, but I just kept going because every step of the way you can make a difference,” said the seventh-seeded Flynn. “I just got tired, but I still kept on going and I still on every single point believed I could win and I could come back. I think I proved myself pretty well physically and mentally.”

Flynn controlled the match early with a blend of pace, spins and angles that frustrated the second-seeded Lavertu.

“The first set I just didn’t really know how to play against her because she’s just so consistent and hits everything back,” said Lavertu, who earlier in the day defeated Camden Hills’ Erika Blauth in a straight-set Round of 16 match.

The second set proved more competitive, but Flynn led 5-4, love-40 against Lavertu’s serve before the Lewiston sophomore won the next five points, the fifth on a drop volley, to keep the match alive.

Lavertu then broke Flynn to a take 6-5 lead before earning a rare hold of serve to clinch the second set.

“It was crazy. I was shaking the whole time,” said Lavertu.

Flynn took a 2-0 third-set lead, but Lavertu rallied and eventually won the ninth game on the third break point for a 5-4 lead before serving out the match with a love game.

“I think I learned something here today,” said Flynn, “that no matter what tennis always changes, and I could have been the one to win or she could have completely wiped me off the court. It could have gone either way.”

Lavertu will face another survivalist in Monday’s semifinals, No. 3 Hallsey Leighton of Cheverus of Portland, who rallied from a 5-7, 1-4, love-40 deficit to outlast Nicole Garland of Deering of Portland in three sets.

The other semifinal pits defending champion and top-seeded Christine Ordway of Waynflete of Portland against No. 4 Deahna Giguere of Messalonskee of Oakland.

The boys draw featured just one minor upset, as No. 5 Mike Von Vogt of Lincoln Academy of Newcastle scored a 6-3, 6-2 quarterfinal victory over No. 4 Chris Morrison of Falmouth.

Von Vogt worked the points effectively from the outset of the match, using a strong serve and baseline patience to work his way to the net.

“I thought it all started with the serve and return of serve,” said Von Vogt, a senior who will attend Earlham College in Indiana this fall. “I felt confident placing my serves, especially down the ‘T’, and that really pushed me to the finish line.”

Morrison had advanced with a 6-0, 7-5 Round of 16 victory over Bangor’s Adam Bernstein, rolling through the first set before Bernstein regrouped with a more patient approach.

“The first set I tried to go out there and bang away with him, but he’s the four seed and he definitely deserved that ranking because he could dictate play,” said Bernstein, a junior who has led the undefeated Rams to the No. 1 ranking in Eastern Maine Class A.

“The second set his backhand was a little weaker and he couldn’t really hit aggressive shots so I just got in long rallies and tried to keep the point neutral until I ended up winning.”

Bernstein bounced back from a 5-2 deficit to forge a 5-5 second-set tie before Morrison used a tactical change of his own to close out the match.

“Once we got to 5-all, he realized all I was going to do was rally with him on backhands,” Bernstein said, “so he played smart and got me to the net over and over again, and I couldn’t do anything there.”

Von Vogt will face No. 1 Mike Hill of Mount Ararat of Topsham in the semifinals, which also will feature No. 2 Neall Oliver of Deering of Portland against No. 3 Sam Hyland of Falmouth.

Oliver advanced with straight-set wins over Cooper Mor of George Stevens Academy of Blue Hill and Mike Sarrazin of Lewiston. Hyland topped Lewiston’s Mike Butler in the quarterfinals after a 6-0, 6-4 victory over Van Buren senior Riley Lizotte.

Lizotte, who reached the Round of 16 for the second straight year, had no answers for Hyland early but played a competitive second set in which the Falmouth star outscored the Van Buren lefthander just 33-25 in total points.

“He’s just an all-around player. He’s pretty good,” said Lizotte, a three-sport standout at Van Buren who has enrolled in Husson College’s pharmacy program. “I tried to do different things. I tried to serve and volley some but that didn’t work out too well. Then I tried to match his strokes and work into points and be a little bit more patient.

“I had some hope in the second set. The first set I didn’t know what to do, so I would have like to have played another set.”