By Kevin Sjoberg
Sports Reporter
CARIBOU — The Viking tennis teams will be home for the quarterfinal round of the Eastern Maine Class B playoffs.
The Caribou boys, thanks to an 11-1 regular season record, are ranked second behind only Mount Desert Island. Caribou, which did not qualify for the post-season last year, on Thursday will host the winner of the preliminary round match between No. 7 Oceanside (9-3) and No. 10 Foxcroft Academy (10-2), which was held Tuesday. The Vikings did not face either team during the regular season.
Thursday’s winner will play in the semifinal round of the tournament Saturday. The finals are set for next Wednesday, June 5 at the University of Maine at Orono.
The Caribou girls earned the fourth seed with their 9-3 mark and will play No. 5 Presque Isle (8-4) in Thursday’s quarterfinal. The teams split during the regular season, with PI winning at home, 3-2, in the mutual season opener played April 25, and Caribou recording a 4-1 victory in the second meeting held in Caribou May 7.
The winner of the match between the two County rivals will advance to Saturday’s semis and most likely face No. 1 Ellsworth, who plays either Oceanside or Hermon in the quarterfinals. The EM championship will be played at UM-Orono next Wednesday, June 5.
The Viking teams’ regular season came to a close last Tuesday with a match against Houlton.
The Caribou boys won, 5-0, with Ethan Plourde, Michael Marquis and Zac Gorence all taking their singles matches and the doubles teams of Brendan Cyr-Tyler Willey and Gabe Massey-Cameron Hill also coming out on top.
The Viking girls also prevailed by a 5-0 score as Ashley Richards, Alexa Massey and Clara Collins were singles winners, all coming by 8-0 scores. In doubles, Emma Duplissie-Makayla Bouchard and Anna Soderberg-Bria Judd earned easy victories as well.
Plourde, Marquis and Gorence were among the Region I boys’ representatives and Richards held the same honor on the girls’ side, and all four Viking players competed in the state singles tournament Saturday. Due to inclement weather, the event was moved from Lewiston and instead held indoors at the Racket & Fitness Center in Portland.
Plourde lost to Waynflete’s Ben Shapiro, 6-0, 6-1. Marquis was beaten by Ellsworth’s Ben Haslam, 7-5, 6-3, while Gorence dropped a 6-1, 6-0 decision to Baiyu Liu of St. Dominic.
Richards drew a first-round bye and then was bested by Margot Andreasen of Portland, 4-6, 6-4, 6-1.
The Caribou foursome had qualified by going undefeated at the Region I tourney, held in Caribou May 14.
