Tennis teams are both 8-0 on the season and close out season Tuesday.
There were eight spots open for bids to the state singles tournament and the Caribou Vikings dominated by taking five of them.
The qualifying event was held Friday at Caribou High School and all three Viking girls who entered, Gabrielle Marquis, Conner Spencer and Ashley Matlock advanced along with two of the boys — Ethan Plourde and Alec Cyr.
They will be joined by Van Buren’s Alexis Ouellette, Fort Kent’s Ryan Chasse and Presque Isle’s Denny Young at the state tourney, set to begin Friday, May 27 at Lewiston High School.
Marquis, the girls’ top seed, defeated Sarah Pelletier of Fort Kent, 6-2, 6-0. Second-seeded Spencer gained a 6-1, 6-2 triumph over Presque Isle’s Sarah Morneault, while Matlock, seeded sixth, had to win two matches. She beat Isabelle Charette of Fort Kent in a pro set, 8-1, before overtaking PI’s Michelle Cawley, the No. 3 seed, in a three-setter, 3-6, 7-5, 6-4.
Plourde, ranked second for boys, bounced PI’s Andre Daigle, 6-3, 6-0, while three-seed Cyr bested Byron Winslow, also of PI, 6-3, 6-3.
Ouellette was ranked No. 4 and beat Fort Kent’s Brooke Jandreau, 6-3, 7-6 (7-4). The boys’ top seed, Chasse, dominated Van Buren’s Brandon Sytulek, 6-1, 6-0. Young, at No. 4, stopped Caribou’s Emerson Duplissie-Cyr, 6-3, 6-3.
Duplissie-Cyr had beaten No. 5 Thomas Lajoie of Van Buren, 9-7, to earn the chance to play Young.
The Viking squads played just one team match last week, topping Fort Kent Thursday on the road. The boys earned a 3-2 win, with Cyr and Duplissie-Cyr winning in singles and Gabe Rand and Austin Cheplic pulling off the win in No. 2 doubles. Plourde was blanked 8-0 by Chasse in first singles, while the duo of Austin Scott and Bailey Griffeth succumbed to Micah Charette and Niko Naranja, 8-5.
The Caribou girls kept their perfect record in individual matches alive with a 5-0 win over the Warriors. Marquis and Spencer didn’t lose a game in taking the first and second singles matches, while Matlock got by Cassidy Lovely, 8-3. The duos of Ciara Richards-Danielle Hanson and Hailey Holmquist-Kyra Thibeault were both victorious.
The Vikings are both 8-0. The boys are in fourth place in the Class B North standings and join No. 1 John Bapst and No. 2 Camden Hills as the only undefeated teams in the division. The girls are also No. 4, with Waterville and John Bapst gaining the top spots with their 8-0 marks.
The Caribou teams will close out regular season play at Presque Isle Tuesday, but also played Madawaska Tuesday and will meet up against Houlton Thursday before their biggest matches, against John Bapst, Saturday beginning at 1 p.m.
