LEWISTON – On Saturday, for one day at least, Adam Platz may concentrate solely on tennis.

Not that he is complaining.

The valedictorian of this year’s senior class at Edward Little qualified last Saturday for the state singles championship round of 40, being played this weekend at Lewiston High School and at Bates College. He is the first EL singles player to qualify for this round since Adam Asselin and Jay Mitchell qualified several years back. Mitchell will graduate from Williams College this year.

“He’s the kind of kid that will make eye contact with you and engage you,” EL coach Norm Gellatly said. “He’ll question me if he has a problem with something I am talking about. It’s not an attack nor is it annoying. He just wants to make himself better.”

According to Gellatly, the skills Platz developed off the court that have made him a success in the classroom have helped him advance as far as he has in tennis.

“He’s a good immediate problem solver,” Gellatly said. “It helps him play better because he can figure out opponents and their patterns quickly and try to counter those.”

In the preliminary round last weekend, Platz upended Lewiston’s No. 3 singles player, Nick Bonenfant, in three sets after losing the first.

“He showed that ability to out-think an opponent in that one,” Gellatly said. “The thing is, he’s not pompous about it at all, either.”

For Platz, the tournament is a chance to break out of the team format that tennis enjoys here in Maine.

“Obviously, it’s all about the team first,” Platz said. “This is one thing that gets individual all year and trying to notch a win there is fun. It’s also fun to play kids from other conferences that you might not see otherwise.”

Platz is unseeded and will face Matt Dubois of Westbrook in the first round. A win would send him to the round of 16, where he would likely meet No. 4 seed Bryan Brown of Bangor.

Over at Lewiston High School, No. 1 singles player Mike Burke and No. 2 Adam Wilding have also qualified for the round of 40. Burke is the No. 5 seed in the draw, and Wilding is the No 6 seed.

“Both of them have a legitimate shot to do some damage,” Lewiston coach Ron Chicoine said. “Adam has some tough matches right through the quarters, and Mike is playing some kids we know nothing about, but if the seeds hold, they will be playing some top players in the quarterfinals.”

Despite both being undefeated, the two Lewiston players had some disadvantages at the seeding meeting. Wilding was unable to attend last year’s tournament, and that likely hurt his bid for a top seed. Burke, meanwhile, lost in the round of 16 after cramping up in his third match of the day against Brown.

“The biggest thing I learned is to stay hydrated all weekend,” Burke said. “I am going to drink plenty of water Friday and Saturday.”

Burke and Wilding both have a case as to why they should be seeded higher. In an exhibition match earlier this season, Burke beat No. 1 seed Garrett Currier of Cape Elizabeth in straight sets, while Wilding disposed of No. 3 Sam Maury, also of Cape, also in straight sets.

Gabe Bedoya, an exchange student from Peru currently attending Dirigo High School, was awarded the No. 7 seed. He will face either Joe Flaherty of Gorham or Ben Braley of South Portland in his first match.

Other seeded players include freshman Eliot Potvin of Hampden, who is this year’s No. 2 seed, and Josh Warren of Herman, who is No. 8.

jpelletier@sunjournal.com

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