LEWISTON — After two days of rain, the sun finally came out on Saturday and the atmosphere of the Maine high school singles tennis tournament changed.

The first two days of the tournament were played on the indoor courts at Colby College in Waterville. Saturday, the action moved to the outdoor courts at Bates College in Lewiston for the second round and round of 16.

Players and coaches noticed a difference.

“(Colby’s) kind of a sterile atmosphere with the curtains down and only four courts and not a lot of spectators and energy,” said Thornton Academy coach Andrew Carlson. “I think sometimes that is a challenge for them because they’ve been building up to this sort of spectacle and coming up and playing at Bates with this facility, eight courts, guys and girls, a lot of casual fans around, and then they have to kind of dial it back a little bit and get in a different mindset to just say, ‘OK, I’m going to just go through the paces and take care of business.'”

Top seeds advance

Both top-seeded singles players, Falmouth’s Matt Morneault and Thornton Academy’s Emily Winkler, easily won their second-round matches.

Morneault defeated Lincoln Academy’s Claus Hinck, 6-0, 6-0, while Winkler beat Ellsworth’s Kennedy Lambert, 6-0, 6-2.

Because he had a first-round bye, Morneault didn’t have to play indoors at Colby.

“With the (No. 1) seed, it comes with expectations and stuff like that, a lot of pressure, too,” Morneault said. “But yeah, the bye was nice. I didn’t miss any school, so that was nice.”

Trading the slopes for the tennis court

Almost three months ago to the day, Yarmouth senior Xander Gordon was standing atop a podium, being recognized for his Class B Nordic state titles in both the classical and freestyle races.

Flash forward to this weekend, and he was competing in the second round of the singles tennis tournament.

“There’s a big switch, definitely, in terms of strategy and the movements associated with the sport, but there’s a lot of similarities on the mental side … I mean, just put in everything into every single point, and the same in a race, you’re putting all your effort in the whole time. So I’ve been able to, I think, be successful in both just through that ability to transfer the mental side between both sports.”

Gordon likes being responsible for his own scores, which is why he tends to gravitate toward sports that are more individualized.

“I want my results and performance to be kind of based on how well I do, so that’s what I really like about the individual sports,” Gordon said. “If I’m playing bad, it’s on me. If I’m playing well, I do well.”

Gordon was up 9-3 in a tiebreak over Edward Little’s Calvin Vincent in the second round but retired because of a scheduling conflict later in the day that would have prevented him from playing in the round of 16.

Leaning into the calm

Sometimes, Brunswick senior Molly Tefft enjoys being the underdog.

“I can sort of go and give it all I have,” Tefft said.

Tefft, though, is the No. 4 seed in the girls draw, so she wasn’t an underdog on Saturday. Instead, she tried to relax as she began play after a first-round bye.

“When I’m a top seed, I sort of have to stay calm and don’t get ahead of myself,” Tefft said.

Tefft defeated Madison senior Jade Young, 6-1, 6-1, in the second round.