WATERVILLE — In a sense, it was a party introducing Jai Aslam to the big stage.

Aslam, who plays No. 1 singles for the Messalonskee boys, has made remarkable improvements to his game over the past two years. Those improvements were on display Friday at the state singles tennis championships at the Alfond-Wales Tennis facility at Colby College.

Appropriately, Aslam treated the occasion like a party. He had the crowd whooping it up as he made shots behind his back and between his legs. He cruised in both of his matches, defeating Maranacook’s Jason LaPorte, 6-3, 6-3, then beating Kennebunk’s Charlie Merry, 6-2, 6-0.

“That’s just in the moment, I guess,” Aslam said. “It makes it fun. If you’re not going to have fun, there’s no point in playing.”

Aslam will now face Waynflete’s Patrick Ordway, the defending state champion and No. 1 seed, at 9 a.m. today. Waterville’s Colleen O’Donnell, the No. 8 seed on the girls side, and Hall-Dale’s Wendy Goldman also advanced to today’s matches.

Against LaPorte, Aslam trailed 3-2 in the first set, but shook off his frustration and won the final four games of the set. Aslam said he went in knowing nothing about Merry, but he won that match easily.

“I just tried to get a lot of balls in play,” Aslam said. “That’s my game, just to keep rallies going a long time, trying to outlast people.”

Aslam’s reward is a match at 9 a.m., today, against probably the best player in the state.

“It’ll be fun to play someone that good,” Aslam said. “I’ve never played anyone that good. It should be fun, even if I — well, I probably will lose.”

O’Donnell, a sophomore, is making her second trip to the round of 16. She played only one match Friday, defeating Ellsworth’s Ina Maloney, 6-1, 6-1. O’Donnell felt last year’s experience helped her against Maloney.

“I knew what it was going to be like,” O’Donnell said, “and I was ready for it.”

O’Donnell had to wait around a little longer than expected after a morning rain delay of about 90 minutes. Her match was scheduled for 12:45, but didn’t get under way until almost two hours later.

“I was fine,” O’Donnell said. “The wait was hard. You get anxious, but I was fine.”

O’Donnell had little trouble in the match, as she unleashed effective shot after effective shot and won in a little over an hour.

“She’s really consistent, so I tried to hit it back and tried to hit it harder, so she would have a tougher time,” O’Donnell said.

Waterville’s Olivia Lopes took a 6-1, 6-0 victory over Mt. Desert Island’s Mia-Cara Musetti. Lopes had struggled in high temperatures at last year’s Round of 48, but thrived in Friday’s dreary and ultimately chilly weather.

“Honestly, this kind of weather is perfect for me,” Lopes said. “I don’t do well in heat. I felt good out here.”

That earned Lopes a spot in the last match of the day, against No. 2 seed Annie Criscione of Falmouth. Lopes made some terrific shots and put up a strong fight before losing, 6-1, 6-3. Trailing 5-2 in the second set, Lopes prevailed in an eighth game that lasted about 15 minutes.

“I knew it was going to be a very tough match,” Lopes said. “Annie’s obviously a strong player. Everyone knows that. I just wanted to get out there and play my game, and I feel that I did.”

On the boys side, Waterville’s Callum Thomas lost to Brewer’s Ian Burgess, 6-4, 6-3. Burgess then lost 6-0, 6-1 to Waynflete’s Ordway.

Matt DiFilippo — 861-9243

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