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LEWISTON — Andre Violette didn’t get to play in the state singles tennis tournament last year, a price he had to pay to spend a season as a foreign exchange student in Spain.

He got one more chance this season, as a senior at Yarmouth High. So far, he’s taking advantage of it.

Seeded sixth, Violette punched his ticket to the semifinals with a 7-6 (5), 0-6, 6-2 victory Friday over No. 3 Sam Yoon of Falmouth, providing a rare upset on a day when most of the favorites prevailed in the round of 16 and quarterfinals at Bates College’s Wallach Tennis Center.

“He’s a great player, pushing me to the max,” said Violette, who reached the round of 16 as a sophomore. “I knew that I needed to move my legs and put as many balls in as I could, because he was going to force me to make a lot of shots. He’s a really aggressive player, so I really had to be moving well today.”

The top two seeds in both the boys and girls brackets advanced, with Falmouth’s Matt Morneault taking down Joey Scardino of Camden Hills and Drake Turcotte of Skowhegan’s, and Will Meyer of Camden Hills ousting Takaya Masuda of Thornton Academy and Arya Bhatia of Cheverus.

In the girls bracket, No. 1 Sofia Kirtchev of Falmouth beat Maranacook’s Claire Dwyer and upset-minded Jasmine Radjabova of Camden Hills, and No. 2 Molly Tefft of Brunswick topped Vivi Nemeth of John Bapst and Sophia Monfa of Cheverus.

In Saturday’s semifinals at Colby College, Morneault will play No. 4 Alberto Cutone of Kennebunk, and Violette will play Meyer. Next up for Kirtchev is No. 4 Zoe Castrucci of Hampden Academy, while Tefft faces No. 3 Laura Chapman of Boothbay.

Violette won a tiebreaker in the first set against Yoon, then got blanked by the Falmouth senior in the second set. In the third set, however, Violette bounced back.

“(I went) into the match knowing that I lose a lot of points, and (I was) OK with losing a few games,” Violette said. “Once you get to that third set, it’s 0-0 again. You’ve just got to fight.”

Boothbay’s Chapman also showed some mental toughness. She trailed 3-2 in the first set of a 6-3, 6-3 victory over Thornton’s Lilia Root, then came back from a 4-3 deficit in the second set of a 6-3, 6-4 win over No. 11 Phoebe Reilly of Falmouth.

Chapman, who fell in the round of 16 three straight years, said she was “hungry to win” Friday.

“I don’t try to think about the scores. Obviously, a little bit, but I try to go point by point,” she said. “I definitely felt some pressure. I was a little tight that whole match. I was nervous a little bit, but I played through it and my mental game got me through that match.”

A different sort of toughness was on display from Kirtchev, who has been battling lingering symptoms from food poisoning but thwarted upset bids from unseeded foes Dwyer and Radjabova, the latter of whom beat No. 9 Isobel Wright of Greely in the round of 16.

Kirtchev needed to pause midway through her match with Radjabova, but eventually clinched her 6-1, 6-1 victory with an ace.

“I’m definitely going to be very happy when I lay my head on the pillow tonight,” she said. “It’s been a long, difficult last four days. I’m just trying to cope, and I’m definitely never going to let up. I’m just going to push through.”

Fellow top seed Morneault dropped only two games while beating Scardino, 6-0, 6-0, and Turcotte, 6-2, 6-0.

“I think I did well facing the tough heat,” Morneault said. “I’ve been playing indoors mostly, and it hasn’t gotten over 60 in a little while. … There was one point where the point lasted more than 15 shots. I got there for a volley, and my legs kind of gave out.”

The first to finish for the day was Meyer, who breezed to a 6-0, 6-1 win over Masuda and a 6-1, 6-1 win over Bhatia to return to the semifinals.

“I just tried to get in my rhythm a lot, balls to the middle to make sure I wasn’t missing, and gradually I started working my way to the targets that were a little harder,” Meyer said. “I was just excited for this tournament. I’ve been looking forward to it all year. It only happens once a year, so you’ve got to make the most of it when it comes.”