SACO — Wins by both doubles teams set the table, and No. 2 singles man Kent Dao cleared it off.

And just for good measure, Andrew Cyr picked up any crumbs that may have been left over.

All of the above factored into the Western Class A boys tennis prelim round triumph taken by No. 7 Thornton Academy over No. 10 Portland, Tuesday.

The Golden Trojans (8-5), who matched the highest win total in program history, will try to top that, Thursday against No. 2 Scarborough, in a Western quarterfinal.

That will take some doing in the view of Thornton coach Andy Carlson, who feels that his team is capable of ambushing the Red Storm.

“We’ve got a big match on Thursday,” said Carlson. “We did fare so well against them during the regular season (a 4-1 Trojan loss). Hopefully we’re playing a little bit better. With a little more confidence.”

Thornton’s confidence should be bolstered by their grinding show against Portland.

After doubles wins by Dan Tarsetti and Matt Koehler, and Matt Perreault and Ian Purvis, the Trojans chugged and churned through three tough singles matches.

Dao and Cyr provided wins in two of them.

Cyr’s came in two long sets against Bulldogs No. 1 singles player Alexander Jordan, posting wins of 6-2 and 7-5.

Cyr had slightly less trouble handling Jordan when the teams met on May 15, a match won by Thornton 3-2.

For Dao, his win over Karl Fisher represented a little payback for Fisher’s three set win over him in their last meeting.

This time around, Dao took the first set 6-3, faltered to 2-6 in the second, then rebounded with a 6-1 win in the deciding set.

“I lost to him the first time,” said Dao, “and I didn’t want to lose to him twice. I just played the way I knew how to play.”

Dao said he found his concentration wavering after winning the first set, which contributed to his loss in the second.

“I lost my focus,” he said.

He managed to regain it in time to win handily in the third.

The point gained by the Dao put the Trojans over the top.

“We keep it simple,” said Carlson, “we play hard, and we’ve got some positive results. Today was a great example of that.

I think we play good high school tennis. We try to do the right things.”

”“ Contact Dan Hickling at 282-1535 ext. 318 or dhickling@journaltribune.com.