By Glen Miller/Staff Writer

OKLAHOMA CITY — El Reno High School junior Maureen Lewis remained in the hunt for a state medal after the first two rounds of the 2007 Oklahoma State High School Girls Tennis Championships held at the Oklahoma City Tennis Center.

Lewis, who drew the No. 8 seed for the tourney with an 11-2 season record, was three wins away from a fifth-place finish — her best state effort in three tries.

The remaining rounds were slated to be played Saturday.

“Maureen continues to play better every match,” El Reno head coach Michael Booher said.

“I look for her to have a strong Saturday.”

Lewis, who was the runner up out of the West regional at Duncan, got off to a fast start Friday with a 6-2/6-0 win over McAlester’s Amy Smith. It was a different path from last year’s state tourney, in which Lewis came in unseeded and lost in the opening round.

Friday’s opening-round win came with a high price as Lewis had to face off with top-seeded Andrea Lewis of Tulsa Bishop Kelley — who was 23-4 on the year. Maureen Lewis dropped the opening set 6-0, despite having several close games that went down to the wire. One game went to deuce five times.

Lewis would win three games off her eastern counterpart before falling into the consolation side of the bracket with a 6-3 loser in the second set.