The memorable and highly successful spring sports season is just getting interesting.

Tennis has crowned its individual champions, while everyone else is winding down their regular season.

For athletes who didn’t have as much as a single practice in 2020, the overdue fun is just beginning.

Here’s a glimpse:

Tennis

A pair of Waynflete individuals made it to the state singles semifinals and one got all the way to the final, in dramatic fashion.

Waynflete’s Morgan Warner, ranked third in the girls’ competition, blanked Gardiner’s Lindsey Bell, 6-0, 6-0, in the second round.

“(Lindsey) was very athletic,” said Warner, who will play next year at Providence College. “She can move well and get to every ball. I was just trying to get the ball over the net. I think my serve was a weapon.”

Waynflete coach Linda Cohen said Warner’s patience also made a difference in handling Bell.

“Sometimes, (Morgan) gets a little beyond that when balls start flying,” Cohen said. “She really played within herself today. (Bell) was a very good athlete and really got some balls back that I don’t know if Morgan expected.”

In the round of 16, Warner blanked Edward Little’s Mya Vincent, 6-0, 6-0. Then, in the quarterfinals, Warner eliminated Lewiston’s Julia Svor, 6-1, 6-1.

“(Julia) was able to get the ball in play and get to a lot of balls,” Warner said. “That was tricky.”

Warner then met No. 2 Blair Hollyday of Cape Elizabeth in the semifinals Monday morning and in three hard-fought sets that took nearly three hours, found a way to prevail, 5-7, 6-3, 7-5. Warner broke Hollyday’s serve on multiple occasions in the third set to advance.

Ultimately, however, Warner couldn’t solve No. 1 Sofia Mavor of Yarmouth and lost in the championship round, 4-6, 0-6.

“Sofia played great in the wind,” Warner said. “She’s an athlete. She’s consistent but also hits a hard ball at the same time.”

Warner’s teammate Lucy Hart, was ousted by York’s Madigan Murphy, 6-1, 3-6, 0-1 (10), in the first round.

Portland’s Jenna Lederer defeated Agata Sloniewska of Thornton Academy, 6-1, 6-3, in the first round, then was ousted, 0-6, 5-7, in the second round by 10th-ranked Naomi Lynch of Hall-Dale.

Ben Adey, ranked third on the boys’ side, beat Wisdom’s Jordan Clavette, 6-1, 6-0, in the second round, then eliminated Brunswick’s Calvin Doherty, 6-2, 6-0, in the round of 16.

“I just had to relax and play my game,” Adey said. “Today, once I got loose, I felt much better. (Doherty) is a good player. He is athletic and quick and had a good forehand. It was a good match.”

Waynflete boys coach Jeff Madore said Adey settled down.

“He got over the nerves and played his game,” Madore said. “Mentally, he is pretty strong.”

Adey then beat Waterville’s Charlie Haberstock, the No. 6 seed, 7-6 (5), 6-4, to reach Monday’s semifinals.

There, against, No. 2 George Cutone of Kennebunk, Adey was eliminated, 0-6, 0-6.

Waynflete’s Connor Feeney lost, 7-5, 3-6, 0-1 (8), to Van Buren’s Emmanuel Deschaine in the first round.

Portland’s Brendan Mailloux, ranked seventh, was a 6-0, 6-0 winner over Yarmouth’s Andi Cobaj in the second round, then defeated No. 10 Zander Chown of Mt. Ararat, 4-6, 7-5, 6-3, in the round of 16 before being eliminated, 0-6, 0-6, by Cutone.

Teammate Dominic Walls was ousted, 1-6, 0-6, by Windham’s Lukas Hradecky in the first round.

Cheverus’s Evangelo Kapothanasis, a senior who is heading to Bates College, dismissed Calais’ John Turner, 6-3, 6-1, in the first round.

“The opponent was a little bit weaker than me,” Kapothanasis said. “(It was) just staying in the match, not losing focus and getting the balls back. When the timing was right, (I hit) my shots.”

Kapothanasis was then eliminated, 1-6, 6-4, 0-1 (8), by Windham’s Hradecky in the second round.

In team action, Waynflete’s boys, the 12-time reigning Class C champion, finally suffered its first loss last Monday, 3-2, to reigning Class B champion Yarmouth, then improved to 9-1 with a 5-0 victory over Lake Region. The Flyers (ranked first in the Class C South Heal Points standings at press time) closed the regular season Tuesday at home versus Yarmouth.

The Flyers girls were 6-5 and fourth in Class C South after a 3-2 home loss to Yarmouth and wins at Lake Region (5-0) and at home over St. Dom’s (3-2). The Flyers finished at Yarmouth Tuesday.

In Class A South, Portland’s boys were 10-1 and third entering Tuesday’s finale at three-time reigning state champion Falmouth after victories last week at home over Windham (4-1) and Cheverus (3-2).

The Bulldogs girls were 5-5 and eighth after a 4-1 loss at Windham last week. Portland closed at Falmouth Tuesday.

Cheverus’ boys were 7-4 and fifth following a 3-2 home win over Gorham and a 3-2 loss at Portland. The Stags closed at home against Windham Tuesday.

The Stags girls were 5-5 and seventh after a 3-2 win at Gorham last week. Cheverus closed at Windham Tuesday.

Deering’s boys were 1-8 and ninth after a 4-1 home loss to Falmouth last week. The Rams were home with Windham Monday, went to Gorham Tuesday and close at Massabesic Thursday.

The Rams girls fell to 1-8 and 13th in the region after a 5-0 loss at Falmouth last week. Deering was home with Windham Monday, went to Gorham Tuesday and close at Massabesic Thursday.

Baseball

Heading into the final week of the baseball regular season, Cheverus was in the best position.

The Stags, who lost their first two games this spring, have won eight of 10 since. Last week, Cheverus dropped an 11-1 (six-inning) decision at Gorham, then swept visiting Portland in a doubleheader Saturday, 1-0 and 6-5, in 11 innings. In the opener against the Bulldogs, Sam Clark and Nick Giancotti combined to throw a three-hitter and Giancotti’s sacrifice fly produced the game’s lone run. In the nightcap, Shane Tanguay’s hit produced the winning run, while Clark had three hits and Jackson Header, Brian Connolly and Tanguay finished with two apiece. The Stags (8-4 and 11th in the Class A South Heals) were at Biddeford Tuesday, go to Falmouth for a key doubleheader Saturday and close the regular season at home against Gorham next Tuesday.

Deering dropped a 7-3 decision to Portland and fell in the first game of a twin-bill at Windham, 6-1, before giving coach Ryan Martin his first win in the nightcap, 5-3, to improve to 1-11 and 18th in the region. Conner Coleman earned the victory on the mound and drove in two runs. The Rams were at Bonny Eagle Tuesday, play a doubleheader at Gorham Saturday and close versus Portland Tuesday of next week.

Portland beat Deering, 7-3, for its second victory of the year last week, then fell to 2-8 after losses to visiting Bonny Eagle (5-3) and a pair of setbacks at Cheverus in a doubleheader, 1-0 and 6-5, 11 innings. In the win, Danny Tocci pitched a six-hitter with eight strikeouts, Henry Bibeau hit a two-run single and an RBI double and Nick Becker added three hits, an RBI and two runs scored. In the second loss to the Stags, Grant Crosby had three hits, while Bibeau and Trey Roberts each had a pair of singles. The Bulldogs (16th in Class A South), went to Westbrook Tuesday, play a doubleheader at Falmouth Wednesday, host Windham for a doubleheader Saturday, then close against Deering Tuesday of next week.

The Waynflete/North Yarmouth Academy co-op team started last week with a 3-0 loss at Sacopee Valley, then improved to 9-4 after beating visiting St. Dom’s (8-0), then sweeping the host Saints in a doubleheader Friday, 8-2 and 12-1 (in five innings). Cole Lambert shut out the Saints in the teams’ first meeting. In the opener of the twin-bill, Payton Smith struck out seven and earned the win. Waynflete/NYA (fifth in Class C South at press time) plays at Fryeburg Academy Wednesday, welcomes Richmond Thursday and closes at home against Lake Region Saturday.

Softball

Turning to softball, Portland evened its record at 6-6 and extended its win streak to four games after downing visiting Deering (16-2, in five innings) and sweeping a doubleheader at Cheverus (9-3 and 17-9). Against the Rams, Hannah Hawkes had three hits and five RBI, Jordan King belted a two-run homer and an RBI double and Sadie Armstrong also homered while earning the victory, allowing four hits and striking out eight. In the opener against the Stags, Armstrong homered, singled and earned the win. She also won the second game and King and Mackenzie Bryant each had two hits. The Bulldogs (13th in the Class A South Heal Points standings at press time) are at Westbrook Wednesday, host Windham for a doubleheader Friday, then close at Deering Tuesday of next week.

Cheverus was 2-10 and 16th in Class A South after losses last week at Gorham (14-2, in six innings) and at home to Portland in a doubleheader (9-3 and 17-9). After going to Biddeford Wednesday, the Stags play two at Falmouth Saturday and welcome Gorham Tuesday of next week in the finale.

Deering fell to 0-12 and 17th in the region after five-inning losses to visiting Thornton Academy (18-1) and visiting Portland (16-2) and a pair of five-inning setbacks at Windham (13-0 and 17-2). The Rams go to Bonny Eagle Wednesday, play two at Gorham Saturday and close at home versus Portland Tuesday of next week.

Boys’ lacrosse

Waynflete’s boys’ lacrosse team remained undefeated, barely, after a dramatic 8-7 home win over reigning Class C champion North Yarmouth Academy Friday. The Flyers twice fell behind by four goals, but pulled within 7-6 at halftime. Waynflete then shut the Panthers out in the second half and after Sam Whipple tied it early in the fourth period, he put the Flyers ahead with 1:27 to play. Ilo Holdridge won the ensuing faceoff and Waynflete ran out the clock to improve to 8-0.

“It was definitely a fun game to get revenge from our playoff loss two years ago,” Whipple said. “I’m just happy that we won. It’s good to know we can beat NYA if we see them in the playoffs.”

“That was just a crazy, amazing game,” Holdridge said. “That’s what you look for. It gets us ready for playoffs. We overcame and that shows how strong a team we are.”

“This is the second time that we’ve come out and a team has beaten us in the first half, but the guys responded and played the next play and that’s all you can ask,” Flyers coach Andrew Leach added. “At halftime, we talked about getting stops and putting the ball on frame.”

Waynflete (first in the Class C Heals at press time) was home against Berwick Academy Tuesday, plays at Greely Thursday (see pressherald.com/forecaster-sports/ for game story) and finishes at home against Portland June 2.

“I tell the guys not to take anything for granted,” Leach said. “This group of seniors is so great and we’re just enjoying the ride. We’ll get pushed to the end. I hope we can keep this thing rolling. We want homefield advantage.”

In Class A North, Portland improved to 4-3 and fifth after a 15-5 win at Deering last Tuesday. Sam Gerber scored five times. The Bulldogs welcomed Fryeburg Academy Tuesday, play host to Deering Wednesday, host Cheverus Saturday, go to Cheverus June 1 and close at Waynflete June 2.

Cheverus was 5-4 and seventh after a 20-4 home loss to Gorham last week. The Stags go to Wells Thursday, visit Portland Saturday and close at home versus the Bulldogs June 1.

Deering dropped to 2-6 and 10th in the region after last week’s 11-10 home loss to Lake Region. After hosting Messalonskee Tuesday, the Rams go to Portland Wednesday, visit Traip Academy Friday and close at home with Bonny Eagle June 1.

Girls’ lacrosse

On the girls’ side, Waynflete was 5-4 and fifth in the Class C state Heals after a pair of tough road losses last week, 9-6 at Lake Region and 11-10 at Berwick Academy. Against the Falcons, Jess Connors, Claire DiNapoli and Kilee Sherry each scored twice. In the loss to the Bulldogs, Connors scored a career-high six goals. The Flyers go to Lake Region Wednesday, host NYA Friday (see pressherald.com/forecaster-sports/ for game story), then close at Cape Elizabeth June 3.

Portland improved to 5-4 and fifth in Class A North after a 4-3 victory at Cheverus and a 12-1 home win over Westbrook. Elizabeth Littel scored all four goals against the Stags. Ella Reagan scored three times and 10 different players in all found the net in the win over the Blue Blazes. The Bulldogs welcomed traditional power Massabesic Monday, go to Windham Thursday, then close at Deering Saturday.

Deering was 1-2 and sixth in the region after last week’s 11-6 home loss to Wells. The Rams visited Westbrook Tuesday, play a makeup game at Sanford Friday, host Portland Saturday, then close next week with home games versus Westbrook and Bonny Eagle.

Cheverus fell to 1-8 and seventh after a pair of tough home losses last week to Portland (4-3) and South Portland (10-9, in overtime). Riley O’Mara had two goals against the Bulldogs and scored four times, including the tying goal, in the loss to the Red Riots. The Stags went to Windham Monday, then host Falmouth Thursday and Bonny Eagle Friday to close the regular season.

Track

In track action last week, Deering was swept by Falmouth as the girls lost a close competition (69-56) and the boys lost as well (117-31).

Cheverus hosted Portland and Waynflete. In the boys’ meet, the Bulldogs had 83 points, the Stags 53 and the Flyers 16.

Cheverus’ girls were first with 106.5 points. Portland (44.5) was second and Waynflete (3) third.

Sun Journal staff writers Nathan Fournier and Tony Blasi and Press Herald staff writer Glenn Jordan contributed to this story.

Sports Editor Michael Hoffer can be reached at mhoffer@theforecaster.net. Follow him on Twitter: @foresports.

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