The spring sports regular season has just over a week to go and the playoffs loom.

We’ve already gotten a small taste of the postseason and the best is yet to come.

Here’s an overview:

Tennis

The tennis state singles tournament wrapped up at press time with a local standout bringing home the title.

Falmouth’s Xander Barber, ranked first, lived up to billing by cruising to the crown. Barber first blanked James Stinson of Mt. Blue, 6-0, 6-0, then ousted Drake Turcotte of Skowhegan in the round of 16, 6-1, 6-0, before eliminating Waynflete’s Henry Kerr in the quarterfinals, 6-1, 6-0.

Monday, in the semifinals, Barber blanked Foxcroft Academy’s Khang Duy Vinh Nguyen, 6-0, 6-0, before beating teammate Sam Yoon, 6-1, 6-0, to capture the crown. Yoon did win the first game, but no more.

“They all wanted Sam to win,” Barber said. “I’m probably the favorite going in, and they wanted Sam to have the big upset. It’s all in good fun, though. I’m just glad they came out. It’s fun having fans there.”

“I didn’t expect it to be super-competitive, but you got some idea of how well they both play because they had some great rallies,” said longtime Falmouth coach Bob McCully.

Barber played high school tennis in his native North Carolina before moving to Maine. He’s ranked seventh nationally and will play at Dartmouth College next year.

Yoon, the number two seed, advanced by beating Foxcroft Academy’s Nico Fernandez, 6-2, 6-0, in the second round, Waterville’s Logan Tardif, 6-0, 6-0, in the round of 16, Yarmouth’s Quinn Federle, 6-3, 7-5, in the quarterfinals and Kennebunk’s Alberto Cutone, 6-4, 6-2, in the semifinals. Yoon had no answers for Barber in the final, however.

“I don’t think however I played, I would have beaten him,” Yoon said. “He’s such a good player.”

Greely’s Charles Segal defeated Waynflete’s Theo Demetriou, 6-4, 6-1, in the first round, then upset No. 12 Jonah Chen of Edward Little, 6-3, 6-1, in the second round and shocked fifth-ranked Daniel Landry of Deering, 6-7 (5), 2-6, in the round of 16, before being eliminated by Foxcroft Academy’s Nguyen, 6-2, 4-6, 4-6, in the quarterfinals.

Federle, seeded 10th, had advanced to the quarterfinals after defeating Mt. Blue’s Diego Vazquez, 6-1, 6-0, in the second round and No. 7 Westy Granholm of Mt. Desert Island, 6-4, 7-5, in the round of 16.

Yarmouth’s Andre Violette was a 7-5, 4-6, 1-0 (5) winner over Thornton Academy’s Philip Delle Karth in the first round, then upset No. 8 Sam Poth of John Bapst, 6-4, 4-6, 1-0 (8) in the second round before being ousted by Waynflete’s Kerr in the round of 16, 6-4, 3-6, 3-6.

Yarmouth’s Andi Cobaj beat Foxcroft Academy’s Fernando Calderon Arceo, 7-5, 6-3, in the first round, then lost to Kennebunk’s Cutone, 2-6, 2-6, in the second round.

Yarmouth’s Will Best lost to Caribou’s Sam Hebert, 6-4, 3-6, 0-1 (8) in the first round.

On the girls’ side, Falmouth’s Sofia Kirtchev, seeded fifth, got all to the way to Monday’s semifinals. Kirtchev defeated Berwick Academy’s Eliza Naftoly, 6-2, 6-0, in the second round, downed No. 12 Sarah Moulton of Washington Academy, 6-2, 6-0, in the round of 16, then beat No. 4 Olivia Guinard of Sanford, 6-1, 6-2, in the quarterfinals. Kirtchev finally met her match against top-ranked Mya Vincent of Edward Little, losing, 3-6, 3-6, in the semifinals.

Greely’s Anne Alfaro, ranked eighth, knocked off Falmouth’s Gracyn Mick, 6-4, 6-1, in the second round, beat Maranacook’s Claire Dwyer, 6-3, 6-2, in the round of 16, then lost to Vincent, 3-6, 5-7, in the quarterfinals.

Greely’s Isobel Wright was a 6-2, 6-2, winner over Brunswick’s Beatrice Elmore in the first round, then knocked off Lucy Hart of Waynflete, 6-3, 6-3, in the second round before beating eliminated, 1-6, 3-6, by third-ranked Amber Woods of Scarborough in the round of 16.

Falmouth’s Gracyn Mick downed Hampden Academy’s Tessa Castrucci, 6-2, 6-1, in the first round, then lost to Greely’s Alfaro in the second round.

Yarmouth’s Adea Cobaj knocked off Winthrop’s Sophie Blanco, 6-4, 6-3, in the first round before losing to Washington Academy’s Moulton, 6-1, 1-6, 0-1 (13), in the second round.

Greely’s Emma Lindsey defeated Fort Kent’s Julia Cyr, 6-1, 6-1, in the first round, then lost to second-ranked Coco Meserve, the eventual champion, 1-6, 0-6, in the second round.

In team tennis, Falmouth’s boys were 11-0 heading into their regular season finale Tuesday at Deering. Last week, the Navigators earned a pivotal 4-1 win over Kennebunk.

Falmouth’s girls looked to finish 12-0 when they hosted Deering Tuesday.

The reigning Class B champion Yarmouth boys took an 11-0 mark into Tuesday’s regular season finale against Cape Elizabeth.

The Clippers girls were 7-4 heading into their final match Tuesday at Cape Elizabeth.

Greely’s girls finished the regular season a perfect 12-0 with a 5-0 win over Waynflete last week.

The Greely boys wound up 6-6 after a 5-0 win over Lake Region.

Freeport’s boys were 1-10 going into Tuesday’s finale at York.

The Falcons girls finished 1-11 after they lost, 4-1, to York in their final match Monday.

NYA’s boys finished 4-8 after Monday’s 3-2 loss to Mt. Ararat.

The Panthers girls wound up 5-7 after a 4-1 win over Lake Region last week.

The team tennis playoffs begin with the preliminary round Friday. The quarterfinals are Tuesday of next week. Those matches will be held on the courts of the higher seeds.

Baseball

On the baseball diamond, Falmouth improved to 11-1 and extended its win streak to 11 games after recent victories at home over Westbrook (10-3), at Biddeford (6-0), at Sanford (1-0) and at home over Massabesic (5-3). Against the Blue Blazes, Eli Cowperthwaite earned the win, had three hits and drove in two runs and Jacoby Porter had two hits and three RBI. In the win over the Tigers, Brennan Rumpf allowed just two hits in 6.1 innings of work and had an RBI, while Peyton Mitchell added three hits and closed out the game. Ethan Hendry scored twice and Porter had two RBI. Against the Spartans, Cowperthwaite threw a three-hit shutout with seven strikeouts and Miles Gay drove in the only run. In the win over the Mustangs, Porter earned the victory and scored twice, Mitchell hit an RBI double and Rumpf and Mitchell Ham each had RBIs. The Navigators (ranked first in the Class A South Heal Points standings at press time) hosted Marshwood Tuesday, welcome Cheverus Thursday (see our website for game story), visit Gorham Tuesday of next week, then close at Deering the following day.

In Class B South, Yarmouth extended its win streak to nine games after defeating host Gray-New Gloucester (8-1) and visiting Poland (4-0) last week and visiting Freeport (10-1) Monday. Against the Patriots, Sam Lowenstein threw a two-hitter and struck out eight, while Andrew Cheever added two hits and scored three runs. Cheever and David Swift then combined to blank the Knights, while Liam Hickey tripled and Jack Janczuk and Stevie Walsh hit doubles. In the win over the Falcons, the Clippers scored nine unearned runs and broke open a close game with an eight-run sixth inning. Hickey earned the victory, Cheever had three hits and Swift doubled twice and drove in a pair of runs.

“Pitching with my defense behind me, I know if I put a ball in play, they’ll make the outs,” Hickey said.

“That was fun,” said longtime Clippers coach Marc Halsted. “We want to be a team that can play small-ball and win a 2-1 game, but we also expect to put the hammer down. Our kids hammered in the sixth.”

After going to Class A North contender Oxford Hills Tuesday, Yarmouth (currently second in Class B South) visits Wells Wednesday, hosts Greely Friday, then closes at Cape Elizabeth Tuesday of next week.

“We just have to take it one game at a time,” Walsh said. “We worry about winning one game, then taking care of the next one. This is probably one of the closest teams I’ve ever been on. Obviously, everyone wants to win a state championship and wants to do it for each other.”

Reigning regional champion Freeport was 7-6 and third in Class B South following home victories over Greely (6-2) and Cape Elizabeth (8-5) and a 10-1 loss at Yarmouth. Against the Rangers, Zane Aguiar went the distance to earn the win, while Gus Hollen hit a pair of RBI doubles and Ben Bolduc also drove in two runs. In the win over the Capers, Liam Emmons crushed two home runs and Tristan Francis had an RBI double and earned the victory. In the setback, five errors produced nine unearned runs.

“(Yarmouth’s) a good team,” Falcons coach Steve Shukie said. “You make a mistake against them and they make you pay. They hit the ball hard. Every batter, one through nine, and it’s line drive after line drive. We had our chances. We fell apart in that last inning and we were staring down a mercy rule loss, but it was a good showdown game. We couldn’t quite put enough pressure on them. We’ve had two good battles with them so far this year and maybe we’ll see a third down the road.”

Freeport looks to get back in the win column Wednesday when it hosts Gray-New Gloucester. After welcoming Wells Saturday, the Falcons close at Greely next Tuesday.

“The league is very wide-open,” Shukie said. “We’ve seen some good teams and we’ve taken care of business against some and faltered against some. The (non-Western Maine Conference) teams seem dangerous as well. It depends on who’s pitching and who’s throwing strikes and making the fewest mistakes.”

Greely lost at Freeport, 6-2, last week, then snapped a three-game skid and improved to 7-6 Monday with a 19-0 (five-inning) win at Lake Region. Alex Gamache and Wyatt Soucie both had two hits in the loss to the Falcons.In the victory, Wes Piper and Ryder Simpson each hit their first career home runs and Simpson threw three shutout innings. The Rangers (eighth in Class B South) go to Fryeburg Academy Wednesday, visit Yarmouth Friday and play host to Freeport Tuesday of next week to finish the regular season.

In Class C South, the Waynflete/North Yarmouth Academy co-op team improved to a program-best 13-1 and fourth in the standings after wins last week at Traip Academy (7-2), at St. Dom’s (8-4) and at Maine Central Institute in a doubleheader (6-3 and 6-1) and a 12-2 (five-inning) home victory over Old Orchard Beach Monday. Against the Rangers, Nico Herrera and Daxton St. Hilaire drove in two runs apiece and Herrera, Tanner Anctil, Cole Lambert and Lincoln Smith all had multiple hits. In the win over the Saints, Cal Nice had three hits and drove in four runs and Jack Byrnes added two RBI. In the first game of the doubleheader, Oscar Twining threw a one-hitter and Byrnes and Cooper St. Hilaire both scored twice. In the nightcap, Daxton St. Hilaire allowed just two hits in four innings and fanned four, while Nice had two hits and two RBI and Cooper St. Hilaire drove in two runs. In the win over the Seagulls, Nice had a career game with two home runs and seven RBI, while Smith and Daxton St. Hilaire each added a pair of hits. Waynflete/NYA visits Richmond Wednesday and closes at Sacopee Valley, the lone team to beat it, next Tuesday.

Softball

Greely’s softball team extended its win streak to three games last Tuesday with an 11-1 (five-inning) victory at Freeport, then fell to 4-9 and ninth in Class B South Monday with a 7-0 loss at Lake Region. The Rangers go to go to Fryeburg Academy Wednesday, visit Yarmouth Friday and play host to Freeport Tuesday of next week to finish the regular season.

Yarmouth was 5-7 and 13th in Class B South following a wild 20-13 victory at Gray-New Gloucester, an 11-0 (six-inning) home loss to Poland and a 17-4 (five-inning) home win over Freeport. Against the Patriots, Julia Lawwill singled, doubled, tripled and scored twice, Leah Muentener had three hits, scored three runs and drove in four and Drea Rideout added three hits, two runs and two RBI. Emma Butsch had two hits in the setback. Against the Falcons, Rideout hit a grand slam, doubled, drove in seven runs and earned the victory. The Clippers were at Oxford Hills Tuesday, visit Wells Wednesday, host Greely Friday, then close the regular season at Cape Elizabeth Tuesday of next week.

Freeport fell to 2-11 and 15th in Class B South after an 11-1 (five-inning) home loss to Greely, a 6-4 home loss to Cape Elizabeth and a 17-4 (five-inning) setback at Yarmouth. The Falcons host Gray-New Gloucester Wednesday, welcome Wells Saturday and close at Greely Tuesday of next week.

In Class D South, NYA won its first 10 games, capped by five-inning victories last week over visiting Richmond (11-1) and St. Dom’s (22-2). Against the Bobcats, Michala Wallace had three hits and Lily Rawnsley threw a two-hitter. In the win over the Saints, a 12-run third inning broke the game open. Rawnsley threw a three-hitter, Cami Casserly drove in five runs, Elizabeth Madden had three RBI and Hayden Wienckowski added three hits. Saturday, the Panthers suffered their first loss, 7-5, in the first game of a doubleheader at Maine Central Institute. Rawnsley had two hits. In the nightcap, NYA earned a 4-0 win, as Rawnsley threw a two-hitter and had a pair of hits, including a triple. Monday, the Panthers improved to 12-1 and first in the Heals after a 28-2 (five-inning) home win over Old Orchard Beach. NYA scored 21 runs in the first two innings and got six RBI from Jordan Nash, four hits from Wienckowski and four runs apiece from Anna Belleau, Toree St. Hilaire and Wallace. The Panthers are at Richmond Wednesday, play their home finale versus Traip Academy Thursday, then finish at Sacopee Valley Tuesday of next week.

In Class A South, Falmouth fell to 0-13 and 15th following recent five-inning losses to visiting Kennebunk (15-4), reigning state champion Biddeford (18-5) and host Cheverus (12-2). Kate Barter had two hits in the loss to the Rams. Tabitha Worthen had a pair of hits against the Tigers. The Navigators hosted powerhouse Windham Tuesday, go to Thornton Academy Thursday and finish at Deering Tuesday of next week.

Boys’ lacrosse

Falmouth’s boys’ lacrosse team, the reigning Class A North champion, extended its win streak to six games with a 10-4 home win over Marshwood last Wednesday. Joey Guerrette scored five goals and Gio Guerrette added three goals. Saturday, the Navigators met their match, falling to 9-2 with a 15-9 home loss to two-time reigning Class A champion Cape Elizabeth. Falmouth led early, 3-1, and was only down by one at halftime, but the Capers pulled away in the second half. Gio Guerrette and Joey Guerrette both scored three times, but it wasn’t enough.

“(Cape) played well, give it to them, they killed us in the middle of the field,” said Falmouth coach Dave Barton. “We know exactly what we’ll get from them. They’re well coached. They’re a different team from last year, but it’s just as effective. They’re still explosive at times. They understand when they have a stranglehold on a game. Unfortunately, it dipped into our possessions. We’re used to having a certain rhythm and having the ball on our sticks and having control of the game, but we didn’t have that today.”

The Navigators (second to Cape Elizabeth in the Class A state-wide Heals) were at Westbrook Tuesday, go to Cheverus Saturday, then close the regular season at home versus Scarborough Wednesday of next week.

“We have to finish strong,” Barton said. “We have to focus on ourselves and fundamentals. There’s no secret sauce. When this group clicks, this group’s really good. It’s just a consistency thing. All we’re guaranteed is a week-and-a-half left. That’s it. Everything from there is earned.”

In Class B, Yarmouth was 8-3 and third in the Heals after a dramatic 6-5 home win over Freeport and a 22-2 victory at Fryeburg Academy. Against the Falcons, freshman Colton McCann’s goal with 10 seconds left was the difference. Killian Marsh scored twice and Colter Olsen added four assists. In the win over the Raiders, Olsen had eight goals and Marsh finished with six. The Clippers go to Greely Wednesday (see our website for game story), host two-time Class C champion Waynflete Friday, then close at NYA Tuesday of next week.

Greely was 5-6 and seventh in Class B following a 15-12 home loss to Wells and a 16-9 win at Freeport. The Rangers host Yarmouth Wednesday, welcome Gardiner Friday and close at undefeated Cape Elizabeth Wednesday of next week.

In Class C, NYA extended its win streak to four games and improved to 7-3 with recent victories at Lake Region (14-3) and at home over Oak Hill (12-2). James Brogan-Provencher had four goals, Nolan Pecora scored three times and Brayden Warde added five assists against the Lakers. Warde had five goals and three assists against Oak Hill. The Panthers third in the Heals go to Fryeburg Academy Wednesday, host Freeport Friday, welcome Yarmouth Tuesday of next week, then close with a showdown at rival Waynflete next Thursday, a rematch of last year’s epic double-overtime state final, won by the Flyers.

Freeport was 4-7 and 10th in Class C after losses last week at Yarmouth (6-5) and at home to Greely (16-9). The Falcons host Gray-New Gloucester Wednesday, visit NYA Friday and close at Fryeburg Academy Wednesday of next week.

Girls’ lacrosse

On the girls’ side, Falmouth continues to surge, extending its win streak to 10 and improving to 10-1 after downing host Windham (18-9), Yarmouth (20-9), Marshwood (16-11) and Greely (10-9). Against the Eagles, Lucy Taylor scored six goals, Sloane Ginevan added five and Maisy Clement and Maeve Ginevan each finished with three.

“In the second half, we kind of hit the reset because that (first half) was not our best half,” said Sloane Ginevan. “We did some things we didn’t expect for them to happen. We were kind of lazy in some areas. We had to get back to playing our game.”

“We talked a little bit at halftime about coming into the second half composed and calm and poised without a frantic energy,” Navigators coach Ashley Pullen said. “We didn’t do a lot of fast breaking in the first half, and we were able to do some of that in the second half. That’s typically a big spark for our team.”

In the win over the Clippers, where the Navigators got a measure of revenge from last year’s regional final ouster, Falmouth scored 13 times in the second half and rolled to victory behind Sloane Ginevan’s career-high seven goals, five goals from Taylor and three more, as well as three assists, from Peaches Stucker.

“The team came out hot,” Taylor said. “We’ve worked so well. Our transition is huge. We started pushing on defense and we got confidence off the dodge. We sat down after the Windham game and we reflected and realized we have to stay hungry and humble. We took that and ran with it today.”

“(Last year) was brutal, so to step back on this field and win, it almost made me cry a little bit,” Sloane Ginevan said. “It was a full circle moment.”

“We made a few adjustments on the offensive end and those really paid off for sure,” Pullen added.

At the Hawks, Sloane Ginevan led the way with six goals with Taylor adding five. In the win at the Rangers, in a battle of two of the state’s three best teams, Sloane Ginevan had five goals and Taylor added three. Falmouth (second to Kennebunk in the Class A state-wide Heals) hosts Massabesic Wednesday, welcomes Thornton Academy Friday and closes the regular season at Portland Tuesday of next week.

Yarmouth suffered home losses last week to Greely (13-5) and Falmouth (20-9), then improved to 8-4 Monday with an 11-8 win at Cheverus. Against the Rangers, Lauren Keaney scored three goals and freshman goalie Grace Keaney made 10 saves.

“Greely’s playing really well and they have more upperclassmen,” said longtime Yarmouth coach Dorothy Holt. “It just wasn’t our day and they looked really good. We couldn’t control the ball in the second half. We’re just young and we’ll make silly mistakes and good teams take advantage of silly mistakes.”

In the loss to the Navigators, Aine Powers scored three goals and Sadie Carnes and Neena Panozzo added two, but the Clippers couldn’t keep up in the second half.

“We’re getting there,” said Holt. “We played much better than yesterday. I’m psyched for these kids. At their age, you never know what team will show up.”

In the win, Powers led the way with four goals, Brooke Boone, Bryn Cain and Lauren Keaney added two apiece and Grace Keaney made seven saves. Yarmouth (fourth in Class A) goes to Cape Elizabeth Friday and finishes at home versus Lake Region Tuesday of next week.

“We’ll get there,” Holt said. “We want to finish as high as we can. No one will want to play us and that’s how we like it. We’re not going away, let’s just say that.”

Reigning Class B champion Greely is looking mighty strong in its bid to repeat. Last week, the Rangers extended their win streak to 10 games by downing host Yarmouth and visiting Cape Elizabeth by 13-5 scores. Against the Clippers, Lauren Dennen and Charlotte Taylor both scored four times and Greely swept Yarmouth for the first time this century.

“We have many, many good scorers, which takes us a long way,” Dennen said.

“We had beaten (Yarmouth) once, so it was less of a mental battle to beat them a second time,” added Rangers coach Becca Koelker. “We told the girls it was historic. Our goal for this program is to be one of the best places in Maine to play high school lacrosse and I think we’re getting very close to that.”

In the win over the Capers, Taylor scored four goals, including the 100th of her career, and added three assists, while Asja Kelman finished with four. Monday, Greely fell to 11-2 with a 10-9 home loss to Falmouth. Kelman scored six times, but the Rangers fell just short. Greely (second behind Brunswick in Class B) finishes the regular season Friday at York, then will look to go back-to-back.

“Every day, we want to keep getting closer to our potential,” Koelker said. “We’re trying to keep the girls challenged. We are doing what we need to do to put ourselves in the best position for playoffs.”

Reigning Class C champion NYA was 6-5 and fifth in the Heals following an 8-7 loss at Cape Elizabeth, a 14-0 home win over Gardiner, a 6-5 home loss to Freeport and a 19-8 win at Lake Region. Against the Capers, Vy Tran and Clara Taylor both scored twice. In the win over the Tigers, Tran led the way with seven goals and three assists. In the loss to the Falcons, Lyla Casey scored twice. Against the Lakers, Lauryn Casey had six goals and Leah Dube added four. The Panthers were at Traip Academy Tuesday, host Wells in a state final rematch Thursday, then close at Gorham June 2.

Freeport appears to have a stranglehold on the top seed in Class C after improving 11-1 with wins at York (6-3) and NYA (6-5) last week and at Wells (14-7) Monday. Lana Dirusso and Emily Olsen both scored twice and Piper Williams made nine saves against the Wildcats. In the win over the Panthers, Dirusso scored two goals, Williams made 14 saves and Emma White scored the go-ahead goal late. Against the Warriors, Dirusso went off for seven goals and Kate Tracy added three. The Falcons host Cape Elizabeth next Tuesday, then close at home versus Scarborough June 1.

Track

The outdoor track regular season wrapped up in recent days.

Monday, Falmouth joined Marshwood at Thornton Academy. The Navigators boys were first, while the girls came in third.

Yarmouth hosted Cape Elizabeth, Lake Region, Poland and St. Dom’s last week. The Clippers boys and girls both finished first.

Freeport, Greely and NYA joined Fryeburg Academy at Gray-New Gloucester last week. The Rangers boys and girls were both first. The Falcons boys and girls each came in second. The Panthers girls were fourth, while the boys placed fifth.

The Southwestern Maine Activities Association championship meet is Friday at Gorham.

The Western Maine Conference championship meet is Saturday in Naples.

The state championship meets are Saturday, June 3.

Press Herald staff writers Glenn Jordan and Travis Lazarczyk contributed to this story.

Sports Editor Michael Hoffer can be reached at mhoffer@theforecaster.net. 

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