The Cypress Lake boys and Bishop Verot girls tennis teams clinched the District 2A-12 championship on Wednesday and will advance to the Region 2A-3 tournament that begins on Tuesday April 5. After a second-place finish in both the boys and girls tournaments, Cape Coral also clinched a Regional berth.

HS Zone

Boys District 2A-12 Championship

Final Standings

•1. Cypress Lake 27, 2. Cape Coral 21, 3. Gateway Charter 12, 4. Oasis 7, 5. Mariner 6, 6. Dunbar 5, 6. Lely 5, 8. LaBelle 2, 9. Bishop Verot 1, 9. Island Coast 1, 11. Immokalee 0

Individual Championship Results

•No. 1 singles: Zach Blythe (CL) d. Cape Coral 6-3, 6-2.

•No. 2 singles: Cason Hiers (CL) d. Cape Coral 6-0, 6-0

•No. 3 singles: Jose Camacho (CL) d. Joseph Manibo (GC) 6-3, 6-4

•No. 4 singles: Logan Glock (CL) d. Cape Coral 6-1, 6-4

•No. 5 singles: Cypress Lake d. Tristan D’Agostino

•No. 1 doubles: Cape Coral d. Blythe-Hiers (CL) 6-1, 6-1

•No. 2 doubles: Glock-Camacho (CL) d. Cape Coral 6-2, 6-4

Girls District 2A-12 Championship

Final Standings

1. Bishop Verot 21, 2. Cape Coral 19, 3. Cypress Lake 16, 4. Gateway Charter 9, 5. Lely 6, 6. LaBelle 5, 7. Mariner 4, 7. Oasis 4, 9. Dunbar 2, 10. Immokalee 0, 10. Island Coast 0

Individual Championship Results

•No. 1 singles: Lely d. Dusty Catala (La) 6-1, 6-2

•No. 2 singles: Bishop Verot d. Laura Moreno (CC) 6-4, 6-3

•No. 3 singles: Bishop Verot d. MacKenzie Housler (GC) 6-1, 6-1

•No. 4 singles: Bishop Verot d. Yevheniya Krasynska (CC) 6-3, 6-3

•No. 5 singles: Jessica Vu (CC) d. Bishop Verot 6-0, 6-4

•No. 1 doubles: Cypress Lake d. Melia Coughlin-Alyssa Grabner 6-1, 6-0

•No. 2 doubles: Laura Moreno-Samantha Smart (CC) d. Bishop Verot 6-2, 6-1

Girls Lacrosse

•Canterbury 19, Riverdale 5: Krista Thompson led all scorers with eight goals and also picked up four assists for the Cougars (14-0). Peyton Hornung also stood out with seven goals and three assists.

•Estero 13, Bishop Verot 7: Lauren Lockard had three goals and Olivia Horton picked up two for the Vikings.

Softball

•Mariner 16, Port Charlotte 0: Madison James and Abby Love both picked up two RBI apiece to lead the way for the Tritons (19-5). Hannah Holloway (14-5) struck out 10 from the mound, only allowing two hits and one walk.

•Riverdale 2, Estero 0: Pitcher Meghan Reno only allowed one hit and went 2-for-3 from the plate with an RBI for the Raiders (15-6). Terri Ware and Kassidy Topliff each added a hit apiece to also contribute.

•Ida Baker 14, Cypress Lake 4: Denia Bent went 3-for-4 with three doubles and three RBI to lead the way for the Bulldogs. Kristabella Harris went 3-for-3 to also contribute.

•North Fort Myers 6, Bishop Verot 4: Melinda Thirion hit a double into the centerfield gap in the top of the third to score the game’s final two runs for the Red Knights (16-1). Emma Johnson wemt 2-for-2 with a walk to also stand out.

Baseball

•Ida Baker 11, Cypress Lake 3: Chris Menendez blasted a two-run home run and Chris Schrowe (5-0) picked up six strikeouts in six innings pitched to lead the way for the Bulldogs (14-2).

•ECS 9, Marco Island Academy 5: Ben Specht led the way with three hits and three RBI for the Sentinels (15-4).

•Riverdale 2, Estero 0: Hunter Tinsley (2-0) picked up the win for the Raiders (8-9) with nine strikeouts in six innings pitched. Estero falls to 10-6 on the year.

•Mariner 3, Port Charlotte 2: Daniel Varner (3-3) notched his third win of the year for the Tritons (10-8) after only allowing three hits in six innings pitched. Mason Eicher and Andrew Arsenault went 2-for-4 offensively.

Boys lacrosse

•Bishop Verot 12, Estero 4: Brothers Zack and Cody Liberto scored three goals and picked up three assists respectively to lead the way for the Vikings (12-3). Miles Duca recorded nine saves from the net.

Canterbury 16, Riverdale 3: Butch Bolger had seven goals and Alek Kirschner dished out seven assists for the Cougars (10-4). Kirschner also had four goals on the night.

Softball

HS Zone

•Bishop Verot 11, Charlotte 1: Mallory Volz and Tayli Filla led the Vikings offense with two hits apiece. Volz also picked up four RBI and Filla blasted a home run, notched two RBI and scored two runs. Pitcher Nicole Rodriguez allowed only one run, striking out 12 batters.

Girls lacrosse

•Naples 24, Bishop Verot 1: Sara Hannon scored the lone goal for the Vikings.

Girls tennis

•Cape Coral 7, East Lee County 0 (From Tuesday): Singles: 1. Kirstmary Vite (C) d. Diana Sierra 6-3, 6-3; 2. Bella Allen (C) d. Celande LaFrance 6-0, 6-0; 3. Sara Ellis (C) d. Oriana Campbell 6-0, 6-0. 4. Cape Coral won by Forfeit; 5. Cape Coral won by forfeit. Doubles: 1. Vite-Allen (C) d. Sierra-LaFrance 8-1; 2. Cape Coral won by forfeit.

Records: Cape Coral (7-5).

•SFCA 6, ECS 1 (From Tuesday): Singles 1. Olivia Jensen (SFCA) d. Madison DeRitis 6-4, 6-2; 2. Ally Frith (SFCA) d. Gabi Vera 6-2, 6-0; 3. Savannah Klingerman (SFCA) d. Olivia Villgreal 6-1, 6-1; 4. Amanda Higginbotham (SFCA) d. Lexi Busch 6-1, 6-1; 5. Emily Higginbotham (SFCA) d. Jolie Candelore 6-2, 6-0. Doubles: 1. Jensen-Frith (SFCA) d. DeRitis-Busch 8-3; 2. Krupka-Vera (ECS) d. Bohannon-E. Higginbotham 9-7.

•Riverdale 6, Mariner 1: Singles: Morgan Baldwin (R) d. Katelyn Bandemer 2-6, 6-2, 10-7; 2. Meghan Newton (R) d. Samantha Wolfe 6-0, 6-1; 3. Mia Rampezzotti (R) d. Sara Hamilton 6-0, 6-0; 4. Miranda Persaud (R) d. Sherri Kao 6-1, 6-0; 5. Danielle Berrenet (R) d. Sophia Restrepo 6-2, 6-2. Doubles: 1. Bandemer-Wolfe (M) d. Baldwin-Newton 8-8, 8-6; 2. Rampezzotti-Persaud (R) d. Sydney Campbell-Shannon McNoldy 8-1.

•Fort Myers 4, Gulf Coast 3: Singles: 1. Viva Laas (GC) d. Shani Idlette 6-1, 6-4; 2. Emma Heiderscheit (GC) d. Marina Lombardo 6-0, 6-4; 3. Daniella Andrade (FM) d. Bella Lawrence 6-4, 5-7 (10-4); 4. Reina Plancher (FM) d. Savanna Lawrence 6-4, 6-0; 5. Mary Beth Briers (FM) d. QiQi Anderson 7-5, 1-6 (10-6). Doubles: 1. Laas-Heiderscheit (GC) d. Idlette-Plancher 8-3. 2. Lombardo-Andrade (FM) d. B. Lawrence-M.J. Casellanos 8-2.

Records: Fort Myers (12-1-1).

Boys tennis

•Cape Coral 6, East Lee County 1 (From Tuesday): Singles: 1. Corey Williamson (C) d. Joshua Lalsiew 6-0, 6-0; 2. Max Slafer (C) d. Turner Davis 6-0, 6-0; 3. Tristan D’Agostino (C) d. Jamari Williams 6-0, 6-0; 4. Jacob Robertson (C) d. Steve Luders 6-0, 6-0; 5. Austin Perez (C) d. Teven Gustavo 6-1, 6-0. Doubles: 1. Robertson-Perez (C) d. Lalsiew-Davis 8-1. 2. Williams-Luders (E) d. William Koa-Logan White 11-9.

•ECS 5, SFCA 2 (From Tuesday): Singles: 1. David Vera (ECS) d. Michael Bubar 6-1, 6-0; 2. Adrian Vera (ECS) d. Reed Rollings 6-3, 6-1; 3. Jordan Lohr (ECS) d. Erek Lehnen 6-3, 4-6, 10-8; 4. Cameron Lohr (ECS) d. Liam McKinney 6-3, 6-1; 5. Chandler Hunte (ECS) d. Christian Modl 6-0; 6-0. Doubles: 1. Bubar-Rollings (SFCA) d. Hagel-Monceau 8-1; 2. Lehnen-McKinney (SFCA) d. Crawford-Costa 8-1.

•Riverdale 4, Mariner 3: Singles: 1. Simon Dunham (R) d. Cole McNeely 6-0, 6-2; 2. Andrew Kibler (M) d. Rhiguens Fortune 6-3, 6-2; 3. Luke Chin A Foeng (R) d. Tim Karras 6-1, 7-5; 4. Jamison Brooks (R) d. David Cato 6-4, 6-3; 5. Thomas DiCicco (M) d. Nick Buffington 6-4, 6-2. Doubles: 1. Kibler-McNeely (M) d. Dunham-Fortune 8-5; 2. Chin A Foeng-Brooks (R) d. Cato-Karras 8-2.

Athlete of the Week

VOTE NOW: Athlete of the Week

It’s time to vote for The News-Press high school athlete of the week. Voting will close at noon on Thursday.

Nominees are derived from scores and stats called and emailed in by Lee County coach’s during the week. Voting begins each Monday at 2 p.m.

Coaches can email scores to sports@news-press.com or call in scores at 239-335-0357. The deadline for each night’s results is 10:30 p.m.

Here are this week’s nominees based on their performances between March 21-26:

Softball

Alex Hilton, ECS

Hilton went 3-for-5 with two doubles and five RBI in an 8-6 win over Community School of Naples March 22.

Baseball

Tyler Shuck, Canterbury

Shuck was instrumental to the Cougars run to the Sarasota Baseball Classic title. In a 4-2 win over nationally-ranked Vienna (Virginia) Madison, he finished 2-for-4 with a double. He then threw seven innings of two-run, two-hit baseball to secure the 4-2 victory over Sarasota in the finals.

Boys tennis

Zach Blythe, Cypress Lake

Blythe won the District 2A-12 No. 1 singles title and led the Panthers to a team title.

Girls tennis

Shani Idlette, Fort Myers

Idlette, a freshman, downed Venice’s Jacqulyn Dixon in the District 3A-11 No. 1 singles final and then teamed with Marina Lombardo to win at No. 1 doubles to secure the Green Wave’s sixth straight team district championship.

Girls track and field

Krissy Gear, Fort Myers, junior

Gear ran in the FSU Relays over the weekend, hitting career marks in both the 1,600-meter and 3,200-meter runs. Her finish of 10:59 in the two-mile race was good for fifth in the event, but stands as the seventh best in the state. She followed with a 4:57.01 performance in the one-mile run, which was good for second-place in the race and now stands as the fourth best mark in the state.

Boys track and field

Thomas Barselou, South Fort Myers, senior

The senior pole vaulter nailed a career best 14 feet, 6 inches at the Tarpon Invitational on Thursday, winning the event. The mark stands tied for fifth in the state of Florida.

Boys lacrosse

Zack Liberto, Bishop Verot

He scored three goals and three assists in a 12-4 win over Estero on Thursday, matching his brother Cody, who also had three goals and three assists.

Girls lacrosse

Arianna Endelmann, Estero, junior

The Wildcats captain led the team to big victories over Fort Myers on Tuesday (15-4) and Bishop Verot on Thursday (13-7). With two games remaining, Estero is 14-4 on the season. No stats were available.

Athlete of the Week March 21-26 (poll 9366508)

District A-12 Girls tennis championship

HS Zone

At the end of the first day of the tournament, Canterbury and Community School of Naples are tied 12-12. All five Cougar singles players will face Seahawks players in today’s finals at the Vineyard in Naples, and both of Canterbury’s doubles teams will play in semifinals.

Quarterfinal results

•No. 2 Singles: Eve Bailey (C) d. St. John Neumann 6-0, 6-2.

•No. 3 Singles: Hannah Bailey (C) d. Marco Island Academy 6-0, 6-0.

•No. 4 Singles: Lema Abuoqab (C) d. SFCA 6-1, 6-2.

••No. 5 Singles: Maya Allione (C) d. St. John Neumann 2-1 (ret. due to inj.)

•No. 1 Doubles: Emily Javedan-E. Bailey (C) d. St. John Neumann 6-0, 6-1.

•No. 2 Doubles: H. Bailey-L. Abuoqab (C) d. St. John Neumann 7-5, 6-2.

Semifinal results

•No. 1 Singles: Javedan (C) d. First Baptist 6-2, 6-3.

•No. 2 Singles: E. Bailey (C) d. First Baptist 0-6, 6-2, 10-8.

•No. 3 Singles: H. Bailey (C) d. First Baptist 6-2, 6-2.

•No. 4 Singles: Abuoqab (C) d. First Baptist 6-0, 6-1.

•No. 5 Singles: Allione (C) d. First Baptist 6-0, 6-1.

Girls lacrosse

•Canterbury 14, Port Charlotte 13: Peyton Hornung and Krista Thompson both had six goals and two assists apiece to lead the Cougars (15-0).

Boys lacrosse

•Canterbury 14, Port Charlotte 5: Butch Bolger led the Cougars (11-4) by scoring a team-high four goals. Alek Kirschner had three goals and five assists to also stand out.

The News-Press All-Area Athlete of the Week

Estero lacrosse player Arianna Endelmann garnered 46 percent of the vote to win the News-Press Athlete of the Week for March 21-26.

Endelmann led the Wildcats to huge wins over Bishop Verot and Fort Myers last week. Estero is 14-4 on the season and gearing up for the District 18 tournament next week.

Nominees are derived from scores and stats called and emailed in by Lee County coach’s during the week. Voting begins each Monday at 2 p.m.

Coaches can email scores to sports@news-press.com or call in scores at 239-335-0357. The deadline for each night’s results is 10:30 p.m.

Canterbury baseball player Tyler Shuck took second after being  instrumental to the Cougars’ run to the Sarasota Baseball Classic title. In a 4-2 win over nationally-ranked Vienna (Virginia) Madison, he finished 2-for-4 with a double.

Other nominees were Evangelical Christian softball player Alex Hilton, Cypress Lake tennis player Zach Blythe, Fort Myers tennis player Shani Idlette, Fort Myers distance runner Krissy Gear, South Fort Myers pole vaulter Thomas Barselou and Bishop Verot lacrosse player Zack Liberto.

Past winners

Mar. 14-19: Kyle Palmer, Riverdale

Mar. 7-12: Emily Dean, Cypress Lake, lacrosse

Feb. 29-Mar. 5: Christian Menendez, Ida Baker, baseball

Feb. 22-27: Peyton Hornung, Canterbury, lacrosse

Feb. 15-20: Lauren Lockard, Bishop Verot, lacrosse

Feb. 8-13: Kayla Sortore, Cypress Lake, softball

Feb. 1-6: Cassidy Delva, Lehigh, basketball

Jan. 25-30: Nicole Paquin, North Fort Myers, soccer

Jan. 18-23: Gage Schield, Riverdale, wrestling

Jan. 11-16: Holly Golden, ECS, basketball

Jan. 4-9: Oliver Goss, Canterbury, soccer

District A-10 Girls tennis championship

Canterbury eighth-grader Emily Javedan, left, stands with senior doubles partner Eve Bailey after clinching a Class A individual state tournament berth.

Canterbury’s Emily Javedan defeated Community School of Naples’ Allison Ghuman in a thrilling 7-5, 6-4 match to clinch the No. 1 singles District A-10 championship.

With the win, the eighth-grader automatically qualifies for the Class A individual state championship tournament a year removed from losing a third set to Ghuman in last year’s district championship.

After placing second, the entire Cougars team will advance to Tuesday’s Region A-3 tournament, and will face Out-of-Door Academy.

The Canterbury girls tennis team celebrates after placing second at the District A-10 championship match.

Championship Results

•CSN 25, Canterbury 20: Singles: 1. Emily Javedan (C) d. Allison Ghuman 7-5, 6-4; 2. Julia Covelli (CSN) d. Eve Bailey 6-0, 6-2; 3. Amanda Covelli (CSN) d. Hannah Bailey 6-0, 6-1; 4. Katy Wells (CSN) d. Lema Abuoqab 6-0, 6-0; 5. A.J. Massoll (CSN) d. Maya Allione 6-1, 6-1. Doubles: 1. Ghuman-Wells (CSN) d. Javedan-E. Bailey 6-0, 6-0; 2. J. Covelli-A. Covelli (CSN) d. H. Bailey-Abuoqab 6-2, 6-1.

Girls lacrosse

•Canterbury 13, Palmetto Ridge 2: Peyton Hornung led all scorers for the Cougars (16-0) with six goals. Krista Thompson also stood out with four goals and four assists.

Baseball

•ECS 5, Monsignor Farrell (N.Y.) 4: The Sentinels (16-4) won in walk-off fashion by scoring three runs in the bottom of the seventh. With two outs, Mikey Marcelak tied the game with a single and Ben Specht followed up on the next at-bat with a walk-off RBI-single.

•Mariner 6, LaBelle 3: Justin Waibel went 4-for-4 to lead the Tritons (11-8). Christian Velez also stood out offensively by blasted a two-run home run.

Boys Track and Field

Top local players at Pepsi Florida Relays (After first day)

1600 m.: 21. Hugh Brittenham (Estero) 4:38.14; 50. Ryan Ringer (Ida Baker) 4:49.75. 3200 m.: 52. Colin Pace (Ida Baker) 10:30.89. Pole Vault: 3. Jordan Diggs (Ida Baker) 14’0; 6. Drayton Diggs (Ida Baker) J14’0; 8. Thomas Barselous (South Fort Myers) J13’6. Shotput: 4. Kaya Aydogmus (Ida Baker) 52’02.

Girls Track and Field

Top local players at Pepsi Florida Relays (After first day)

1600 m.: 13. Kayla Easterly (North Fort Myers) 5:29.61; 22. Alayna Goll (E) 5:31.55; 3200 m.: 63. Abagail Barroso (Estero) 13:05.54; 800 m.: 12. Megan Giovanniello (Estero) 2:18.21; 23. Sierra Oliveira (ECS) 2:22.94; 36. Daley Cline (Estero) 2:26.32; 38. Jessica Edwards (Canterbury) 2:26.37; 41. Kelsey Collins (South Fort Myers) 2:27.14.

Regional tennis semifinals

high school zone

The Bishop Verot girls tennis team defeated Bayshore High School 4-3 in the region 2A-3 semifinals at Bishop Verot High School. Bayshore took the first and second singles matches before the Vikings rallied to win the remaining three singles matches.

The Brown Bears’ Theo and Ava Schultz took the first doubles match, but the Vikings’ Yvonne Wojitas and Gabrielle Magnant won the second doubles match for the win.

The Bradenton Southeast boys tennis team defeated Cape Coral by a score of 4-3. The Seahawks’ Rey Greenlaw and Ian Ziegler took the first and second singles matches, but the Seminoles bounced back to take the third, fourth and fifth.

Greenlaw and Ziegler went on to win the first doubles match, but the Seahawks ultimately lost as the Seminoles took the final doubles match.

The Canterbury girls fell to the Out of Door Academy 5-2. The Cougar’s two match wins came from Lema Abuoqad and Maya Allione.

Boys tennis

•Bradenton Southeast 4, Cape Coral 3: Singles: 1. Rey Greenlaw (CC) d. Jake Mattraw 6-1, 6-0; 2. Ian Ziegler (CC) d. Konrad Strzalkowski 6-0, 6-0; 3. Parph Patel (SEB) d. Cory Williamson 6-2, 7-6; 4. Sebastian Saurez (SEB) d. Max Slafer 6-4, 7-5; 5. Tyler Teaford (SEB) d. Tristan D’agostino 6-2, 6-1. Doubles: 1. Greenlaw/Ziegler (CC) d. Mattraw/Patel 6-2, 6-0; 2. Strzalkowski/Saurez (SEB) d. Williamson/Slafer 4-6, 7-5, 12-10.

Girls tennis

•Out of Door Academy 5, Canterbury 2: Singles: 1. M’balia Bongoura (ODA) d. Emily Javedan 6-1, 6-1; 2. Sydney Sforoz (ODA) d. Eve Bailey 6-1, 6-0; 3. Madison Reese (ODA) d. Hannah Bailey 4-6, 6-4, 10-7; 4. Lema Abuoqab (C) d. Paula Klar 2-6, 6-2, 10-0; 5. Maya Allione (C) d. Christy Wyaff 7-5, 5-7, 10-7; Doubles: 1. Bangoura/Sforzo (ODA) d. Javedan/E. Bailey 8-5; 2. Reese/Klar (ODA) d. Abuoqab/ H. Bailey 8-5.

•Bishop Verot 4, Bayshore (Bradenton) 3: Singles: 1. Theo Schultz (BB) d. Gianna Drayer 6-1, 6-3; 2. Ava Schultz (BB) d. Yvonne Wojtas 6-3, 6-2; 3. Nicolette Cervone (BV) d. Cailin Finnegan 3-6, 7-5, (10-6); 4. Gabrielle Mangnant (BV) d. Magide Joseph 6-1, 6-0; 5. Gabriella Martinez (BV) d. Alyssa Jones 6-0, 6-2; Doubles: 1. Schultz/Schultz (BB) d. Drayer/Cervone 6-0, 6-1; 2. Wojtas/Magnant (BV) d. Finnegan/Joseph 6-3, 5-7, (11-9).

Softball

•Lehigh 9, East Lee 6: East Lee sophomore Alicia Ramirez went 2-for-4 with two RBIs and struck out six Lightning batters.

•Oasis 14, Dunbar 0: Oasis’ winning pitcher Camri Aho pitched a perfect game and striking out seven of the nine Dunbar batters.

•Bishop Verot 6, Moore Haven 1: Viking Senior Erin Kyle was the winning pitcher and went 3-for-3 from the plate.

•NFM 3, Fort Myers 1: North’s Shelby Coyne went 1-for-3 with a two-run home run to take the lead. Jessie Valerius went 2-for-4 with a double and a single.

Baseball

•LaBelle 2, Clewiston 0: The Cowboys (14-6, 6-0) were led by Tyler Burton who pitched a shutout.

•Ida Baker 3, Port Charlotte 2: The Bulldogs’ Bryce VanHorn pitched seven innings with four strikeouts and two unearned runs. Christian Menendez threw a scoreless eighth inning to secure the victory.

•Mariner 1, NFM 0: Andrew Arsenault led the way for the Tritons pitching six innings with five strikeouts. From the plate, Arsenault went 2-for-3 with an RBI single.

•Lehigh 5, East Lee 2: The Jaguars fell to the Lightning despite the pitching efforts of Colton Stewart. Stewart pitched an entire game for East Lee.

•Riverdale 9, DeSoto 7: Colton Sites led the way for Riverdale hitting 2-for-3 with four RBIs.

Boys lacrosse

•Bishop Verot 10, Estero 7: Tagg Toscano led the Viking offense with two goals and two assists. Kyle Letty had eight ground balls.

Girls lacrosse

•Canterbury 20, Cypress 14: Peyton Hornung led the Cougars with six goals and three assists. Krista Thompson netted six goals and an assists.

•Estero 13, Bishop Verot 7: The Wildcats’ Arianna Endelmann led the way with six goals to defeat the Vikings in the District 18 semifinals. Haley Swinehart and Sloane Brady netted two goals each. The Vikings’ Olivia Horton had five goals.

Bishop Verot High School’s Luke Lanman, top, defends Fort Myers’ Harrison Personnett during the District 18 lacrosse final Friday at the Canterbury School in Fort Myers. Bishop Verot beat Fort Myers 13-6.

Once Bishop Verot broke the scoring seal four minutes into the first quarter, there was little the Fort Myers boys lacrosse team could do on Friday in the District 18 final at Canterbury.

Cruising out to a 6-0 lead, the Vikings never really lost control after that, claiming their fourth straight title with a 13-6 win before a nearly packed house.

It was Bishop Verot’s second straight win over Fort Myers in the district final.

“We came out ready to play tonight,” said Bishop Verot coach Gary Neese, whose team defeated the Green Wave 17-14 in 2015. “We pitched a shutout in the first quarter. It’s tough to beat a good team three times in a year. And they are a very talented team.”

Senior attacker Joe Cerniglia had three goals, junior attacker Zack Liberto added three goals and three assists, and sophomore goalie Kenny Leddy posted 22 saves to lead the Vikings (14-5) into the Class A first round play-in game.

The Vikings will face Sarasota Cardinal Mooney, 16-7 winners over Out of Door Academy in the District 17 final, on Friday in Sarasota. Bishop Verot last faced the Cougars on Feb. 22, losing 17-10.

Despite reaching the state’s play-in game for the past three seasons, Bishop Verot has yet to win.

“I think the morale just came back,” Cerniglia said. “We had a five game streak where our whole team was down. But I think this is going to pump us back up.” 

For the Green Wave (9-5), the loss ended a fantastic stretch in which the team won seven out of its last nine games. Yet, it came after their former head coach, Chip Dopman, was dismissed midseason following controversy inside the locker room.

Bishop Verot High School’s Luke Lanman gathers a pass against Fort Myers during the District 18 lacrosse final Friday at the Canterbury School in Fort Myers. Bishop Verot beat Fort Myers 13-6.

All Fort Myers did from there was show resiliency, interim head coach Josh Vasquez said. The team responded with a handful of significant victories, including a come-from-behind win against Estero on Feb. 26, just days after the turmoil.

The Green Wave defeated Canterbury 12-10 in the District 18 semifinal on Tuesday to advance to the finals.

“They showed a lot of heart,” Vasquez said. “You saw it throughout the year. They showed heart in the beginning. They showed heart now. They got down, we came back. Almost every game we won, we got down and then we won.”

Mull: Mistakes cost Fort Myers coach, player lacrosse season

But the Green Wave had few answers for a relentless Bishop Verot defense Friday, which swarmed Fort Myers on countless occasions. Neese commented that the team showed a zone it hadn’t used all year.

“We confused them a little bit.”

The Vikings pushed the lead as high as nine, 10-1, with 5:55 left in the third quarter. An end-to-end score by Luke Lanman, who finished with two goals, capped off the stretch.

But Fort Myers scored the game’s next four goals, cutting the deficit to five goals with 1:14 left in the frame. In fact, the Green Wave berated Bishop Verot over one remarkable run, scoring three goals over the course of 24 seconds.

Estero girls lax upsets Canterbury in district final

However, the Vikings answered with a goal of their own to end the half, then padded the lead late in the fourth quarter with goals by both Liberto and Cerniglia.

Fort Myers High School’s Max Adams, center, tracks a pass against Bishop Verot during the District 18 lacrosse final Friday at the Canterbury School in Fort Myers. Bishop Verot beat Fort Myers 13-6.

“It was a little bit of patience and waiting for the right looks,” Liberto said.

Tagg Toscano added two goals for Bishop Verot.

The Estero girls lacrosse team celebrates a District 18 championship after upsetting previously undefeated Canterbury 13-6 Friday in Estero

The Estero girls lacrosse team had exactly one year to stew over watching a district title slip through its fingers in the last 45 seconds of a loss to Canterbury. The Wildcats spent an entire offseason preparing for one moment.

Nothing was left to the final minute this time. Sophie Forker and Arianna Endelmann tallied three goals apiece as Estero (16-5) jumped out to a four-goal lead it never relinquished as it upset previously undefeated Canterbury (17-1) 13-6 Friday in the District 18 title game at Jeff Sommer Field.

“I just had faith that my girls had as much talent as Canterbury,” Wildcats coach Erika Anderson said. “And Canterbury’s a very talented team. We just wanted it more tonight.”

Estero will face Bradenton St. Stephen’s in a first-round play-in game April 15.

The 17-5 and 10-9 losses to Canterbury during the regular season only fueled the fire in Estero as it upset Bishop Verot on Tuesday to earn a rematch.

Emmitt Smith named keynote speaker for All-Area Stars banquet

“We really wanted it for our teammates who had to feel the pain of losing like that last year,” junior goalkeeper Sarah Smith said. “We wanted it really bad.”

Haley Swinehart, Forker and Brittany Monteiro struck quickly with goals in the first eight minutes of play. After Canterbury’s Krista Thompson provided an answer with 14:43 left in the first half, Endelmann and Riley Koenig scored within a minute of each other to make it 5-1.

“We were just really hustling and working together,” Forker said.

Estero’s Brittany Monteiro drives down the field during the Wildcats’ 13-6 win over previously undefeated Canterbury in the District 18 title game Friday at Jeff Sommer Field

Smith, however, served as the difference in net, saving 23 shots and never letting the Cougars get closer than five goals in the second half.

“It was really the defense. I’d tell them to lean one way or another with our zone so we’d have the entire net covered,” Smith said.

Thompson and Peyton Hornung, Canterbury’s leading scorers who combined for over 160 goals this season, were held to just three. Katy Matter had three goals for the Cougars.

Canterbury looked to be making a run in the second half when Matter and Thompson found the back of the net to make it 11-6, but Koenig found Forker on a pretty pass from behind the net and Endelmann scored on a drive to the net to close the door on the Cougars.

Bishop Verot boys LAX claims fourth straight district title

“I told them to remember how this feels,” Canterbury coach Wylie Crisanti said. “The Estero girls used last year’s game as motivation to do what they did tonight. We need to do that next season.”

Shelby Coyne watches the trajectory of a softball during batting practice at North Fort Myers High School Thursday.

North Fort Myers junior Shelby Coyne was voted The News-Press Athlete of the Week for the week of April 4-9 after compiling over 50-percent of the vote ending Thursday.

Coyne, a catcher for the state-ranked Red Knight softball program, belted a two-run home run in North Fort Myers’ 3-1 win over Fort Myers on April 5, clinching the Lee County Athletic Conference championship.

The Red Knights are currently 20-2 and head into their District 6A-11 championship against Mariner tonight at home.

In total, eight athletes were nominated and 3,570 votes were cast during the week. Coyne earned 1,804 votes.

Nominees are derived from scores and stats emailed to the sports department by Lee County coaches during the week. Voting begins each Monday at 2 p.m. and closes at noon on Thursday.

Coaches can email scores to sports@news-press.com or call in scores at 239-335-0357. The deadline for each night’s results is 10:30 p.m.

Athlete of the Week

Yvonne Wojtas, the Vikings’ No. 1 girls tennis player, finished second, tallying 1,076 votes. Estero lacrosse player Sarah Smith was third with 376 votes. Cypress Lake senior Cason Hiers, the team’s No. 2 player, was fourth with 158 votes after helping the Panthers reach the Class 2A semifinals.

Emmitt Smith named keynote speaker for All-Area Stars banquet

The Bishop Verot boys lacrosse team breaks the huddle after a timeout during its 12-4 loss at Sarasota Cardinal Mooney in a first-round play-in game Friday.

SARASOTA — The Bishop Verot boys lacrosse team has won four consecutive district titles, but has yet to get past a first-round play-in game. Vikings coach Gary Neese challenged himself to prepare his players to take that next step.

Unfortunately, Sarasota Cardinal Mooney will more than likely be there again to try and stop his team next season.

Mooney (19-5) eliminated Verot (14-9) for the third straight season as four different Cougars tallied two goals in a 12-4 victory Friday at Austin Smithers Stadium.

Emmitt Smith named keynote speaker for All-Area Stars banquet

The Cougars move on to face Barron Collier, a 12-11 winner over Gulf Coast, in a  second-round play-in game Tuesday. Meanwhile, the Vikings were left with a bitter taste in their mouths after losing another win-or-go-home game against Mooney by eight goals or more.

“They’re a talented team. They’re well-coached,” Neese said of Mooney. “They probably play some better competition around the Tampa area. Lee County is probably one of the weaker districts in the state. Unfortunately, we’re committed to playing all those teams twice and it doesn’t give us a chance to branch out as much as we can against other quality teams.”

Mooney scored four of the first five goals in the first quarter and eventually took a 7-2 lead when Caleb Ward whipped a shot into the back of the net with under five minutes left in the first half.

Bishop Verot’s Joe Cerniglia catches the ball as Sarasota Cardinal Mooney’s Tristan Hillerich sprints over to defend during Mooney’s 12-4 win over the Vikings Friday in a first-round boys lacrosse play-in game.

Senior attacker Reagan Griffith, the Lynn University signee who had two goals, in particular gave Verot problems. He tallied the first goal of the game and an insurance goal in the fourth to put the game out of reach.

“He just killed us,” Neese said. “Good thing he’s graduating. Maybe that will give us a chance next year.”

Verot outscored Mooney 2-1 in the third quarter behind scores from midfielder Olin Peck and attacker Joe Cerniglia to cut the lead to four goals. However, the momentum shifted dramatically early in the fourth on Mooney midfielder Christian Berendes’ second goal of the game.

The five-goal deficit with 10 minutes to play forced the Vikings out of their zone and into a man-to-man defense out of desperation, which allowed Mooney to pick it apart for three more goals.

Bishop Verot boys LAX claims fourth straight district title

While Neese’s frustration showed at times during the game, he couldn’t deny Verot had added another successful season to the books.

“I’m always going to look at winning our district as a successful season,” Neese said. “Right now, we’re trying to take that next step and get into the state playoffs. That’s the hurdle we have to clear. We have a lot of players coming back. We’re going to try again next year. That’s my challenge to get this team to that level.”

The News-Press All-Area Athlete of the Week

Vote below or CLICK HERE to choose your athlete of the week.

It’s time to vote for The News-Press high school athlete of the week. Voting will close at noon on Thursday.

Nominees are derived from scores and stats called and emailed in by Lee County coach’s during the week. Voting begins each Monday at 2 p.m..

Coaches can email scores to sports@news-press.com or call in scores at 239-335-0357. The deadline for each night’s results is 10:30 p.m.

Athlete of the week nominations for April 11-16 (poll 9389601)

Here are this week’s nominees based on their performances between April 11-16:

Softball

Erin Kyle, Bishop Verot

The senior tossed a perfect game with seven strikeouts to clinch the District 4A-5 title for the Vikings in a 15-0 win over Gateway Charter Thursday.

Baseball

Ben Specht, Evangelical Christian

Specht clubbed a three-run double to break open a 12-5 win over Cypress Lake on April 11.

Weightlifting

Mariano Hernandez, LaBelle

Hernandez won the Class A 119-pound state championship with a bench press of 220 pounds and clean jerk of 215 pounds, totaling 40 more pounds than the next closest competitor.

Boys tennis

John Carlin and Luka Illic, Fort Myers

After falling just short of a state doubles title last season, Carlin and Illic beat Miami Belen Jesuit’s Carlos Grande and Daniel Martinez 6-4, 6-4 in the Class 3A state final Thursday in Altamonte Springs.

Girls tennis

Bruna Barros and Sarah Greenwell, Cypress Lake

The duo reached a Class 2A doubles semifinal before ending their season at Sylvan Lake Park on April 13.

Boys lacrosse

Joe Cerniglia, Bishop Verot

Cerniglia tallied a goal in a 12-4 loss to Sarasota Cardinal Mooney in a first-round play-in game Friday. The Vikings ended their season at 14-9.

Girls lacrosse

Arianna Endelmann, Estero

The Wildcat captain netted a few goals to keep her team in a first-round play-in game on the road at Bradenton St. Stephen’s before ending the season with a 18-10 loss Friday.

Girls track and field

Megan Giovanniello, Estero

Giovanniello won district championships in the 800 meters (2:23.21) and the 1,600 meters (5:18.68) at the District 3A-12 meet Saturday at Naples High.

Boys track and field

Arye Beck, Estero

Beck swept the 1,600 meters (4:29.23) and the 3,200 meters (10:14.03) at the District 3A-12 championship meet Saturday at Naples High.

Athlete of the Week

Erin Kyle

Bishop Verot senior pitcher Erin Kyle garnered 5,115 of the over 10,000 votes cast to win the News-Press Athlete of the Week award for April 11-16.

The Lamar University signee nailed down the District 4A-5 title April 14 for the Vikings with a four-inning perfect game that included seven strikeouts in a 15-0 win over Gateway Charter. Verot faces West Palm Beach Oxbridge Academy in a regional semifinal at 7 p.m. at Sam Fleishman Regional Sports Complex.

Verot’s Kyle tosses perfect game for district championship

Nominees are derived from scores and stats called and emailed in by Lee County coach’s during the week. Voting begins each Monday at 2 p.m.

Coaches can email scores to sports@news-press.com or call in scores at 239-335-0357. The deadline for each night’s results is 10:30 p.m.

Emmitt Smith named keynote speaker for All-Area Stars banquet

Estero lacrosse player Arianna Edelmann finished second with 2,213 votes after netting a few goals to keep her team in a first-round play-in game on the road at Bradenton St. Stephen’s before ending the season with a 18-10 loss April 15.

Coming in third with 2,165 votes was the Fort Myers doubles team of John Carlin and Luka Illic. The duo beat Miami Belen Jesuit’s Carlos Grande and Daniel Martinez 6-4, 6-4 in the Class 3A state final April 14.

Other nominees were Evangelical Christian baseball player Ben Specht, LaBelle weightlifter Mariano Hernandez, Cypress Lake doubles players Bruna Barros and Sarah Greenwell, Verot lacrosse player Joe Cerniglia and Estero distance runners Megan Giovanniello and Arye Beck.

Aidan Maribona, Bishop Verot

Bishop Verot running back Cooper Gibson signed with St. Vincent College and was one of seven signees honored at a ceremony Wednesday at Nevins Gymnasium.

Defensive tackle Aidan Maribona and first baseman Jessy McLean highlighted a list of seven Bishop Verot athletes who signed National Letters of Intent during a ceremony Wednesday afternoon at Nevins Gymnasium.

Maribona is one of four football players to continue their prep career at the next level. The 6-foot, 270 pound defensive tackle, who is headed to Jacksonville University, finished with 70 tackles and seven sacks in leading the Vikings to an 8-3 record with a District 4A-6 runner-up finish in 2015.

Emmitt Smith named keynote speaker for All-Area Stars banquet

Running back Cooper Gibson will play at St. Vincent College after carrying 98 times for 636 yards and 10 total touchdowns during his senior season..

Tight end Jacob Bowlin signed with the University of St. Francis in Illinois while Trevor Glasgow will attend Cincinnati Christian University.

Jessy McLean, Bishop Verot

McLean, who is headed to Emory University in Atlanta, is hitting .365 this season for the 19-8 Vikings. Verot knocked off Delray Beach American Heritage on Tuesday to reach its fourth state Final Four in seven years.

After tallying 73 goals and 38 assists this season, Lauren Lockard will play lacrosse at St. Anselm College in New Hampshire.

Meanwhile, soccer player Nathan Powers inked with Daytona State College.

Baseball

Canterbury will host Out-of-Door Academy in Thursday’s Region 3A-2 Semifinal at FGCU instead of their home field at Rutenburg Park. The game starts at 7:30 p.m.

Barron Collier baseball outlasts young Cape Coral

Canterbury signs eight athletes to national letters of intent on Thursday inside the gymnasium.

Canterbury senior Michael Matter swears he didn’t do it knowingly.

Only after he committed to Belmont University the day after he visited the Nashville campus, he said, he learned he would be competing against his Cougars teammate Carter Smith, who committed to the University of Memphis in September.

“It worked out in a funny way,” said Matter, who will join the Division I Bruins on a partial scholarship.

On Thursday, both Matter and Smith signed their national letters of intent to play with their respective schools, along with six other Canterbury athletes inside the school’s gymnasium.

Five baseball players from Canterbury’s nationally ranked program signed to play for collegiate programs, including shortstop Gus Cunningham, who picked Ohio University. Athletic director Frank Turco said all five will receive partial scholarships.

On Monday, the Cougars moved up Maxpreps’ Xcellent 25 rankings to No. 7, their highest of the season.

“It felt like home,” said Cunningham, who will join the Division I Bobcats. “They were good people up there. On my visit, it was actually snowing, which it really didn’t matter to me much. I felt like home there.”

Bryan Eberle inked with Division II Barry University and Jake Crandon signed with Division III Berry College

Chapin Leatherwood signed to play lacrosse with Emmanuel College, Charles Ellis will join Baldwin Wallace University for football and Caroline Flaharty will join the volleyball program at Bowdoin College.

The only viable goal remaining for the Cougars, Matter said, is competing for a state championship. Canterbury reached as far as the state semifinals last season before falling short.

“The rankings, it’s nice and great for the school, but really we’re playing for our school and trying to win a state championship,” he said. “And I think there is some pressure, but I don’t think it’s phasing us at all. We’re so focused and determined, the rankings aren’t playing a huge role in how we play.”

The All-Area Stars winners gather at the fifth annual banquet.

When it comes to talent, excitement and success in high school sports, Southwest Florida athletes and programs are among the best in the nation.

We’re the place that built Prime Time (NFL Hall-of-Fame cornerback Deion Sanders), and the region that molded The Freak (former NFL defensive end Javon Kearse).

Every year, hundreds of our athletes go on to earn college scholarships, while a handful of our teams go on to win state championships.

Their success begs for a celebration. And so we’re having one, and all of Southwest Florida is invited.

On May 31, The News-Press Media Group will host its sixth annual All-Area Stars Sports Awards at Germain Arena. Former Dallas Cowboys running back Emmitt Smith, the all-time leading rusher in NFL history and a former University of Florida athlete, will be the event’s quest speaker.

The banquet is open to the public and tickets include dinner. Registration will begin at 5:45 p.m. with the awards program and Smith to follow from 6:30-9 p.m. For tickets, click here.

Tickets on sale to see Emmitt Smith at Germain Arena

Lauren Lockard, 18, Bishop Verot – Lacrosse, All Area (2016)

The News-Press All-Area All Stars

Arianna Endelmann, Estero, Lacrosse

Peyton Hornung, Canterbury, lacrosse

Kameryn Gannon, Bishop Verot

Haley Swinehart, Estero

Katy Matter, Canterbury

Casey Owens, Bishop Verot

Madison Anton, Cypress Lake

Emily Dean, Cypress Lake

Caleigh Kenna, Cape Coral

Krista Thompson, Canterbury

How we select All-Area teams

At the conclusion of each high school season, The News-Press staff sends area coaches a nomination form to select and rank players for our All-Area first teams and to nominate athletes for second team and honorable mention.

The News-Press All-Area Girls Lacrosse Player of the Year finalists.

A combination of The News-Press’ research and the coaches’ player rankings lead to the teams being selected and three athletes are named finalists for player of the year. The three finalists are invited to The News-Press All-Area Stars Banquet to be held Tuesday, May 31 at Germain Arena in Estero where the players of the year will be announced.

Tickets on sale to see Emmitt Smith at Germain Arena

Player of the Year Finalists

Peyton Hornung

School: Canterbury

Position: Attacker

Year: Junior

Highlights: The attacker posted 88 goals, a team best, and added 28 assists for the 17-win Cougars, who were a perfect 12-0 in District 18.

Arianna Endelmann

School: Estero

Position: Attacker

Year: Junior

Highlights: The attacker tallied a team-leading 83 goals for the 16-win Wildcats, who reached the region playoffs with a win over Canterbury.

Lauren Lockard

School: Bishop Verot

Position: Attacker

Year: Senior

Highlights: The Saint Anselm College signee produced a team-high 73 goals and added 38 assists, tallied 134 ground balls, posted 44 takeaways and won 161 draw controls.

First team

Second team

Heather Nalbach, Riverdale

Logan Furman, Cypress Lake

Angela Leddy, Bishop Verot

Maya London, Cape Coral

Keri Linehan, Fort Myers

Indigo Siemienski, Riverdale

Riley Koenig, Estero

Lauren Rosellini, Canterbury

Samantha Douglas, Estero

Victoria Ormsby, Cypress Lake

Sydney Ratz, Fort Myers

2015 News-Press All-Area Girls Lacrosse

Honorable Mention

Canterbury: Brie Lawrence, Emily Schwartz

Cape Coral: Meka Silivas , Katara Gaymon

Bishop Verot: Sarah Hannon, Olivia Horton

Riverdale: Sara Perkins, Chandler Williamson

Fort Myers: Samantha Crowel, Bridgett Parsons

Estero: Ashley Foster, Brittney Monteiro

Coach of the Year

Estero head girls lacrosse coach Erika Anderson

Erika Anderson, Estero

Highlights: After finishing below .500 last season, the Wildcats were searching for improvement. But Anderson did Estero much better, guiding the team to a school record 17 wins, a District 18 championship, and a trip to the region playoffs — by beating previously undefeated Canterbury.