Tennis state tournaments highlight busy playoff week

The high school sports season’s playoff calendar heats up this week with every sport but baseball in its postseason.

Two sports have reached the state championship stage, but only one has any local interest remaining. That is tennis.

In the Class 3A team competition at Sanlando Park in Altamonte Springs on Monday and Tuesday, the Braden River boys team will face Miami Belen Jesuit in Monday’s quarterfinals. The winner of that match will face in Tuesday’s semifinals the winner of the Fort Myers vs. Jensen Beach quarterfinal.

In the Class 1A team competition at Red Bug Lake Park in Casselberry on Monday and Tuesday, Out-of-Door Academy draws Miami Ransom Everglades for a Monday quarterfinal. The winner of that match will face in Tuesday’s semifinals the winner of the North Palm Beach Benjamin vs. Boca Raton Saint Andrew’s quarterfinal.

In the Class 1A individual competition, Saint Stephen’s No. 1 singles player Chen-he Li is in the singles and doubles field with partner Max Damm. Their draw was determined late Sunday.

In the girls Class 1A competition at Red Bug Lake Park, Saint Stephen’s draws Miami Westminster Christian in Monday’s quarterfinal. The winner advances to face the winner of the Melbourne Holy Trinity vs. Boca Raton Saint Andrews quarterfinal.

In the Class 2A individual competition, Bayshore’s Theo Schultz is in an 11-person field.

The other sport in its championship stage is lacrosse. The lone team from southwest Florida remaining is the Barron Collier girls squad, which ended Saint Stephen’s season last week. The state semifinals are scheduled for Friday and Saturday at Jupiter High School.

Track and field is at the regional stage. The Class 4A-Region 2 meet, which includes athletes from Lakewood Ranch and Manatee, is scheduled for Saturday at Lakeland George Jenkins. The meet starts at 8 a.m. with the finals tentatively scheduled for 4 p.m.

The Class 3A-Region 3 meet, which includes qualifiers from Braden River and Palmetto, is scheduled for Clearwater on Friday. Start time is 10 a.m. with the finals scheduled for 6 p.m.

Two regionals are scheduled for Thursday. The Class 2A-Region 3 meet, which includes qualifiers from Bayshore and Southeast, is at Tampa Berkeley Prep. The scheduled start time is 11 a.m. with finals scheduled to start at 6 p.m. The Class 1A-Region 2 meet, which includes qualifiers from Bradenton Christian, Cardinal Mooney, Out-of-Door Academy and Saint Stephen’s, is at Indian Rocks Christian in Largo. The start time is scheduled for 10 a.m. with the finals scheduled for 6 p.m.

Those Thursday track meets may force some families to make a choice as all but one of the softball finals of districts that contain local teams are scheduled for that night. And several teams are in position to be playing in those finals.

Lakewood Ranch opens the Class 8A-District 8 softball districts as the top seed on Tuesday. The Mustangs will play Manatee in the semifinals. Palmetto will travel to Sarasota. Both games are 7 p.m. All three teams need win only once to earn a regional playoff berth.

Bayshore begins its attempt to return to the state final four on Tuesday against the winner of Monday’s play-in game between St. Petersburg Gibbs and St. Petersburg Lakewood. The 7 p.m. game is at Bayshore, which is the top seed in Class 5A-District 11. Southeast, the No. 2 seed, is home Tuesday against Booker, also at 7 p.m. Both Bayshore and Southeast need only win Tuesday to secure a regional playoff berth.

In Class 7A-District 9, Braden River is the top seed. It will play the winner of a play-in game between Brandon and Tampa Bay Tech on Tuesday at 4 p.m. at Seffner Armwood.

In Class 3A-District 5, No. 4 seed Saint Stephen’s and No. 3 Bradenton Christian will face each other on Tuesday in a first-round game at 2 p.m. The game will be at Bradenton Christian. Unlike the remaining area teams, the winner of that matchup must win again on Thursday before it can secure a regional berth.

This story was originally published April 23, 2017 at 5:12 PM with the headline "Tennis state tournaments highlight busy playoff week."