Martin County tennis duo makes state run, Vero girls lacrosse waltzes to regional final

Brothers Dylan and Jaden de Windt from Martin County came up one match short of playing for a doubles state championship Tuesday at the FHSAA 3A Tennis State Championships at Sanlando Park in Altamonte Springs.

The duo played in the final of the individual bracket of the doubles event after earning a win in the semifinals Tuesday morning needing to rally from a set down and won a super tiebreaker to earn a shot at playing for a state title.

Playing another set of brothers, Drae and Jae Centonze from Ocala Vanguard in the final, the de Windt's fought valiantly but were defeated 6-4, 6-4 to drop their first match all season.

The de Windt's were able to rally in the semifinal against Gulf Breeze's William Meyering and Frankie Smith after losing the first set 6-4 and took the second set 6-2 before winning the super tiebreaker 10-8.

For Jaden, to make a charge at state in his senior season with his brother after reaching state last year as a team with Martin County, it's a memory they'll be able to hold onto for a long time.

Recent: Top tennis prospect Grace Levelston fuels Vero Beach tennis at state tournament

More State Tennis: Martin County, Okeechobee doubles teams reach state semifinals

"When the stakes are big, I think Dylan and I pretty good at knowing how to raise our level when the competition is fierce in a big tournament," Jaden de Windt said. "It was just an amazing time for us to play some of our best tennis of the season and for us to be together and make it so far my last year. Even though we lost, I'm extremely happy the way Dylan and I worked and played together and we definitely left Orlando winners in our eyes."

Dylan earlier in the state tournament had a close call in the singles competition, losing in a third set tiebreak on Monday to Leo Alexeyev of Mitchell.

Resetting himself after the disappointment to partner with his brother to win their first doubles match in the afternoon, the sophomore was pleased with how he handled himself and with how the experience at state went.

"It was extremely exciting to play the two days especially with Jaden, we just had a great time together," Dylan de Windt said. "I played well, I was happy with my game and a lot of positives came out of the last couple days. I was so happy to go to state and spend so much fun with Jaden."

Okeechobee's Bellana Schlosser and Isabella Derigo won two matches Monday to reach the semifinals of the 3A bracket for the girls but were eliminated in two sets 6-1, 6-3 by Sarah McElrath and Ella Goodwin from Gulf Breeze.

2-2A Girls Lacrosse Semifinal

Vero Beach 20, Viera 2

VERO BEACH — Two weeks ago, a short-handed Vero Beach girls lacrosse team wasn't thrilled to be tested far greater by Viera than they expected in the 15-7 District 8-2A Championship win.

On Tuesday, Vero flexed its muscles with an eye on bigger things as Kerrigan Gilmore led an offensive onslaught with five goals to send Vero Beach to a 20-2 defeat of the Hawks, advancing to Friday's regional championship.

Missing star senior and Michigan signee Calli Norris along senior defender McKenna Lafferty on Apr. 13 in the district final, Vero Beach for the first time all season had all hands on deck and it showed in the first nine minutes.

Two goals apiece from Gilmore, Norris and junior Alexa Vega helped Vero race out to a 7-0 lead before Viera's Alexis Fischer finally got the Hawks on the board with a goal.

Vero Beach never let off the accelerator as Norris, Vega and senior JoJo Kowalski each finished the night with four goals and three assists.

"We were not happy with the performance in the district championship and this week in practice it resonated with the girls that they wanted to play like they were capable of tonight and you saw the energy tonight," Vero Beach head coach Shannon Dean said. "That's one thing we talked about, bringing the energy and enthusiasm to this game and that's what they did."

Vero Beach also had two goals come from senior Evelyn Mullins and one goal from senior Allie Rhoades on the night.

In order to return to the 2A state semifinals, Vero Beach will host one of only three teams to defeat them in the regular season on Friday.

Hagerty held Vero in check with a 7-6 victory on their home field back on Feb. 23 and won their seventh game in a row with a convincing 16-1 win over Windermere in their regional semifinal but will have to travel to the Citrus Bowl this time around.

"We've got to avenge that loss early in the season, but we're ready and excited," Dean said. "Under the lights coming back home, it will be fun and this place will be rocking."

Flag Football

Jensen Beach 47, Oxbridge Academy 0: Courtney Cromer went 28-for-37, throwing for 262 yards and seven touchdowns to send the Falcons (14-3) to the District 12-1A Championship game. Julia Thurlow had seven catches for 94 yards and two touchdowns, Lauren Duke and Bella Faherty also had two touchdown catches, Mia Quiles had a touchdown catch and on defense, Duke, Abby Peters and Paige Bressman each had one interception for Jensen Beach, who will take on Suncoast in the title game at 6 p.m. on Apr. 28.

Martin County 12, Fort Pierce Central 6 (3OT): The Tigers (14-1) won their 11th game in a row to secure their spot in the District 10-2A championship game where they will take on second-seeded Fort Pierce Westwood at 7 p.m on Apr. 28.

Fort Pierce Westwood 20, Centennial 14: The Panthers (11-2) rallied to win their seventh game in a row to earn a spot into the District 10-2A championship game where they will play top seed Martin County at 7 p.m on Apr. 28.

Baseball

Jensen Beach 8, Lincoln Park Academy 4: Cade Gilcrease struck out eight in 5 2/3 innings, allowing two hits and two runs to lead the Falcons (20-3) to victory. Patrick Gillen went 2-for-4 with a double and three RBI, Patrick Ward went 2-for-4 with two doubles and an RBI, Cade Crews had a hit and three RBI and Jake Breen went 2-for-3 with an RBI for Jensen Beach, who set a program record for wins in a season.

Martin County 9, Port St. Lucie 1: Tyler Murphy struck out 11 in five innings, Kyle Davis went 2-for-3 with a double and three RBI and Wes Cimperman had a double and drove in three runs to send the Tigers (17-7) to a win at Clover Park. Nick Robert and Anthony Trigillo each had a hit and an RBI for Martin County.

Sebastian River 7, Fort Pierce Central 6: Kix Hofer struck out three and allowed two unearned runs in five innings and Kody Flynt hit a two-run home run to lead the Sharks (10-12-1) to victory. Ethan Camilo went 2-for-2 with a double and two RBI, Gian Brown and Zach Santiso both had two hits and an RBI, Tyler Jones went 2-for-3 with a double and scored two runs and Calvin Junek picked up the save for Sebastian River.

Conor Spells had a double and two RBI and Thomas Fleischman had two hits for Fort Pierce Central.

Softball

Centennial 6, South Fork 1: Gabriella De Jesus went 3-for-4 with two doubles and drove in three runs and in the circle tossed a complete game with four strikeouts to lead the Eagles (12-6) to victory. Briley Orton had a triple and two RBI at the plate for Centennial.

This article originally appeared on Treasure Coast Newspapers: Martin County's de Windt brothers make state run, Vero girls lacrosse rolls