Boys and girls high school playoffs open this week, with lacrosse and tennis leading the way.
Drew Keener of Eau Gallie and other Brevard County high school tennis players will compete for district titles this week.
Lacrosse teams across Brevard will compete for district championships and the playoff spot that goes to first-place finishers.
District 21 and 22 boys teams will play championships at Merritt Island and Melbourne Central Catholic at 7 p.m. Thursday.
The girls District 11 final will be Thursday at 7 at McLarty Stadium in Rockledge. Melbourne will host the girls District 21 final at 7 on Friday.
Rockledge girls coach Paul Johnson said Brevard lacrosse has improved “across the board,” and he can tell that from the opposition his team has faced. The Raiders are the top seed in District 11 and face No. 4 Satellite in a Tuesday semifinal following the 5:30 game between No. 2 Edgewood and No. 3 Viera.
Nick Chamberlain of Melbourne Central Catholic (20) and Austin Howe of Merritt Island fight for the ball during a game at Merritt Island. Both teams will be among district favorites this week.
“For a while, we were running the table on people. Now, the wins are much, much harder to come by,” Johnson said. “Summer programs, I think, are helping. The teams are getting infused with better players and more depth. It’s definitely getting better. Our job’s getting a lot harder.”
Because Brevard County schools will hold spring break next week, most local tennis teams compete for district titles a week early.
District 13-2A will hold its tournament Tuesday and Wednesday at Singleton Avenue Courts in Titusville beginning at 8:30 a.m. each day. District 13-3A’s tournament is Wednesday and Thursday at Fee Avenue Park in Melbourne, beginning at 9 a.m.
District 11-1A teams opened competition Monday and will conclude Tuesday, hosted by Merritt Island Christian at Fee Avenue.
Merritt Island baseball plays with two of Florida’s best
Satellite, Viera win conference tennis
The Satellite High boys and Viera girls won the 2017 Cape Coast Conference tennis titles.
Satellite defeated Merritt Island, 5-2, for its boys victory. No. 2 singles player Egan Kattenberg, No. 3 Trevor Kattenberg, Ryker Christensen at No. 4 and both doubles teams won their matches. Jackson Bray teamed with Egan Kattenberg at No. 1 doubles, while Trevor Kattenberg and Christensen were the No. 2 team.
Viera’s girls defeated Titusville for their title, also 5-2.
Sasha Belaya, the defending state singles champion, won her No. 1 match, as did Izzie Diaz at No. 2. The two combined for the state doubles title last year. Amanda Sedaros at No. 3 singles, No. 4 Hope Woodruff and those two together at No. 2 doubles also won CCC matches.
High school sports | floridatoday.com/sports/high-school-sports/