Pine Crest looks to stay powerful with standouts Snyder, Lins With former classmates in mind, Murphy leads Aquinas to victory

Pine Crest School’s boys and girls tennis teams have reason for optimism this season as they bring back this past season’s Sun Sentinel players of the year.

The boys’ team returns sophomore David Lins, the state singles and doubles champion (with junior Sergey Golovnev). In addition to receiving the county player-of-the-year honor, Lins was also named All-American and was the Florida Dairy Farmers player of the year.

“The boys on this team are highly competitive and experienced tournament players who know how to win,” said Pine Crest boys coach Farhan Malik, who also added a top junior player to the lineup in freshman Jamie Corsillo. “The depth of the boys’ team is unparalleled to any other team we have had in the past with several players vying for the No. 1 position.”

The Panthers girls return three starters. Sun Sentinel Broward Girls Player of the Year Demi Snyder, a junior, who won at No. 1 singles and doubles (with sophomore Mimi Lavin), and sophomore Lauren James are experienced USTA tournament players.

American HeritageDelray’s boys and girls tennis coach Brian Schleifer hopes to lead the girls’ team to its 11th state team title. He has a veteran group, including senior Melissa Sakar, who is headed to Columbia next year.

The Stallions’ boys are led by senior Steven Sun, a three-time first-team AllCounty selection, who finished 12-0 at No. 1 singles, winning district and regional titles. The Harvard commit is 35-0 for his career and was also undefeated at No. 1 doubles. Hunter Robbins, also a senior, returns.

Douglas returns everyone from last year’s girls’ squad, led by junior Madison Leal, who won the district title at No. 1 singles and posted a 19-2 mark in reaching the second round at the Class 4A state tournament. The state champion boys team had several top players graduate and another transfer.

Saint Andrew’s School is primed for a deep run in the postseason with both the boys’ and girls’ teams. The girls return senior Olivia Martinez, a twotime state champion, who is headed to Tulane, while the boys have their No. 1 player Quinn Fender back for his senior year.

“We return a lot of players this season, and we have added some very strong new faces who will challenge for starting spots on both the boys and girls teams,” said Scots coach Reid Rafter. “We have many individual goals for our kids revolving around personal improvement, but the main team goal, as always, is to win our district, and move on to compete in regionals and hopefully states.”

Calvary Christian Academy’s boys’ team returns the 1-2 punch of seniors Michael Mendez and Sebastian Stam, who went 10-2 and reached the state final in doubles. They were the first boys in school history to reach the state tournament.

District winner Anna Winslow, a South Plantation High School senior, is hoping to return to the state tournament after becoming the first girl from the Paladins to advance to states in more than a decade. The Benjamin School has new coaches in Benjamin Harper (boys) and Hugo Armando (girls) after Delores Colton, who coached for more than 40 years, decided to take a step back. She is a volunteer on the coaching staff this year. The girls’ team will be led by sophomore Tatiana Ziff.

Cypress Bay coach Maria Andreoni Stewart will be coaching both the boys and girls teams. She returns everyone from the reigning district champion girls team, led by seniors Dannella Mezzanotte and Maria Maurant. This is her first season with the boys.

St. Thomas Aquinas coach Carol Deopsomer is hoping both of her school’s teams rise to the occasion.

“The boys team very promising this Deopsomer said.

The team is led by senior returner Matthew Gonzalgo. The Raiders added Douglas transfer Jonathon Dzung, a junior, who helped the Eagles win the first tennis championship in school history last year. Junior Juan Tavera is new to St. Thomas Aquinas with a Universal rating (10.48).

Other Broward girls to watch: Kelly Antkiewicz, St. Thomas Aquinas, Jr.; Ellen Ashley American Heritage, Sr.; Natalie Block, American Heritage, 7th; Caitlyn Khan, Calvary Christian, Sr.; Anna Shatalova, North Broward Prep, 7th; Jessica Siegel, Donna Klein, Jr.; Lekha Varudandi, Douglas, So.; Lauren Wich, Cardinal Gibbons, Sr. Other Broward boys to watch: Adam Duan, American Heritage, Fr.; Chad Friedman, Donna Klein, Jr.; Andres Golindano, Somerset, So.; Giuliano Rengifo, North Broward Prep, Sr.; Mike Zinn, Cooper City, Sr.

Other Palm Beach girls to watch: Izzy Forster, Saint Andrew’s, Fr.; Kate Halickman, Oxbridge Academy, Sr.; Taylor Kogan, American Heritage-Delray, Sr.; Emma Markarian, Suncoast, Sr.; Ally Nerf, West Boca Raton, Jr.; Rachele Rimondini, Spanish River, So. Other Palm Beach boys to watch: Chase Cerejo, Wellington, So.; Kevin Enos, Jupiter Christian, Fr.; Ryan Holzhausen, Suncoast, Sr.; Robbie Jackson, Oxbridge Academy, So.; Jacob Lowen, Saint Andrew’s, Fr.; Allan Van Nostrand, Oxbridge Academy, So.; Jonathan Olive-Blanco, Spanish River, Sr.; William Speer, Park Vista, Sr.

Key dates: Feb. 12: First regular-season playing date; April 14: Last regularseason playing date; April 16-21: District tournaments; April 24 and 26: Regional tournaments; April 30-May 4: Florida High School Tennis State Championships, Seminole County (Sanlando Park, Red Bug Lake Park & Sylvan Lake Park); April 30-May 2: Class 1A, Sanlando Park (April 30-May 2); April 30-May 2: Class 3A, Red Bug Lake Park, and Sylvan Lake Park; May 2-4: Class 2A, Sanlando Park; May 2-4: Class 4A, Red Bug Lake Park and Sylvan Lake Park

Boys defending champions: Class 4A: Douglas. Class 3A: Belen Jesuit. Class 2A: Montverde. Class 1A: Ransom Everglades. Girls defending champions: Class 4A: Dr. Krop. Class 3A: Gulf Coast. Class 2A: American Heritage-Delray. Class 1A: Saint Andrew’s. looks year,”

WEST PALM BEACH — Just a day after finding out some of her former classmates and a friend were shot in the tragedy at Douglas, her previous high school, St. Thomas Aquinas junior guard Halie Murphy scored a game-high 20 points leading the Raiders to a 61-52 victory in a girls 8A basketball regional quarterfinal.

The tragedy was very personal for Murphy, who attended and played basketball the past two seasons at Douglas and is close friends with Eagles girls basketball player Maddy Wilford, who was shot on Wednesday. Murphy, who along with her teammates wrote “Play 4 Douglas” on their shoes as a tribute, wore the number 20 when she played at Douglas, which is the same number Wilford has worn this season.

“It’s just very surreal that something like that could happen,” said Murphy. “Our plan is to play for Douglas.”

Aquinas (17-10) led 14-12 after the first quarter as the Raiders used a 2-3 zone to dictate the pace in the early going.

In the second quarter, Aquinas scored two early baskets to take an 18-12 lead, however, the quickness of Palm Beach Lakes (23-3) took over for the remainder of the half as the Rams countered with a 15-2 run to take a 27-20 lead. During the run, the Rams hit three 3-pointers, including a pair by Keishmy Ayuso, who finished with a team-high 16 points.

Trailing 35-30 at halftime, the Aquinas zone defense stifled Palm Beach Lakes in the third quarter, as the Rams were outscored 13-1 in the quarter. Murphy hit a pair of 3-pointers in the quarter to help Aquinas take a 43-36 lead into the final quarter.

“Our plan was to not play at their pace,” Murphy said. “We had to slow it down, and slowing it down kept our tempo.”

The Rams tried to cut into the Raiders lead in the fourth quarter, however, Aquinas answered each time. Bella Lachance, who scored 19 points for the Raiders, went 6-for-6 during three one-and-one freethrow opportunities in the fourth quarter to help give the Raiders the victory and a chance to avenge three earlier-season losses to Blanche Ely. Aquinas advances to a regional semifinal matchup versus the Tigers in Pompano Beach.