History doesn’t repeat itself often, but for the Fort Myers beach volleyball team, it resulted in the hoisting of a trophy once again against a familiar opponent.

And for Estero, the agony of being one set win away once more stung even more than it did the first meeting.

The Green Wave closed out the Wildcats in the Class 2A-Region 4 championship game, beating them for the second time this season, and just 13 days apart, in an identical 3-2 decisions.

“The fact that we are so tiny, our team is chugging along like a train,” Fort Myers coach Kelly Corr said. “They pull together, they do their part, they cheer when they have to, they play their hearts out, we try to touch every ball, we’re working in practice hard so that when we come to the game, they’re just seeing our skills.

“We still have some work to do each and every day just to get ready for state, but I’m proud of the fact that we’re hanging in there. We’re pushing through, and we’re fighting.”

Corr didn’t make any lineup changes relative to the last match against Estero, rolling with her best three pairs on the No. 1, No. 3, and No. 5 courts. After a dramatic three-set win in the district title game two weeks ago, Isabella Higby and Erin McDowell exploited the serve receive of Avery McCarthy and Jordyn Selander on the No. 5 court, cruising to a 21-13, 21-11 win.

It was a welcoming sign for Corr, who saw Higby and McDowell squander a 20-14 lead in the second set in the first meeting, losing 22-20 after McCarthy and Selander went on an 8-0 run.

“It was relieving,” Corr said. “It stresses me a little because sometimes they can get a little back and forth with it and give a little too much and get in their heads a little bit, but they pulled it together. They proved they deserve to be there. You could tell they wanted it more than anyone out here. The way they were looking and playing and communicating, their one mistake, they just let it fuel them to get the next point.”

Kasey Corr and Amber Englehart moved to 17-0 on the season with an easy 21-9, 21-5 win over Lilly Engle and Capri Phillipine, while Estero got a 21-17, 21-5 win on the No. 4 court from Katie Kuieck and Julia Martus. The No. 2 court saw the Wildcat tandem of Casey Kennedy and Kassia Perkins beat Briley Dodge and Addi Sprecher 21-14, 21-11.The drama then shifted to the No. 1 court, with a battle between Fort Myers’ Gabby Dwyer and Ashlee Tenkley and Brooke Smith and Delayna Kerry of Estero. Dwyer and Tenkley had their way through the duration of the district title match, but received a stiffer fight on Tuesday, especially early.Smith and Kerry capitalized at the service line on misplays from the Fort Myers seniors, and nearly handed them their first set loss of the season. Level at 19-all, Dwyer and Tenkley ended things on a tip to the near side that went past Kerry’s outstretched arms.”Of course you’re pulling for them at that point,” Estero coach John Ban said. “I have so much faith in that team. They’re such great beach volleyball players, I thought we had every shot in the world to take them down in the first set. That would’ve changed the whole momentum of the match.”Smith and Kerry would fall behind early in the second, trailing 7-1. Dwyer and Tenkley would hold that mid-single digit lead the rest of the way, pulling away to win 21-12 with the regional trophy shortly in hand thereafter.For Ban and the Wildcats, Martus and Kuieck are the lone seniors set to graduate from the program, giving them the foundation to be arguably the area’s top squad in 2026.”The team was amazing this year,” Ban said. “We went 15-2 and lost to the same team twice. That’s the only team we lost to. The girls are a bunch of very good volleyball players and can play on the beach as well. Moving forward into the future, we’re just locked and loaded for next year.”But the loss was definitely bittersweet. I’m happy for the Fort Myers kids that I coached in middle school at Saint Francis and the kids I’ve been able to coach in club over the years.”The Green Wave will now head to Tallahassee to take on Gulf Breeze, the No. 2 seed in Region 1, which beat Chiles 3-2 with wins on the No. 2, No. 3, and No. 5 pairs.Having Final Four experience on the roster this year will only help, as Kelly Corr coached Bishop Verot to Tallahassee a season ago. Kasey Corr and Higby were on the team that advanced last year.”We led with that at the beginning of the season,” Kelly Corr said. “These goals are attainable, they’re reachable, they are tough, but you can do it if you put your mind to it. That was literally one of our goals, was to get (to Tallahassee) for our seniors, for the experience of our underclassmen.”To do that, and to be able to say you did it, very few teams get to do that. That’s always been one of the goals and one of the things we’ve talked about… They all know that experience, what it’s like, and they’ll be able to talk it up and hopefully that’ll fuel them to want to play even harder.”Follow Sports Reporter Alex Martin on X: @NP_AlexMartin. For the best sports coverage in Southwest Florida, follow @newspresssports and @ndnprepzone on Instagram.

Ten-year-old Taylor Lewis is dreaming of competing in table tennis at the Paralympics – and is already showing he has the skills to succeed.

Taylor contracted meningococcal septicaemia when he was just eight months old and lost both his legs, and his fingers and thumbs.

He has had more than 90 operations in his short life but has battled through everything and is making great progress in table tennis since first joining the Draycott & Long Eaton club around 18 months ago.

He has been working with para athlete Simon Heaps, who himself is a double leg amputee as a result of diabetes, and Simon’s brother Nick.

And he’s even had Rolls Royce engineers working on designing prosthetics to help him hold a bat and to pick up the ball to serve.

We caught up with Taylor, his mum Terri and Simon at the Mark Bates Ltd National Championships. Watch the film below.

Simon said: “I think Taylor is an absolute inspiration to anybody of any age. I think that word is said very, very lightly, especially about people with disabilities. But this young man really is. He’s not only a lovely lad, but he’s a true inspiration to everybody.”

Been inspired to try table tennis? To find a place to play that suits you, visit the red button below.

Only 16 years old, Damian FLORO made a strong start on home soil at the 2025 European Under 21 Championships in Bratislava. Playing at Tipos Arena, the Slovakian, seeded 53rd, defied expectations by defeating croatia’s Ivan HENCL, the 29th seed.

“I felt a little pressure before the start because it’s not easy playing at home. It also takes time to adjust to the venue and its conditions. However, once the game started, I felt the ball well, found my rhythm, and that boosted my confidence,” said FLORO.

FLORO previously made his mark by finishing second at the Europe Youth Top 10 two years ago in the Under 15 category in Bucharest. Last year, he was part of the Slovakian Under 19 team that secured bronze at the European Youth Championships in Sweden after a semi-final loss to Germany. In the quarterfinals, Slovakia beat Croatia, with FLORO winning his match against HENCL.

“That win was very important to me today. Despite the ranking difference, I felt confident,” added FLORO.

When asked about his ambitions for the tournament, FLORO was optimistic:

“Now I think I have a good chance to get through the group stage, and hopefully the next round too. I know reaching the knockout phase is very ambitious—but why not?” he said with a smile.

The opening stage of the tournament features 48 players divided into 12 groups (Groups 1–12). The top two players from each group will advance to Stage 2, producing 24 qualifiers. Tomorrow, the eight top-seeded players will join them in the main draw.

Top seeds in the men’s event: Eduard ONESCU (Romania), Andre BERTELSMEIER (Germany), Flavien COTON (France), Iulian CHIRITA (Romania), Tiago ABIODUN (Portugal), Balazs LEI (Hungary), Andrei ISTRATE (Romania), Kas VAN OOST (Netherlands).

See the pictures by T. SEREDA here.

Follow the results here.

Shawne Merriman has opened up about why the UFC is so successful as he aims to provide an opportunity for fighters to progress from his shows to the world’s premier mixed martial arts organization.

On May 10, the NFL legend’s Lights Out Xtreme Fighting returns with LXF 24 at Thunder Studios in Long Beach, California, USA, with a main event between PFL veterans, Tyrell Fortune and Carl Seumanutafa.

However, while the headline attraction will undoubtedly deliver a barnburner, the former Chargers star is equally excited to give up-and-comers like Jake Babian an opportunity to thrive.

After Merriman fell in love with MMA through a brutal training session with Randy Couture, he’s made it a massive part of his life, and now hopes to increase his involvement even further.

WOW: Dana White named his favorite fight in UFC history… ‘The roof nearly came off that building’

Shawne Merriman says the UFC did a great job of building a brand

Shawne Merriman has enormous praise for what Dana White and the UFC have managed to achieve in MMA.

Now, with his next big card coming up, he’s excited to continue on the journey to making his company one of the most respected in the fight game.

In an exclusive interview with Bloody Elbow, he explained: “Carl Seumanutafa vs Tyrell Fortune — I’m really looking forward to seeing this one. It’s crazy, we’re starting to get more marquee guys.

“We believe that a lot of these guys can have an opportunity to go to the UFC if they have a streak with us. We want to get as many fighters on the verge of that and build a lot of the ones that we believe in that are already state champions as amateurs and already have a following. That’s the recipe for us.

“We’re not trying to jump out of the gate with big-name fighters, and I hate to throw other promotions under the bus. This is not an easy business; from the production side to the fight side, there are a lot of nuances that go on in this business.

“There’s a lot of smoke and mirrors because everybody wants to be that next step to the UFC. We’re doing it the right way, we’re going to keep building.

“This is the honest truth. The UFC is the UFC because they built the brand for 30 years, and to build the brand, you need to do things the right way, with the right promotion, letting people know who you are.

“So, you have to build and gain trust with the fans. We wanna be around for the long haul, we wanna be one of the most legitimate promotions in the country, and I think we will.”

Shawne Merriman calls out NFL legend for a massive fight between two football icons

While Merriman is dedicated to promoting the stars of the future, he’s also passionate about training himself.

After growing up boxing with his uncles, who were professional fighters, and then honing his craft extensively with Randy Couture, the ex-Buffalo Bills superstar has an itch to compete that he’s not yet scratched.

With that in mind, he’d love the opportunity to put on the gloves and go to battle.

Recently, Merriman called out a fellow NFL legend for an epic superfight.