Ed. Note: For the complete Falmouth-Greely baseball doubleheader, Falmouth-Yarmouth and Greely-Cape Elizabeth boys’ lacrosse and Greely-Waynflete and Yarmouth-North Yarmouth Academy girls’ lacrosse game stories, with photos and box scores, see theforecaster.net)

Believe it or not, it’s time to think postseason.

The tennis singles tournament is in full swing with the team postseason set to commence. Track will host its conference championships this weekend with the state meets looming June 7. While baseball, softball and boys’ and girls’ lacrosse are still playing, the end is in sight for those sports as well.

Here’s a look at what’s transpired and what’s to come:

Tennis

The preliminary and qualifying rounds of the girls’ singles tournament was held at Deering High School Wednesday.

Falmouth’s Olivia Leavitt qualified by virtue of a 6-0, 6-0 win over Portland’s Alyssa Vaccaro. Teammate Julia Brogan advanced by walkover. NYA’s Lena Rich moved on after beating Waynflete’s Allie Armstrong, 6-1, 6-0. Falmouth’s Caroline Ray advanced after downing Windham’s Kate Kneeland, 6-0, 6-1. NYA’s Marina Stam downed South Portland’s Leah Berry-Sandelin, 8-0, in the preliminary round, then ousted Greely’s Allie Eaton, 6-2, 6-4, in the qualifying round. Greely’s Katherine Pare ousted Cheverus’ Jessica Soucy, 8-1, then eliminated Gorham’s Renae Staples, 4-6, 5-5, retired with an injury.

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Freeport’s Lindsey Dealaman beat Bonny Eagle’s Hannah Katch by double default in the preliminary round, then was eliminated by a walkover against Cheverus’ Caty Galligan. NYA’s Corinne Poitras beat South Portland’s Danielle Proctor, 8-0, then lost to Portland’s Margot Andreasen, 1-6, 0-6. Yarmouth’s Morgan Hamre was an 8-1 winner over McAuley’s Siobhan Kenneally, then lost to Deering’s Maddie Abbott, 3-6, 7-5, 2-6.

Freeport’s Katie McClelland lost in a preliminary round walkover to Waynflete’s Armstrong. Greely’s Alexandra Tebbs fell, 5-8, to Kennebunk’s Laura Haddad. Yarmouth’s Sarah Oberink fell, 0-8, to Scarborough’s Megan Nicholson. Freeport’s Katelyn O’Neil also lost by walkover, to Scarborough’s Laura Henny.

The boys’ preliminary and qualifying rounds were held at Waynflete and Cape Elizabeth.

Falmouth’s Justin Brogan beat Westbrook’s Jordan Gattine, 6-0, 6-0, to move on. He was joined by teammates Brendan McCarthy (a 6-0, 6-0 winner over Deering’s Isaac Finberg) and Aiden McGrory. McGrory eliminated Freeport’s Ethan Roney (who had downed York’s Jackson Grimes in the preliminary round, 8-2), 6-1, 6-1. Yarmouth’s Braden Becker also moved on, by downing Bonny Eagle’s Samuel Clift, 6-0, 6-1. NYA’s Bryce Tetreault had to win two matches to advance and did so, beating Westbrook’s Daniel Porell by default and Freeport’s Nathan Smail (who had beating Greely’s Ben Jagolinzer in the preliminary round, 8-3), 6-1, 6-0.

Freeport’s Caleb Abbott won his preliminary match, 8-4, over Biddeford’s Ashton Collins, then lost, 5-7, 7-5, 2-6 to Kennebunk’s Alex Pearson.

Greely’s Pete Hurley lost to Thornton Academy’s Andrew Paradis in the preliminary round, 2-8. Greely’s Blaine Ventre fell to Bonny Eagle’s Clift, 3-8. Yarmouth’s Alex Coroi lost by default to Bonny Eagle’s Nicholas Bean. Yarmouth’s Rhys Eddy was ousted by Cape Elizabeth’s Luke Gilman, 0-8. NYA’s Max Maurer was eliminated by Deering’s Conor Doane, 0-8.

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Looking ahead, the tournament continues Friday and Saturday at Colby College in Waterville. In the boys’ competition, Brogan is the top seed, McCarthy is second and McGrory is fifth. On the girls’ side, Leavitt is ranked first, Brogan is seeded fourth, Rich is eighth and Ray 11th. The semifinals and finals will be Monday, June 2 at Bates College in Lewiston.

In doubles action, Falmouth’s girls once again produced all four finalists in the Western Maine Conference tournament, where Katie Ryan and Kate Kelley beat teammates Riley Burfeind and Amanda Watson, 6-1, 6-3, to take top honors.

In the boys’ competition, Falmouth’s Russell Bernard and Matt Hutcheon made it to the championship match, but lost to a tandem from Cape Elizabeth.

In team action, Falmouth’s girls increased their match win streak to 105 and closed the regular season with a 12-0 mark after beating NYA, York and Waynflete by 5-0 scores last week. The Yachtsmen will likely be second to Portland for the Western A playoffs.

Greely is on the brink of being the top seed for the Western B tournament. The Rangers improved to 10-1 last week after a 4-1 win over NYA. Greely had to make up a match versus Lake Region. Yarmouth was ninth at 4-7 and closed at Cape Elizabeth Tuesday. Freeport was 11th (only 10 teams make the playoffs) at 5-6 and needed to beat NYA in a makeup match to reach the playoffs. The Panthers were sixth in Western C at 6-5 prior to a makeup match versus Freeport.

On the boys’ side, Falmouth will be second to Deering in the Western A field. The Yachtsmen closed the regular season 12-0 after beating NYA (5-0), Waynflete (3-2) and York (5-0) last week. Yarmouth will be either second or third in Western B. The Clippers, who won just one match last season, were 9-2 and second to Cape Elizabeth. Freeport was sixth at 4-6. Greely finished 2-10 and will miss the playoffs after closing with a 3-2 loss to NYA. The Panthers were ranked seventh at 5-6 entering their finale against Freeport.

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The team tournament begins Tuesday with the preliminary round. The quarterfinals are June 5 and the semifinals June 7, with all rounds being played on the home court of the higher seed. The regional finals are June 12 at Bates College in Lewiston. The state finals are June 14, also at Bates.

Baseball

The big news on the diamond last week was the first varsity victory since 2011 for NYA. The Panthers, who didn’t have a varsity program in 2012 or 2013, lost their first nine games this season, capped by setbacks at Sacopee (15-0) and Waynflete (7-3). NYA then enjoyed a 7-0 home win over visiting Greater Portland Christian School. Joey Hogans threw a no-hitter with 16 strikeouts.

“This win marks a step in the right direction,” said NYA coach Brett Kapteina. “The boys have worked hard all season long and it is good to be rewarded for their effort. We still have a lot to work on, but it is nice to get the taste of what a win feels like again.”

The 1-9 Panthers (who are ninth in the Western Class D Heal Points standings, where only seven teams make the playoffs) were at Old Orchard Beach Tuesday and Waynflete Wednesday, then close at home versus Sacopee Monday.

Falmouth and Greely met in a baseball doubleheader showdown Saturday at The Ballpark in Old Orchard Beach.

The Yachtsmen were coming off a 5-4 home win over Kennebunk (Connor Aube tied the game in the bottom of the seventh with an RBI triple and Will D’Agostino singled him in to win it) and a 12-2 home victory over Yarmouth (highlighted by a Jesse Melchiskey grand slams and three hits apiece from Aube and D’Agostino), while the Rangers had enjoyed wins at Fryeburg (12-2, in five innings, as Chaz Reade and Calvin Soule both had a pair of hits) and Gray-New Gloucester (10-0, in six innings, behind a combined shutout from Alex McAdoo, Mike McDevitt and Sam Porter and a home run and single from Will Bryant).

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In the first game of the doubleheader, Falmouth freshman Cam Guarino threw a two-hit shutout and Patrick Lydon, the No. 9 hitter, sparked the offense with a run and an RBI as the Yachtsmen prevailed, 4-0.

“It was nervewracking,” Guarino said. “They have giant kids. It was scary to go against them. I thought I’d go four or five innings, but going the whole way was awesome.”

“Our mindset going in was this was big Heal Points for us and it’s always nice to knock Greely down a peg,” Lydon said. “We’re going for a top seed and these games help a ton.”

In the nightcap, the Yachtsmen built a 5-0 lead, thanks to the baserunning of Connor MacDowell (three steals) and a two-run single from Aube. Then, Addison Foltmer ran into trouble in the seventh (McDevitt had a two-run double) before holding off the Rangers to close the door on a 5-3 victory and the sweep.

“It feels great,” Foltmer said. “We were just looking to play good baseball. After Cam won the first one, we knew getting the second one would be huge and we did it.”

“This whole atmosphere under the lights with our parents in the stands felt like the playoffs and had us ready to go,” MacDowell said.

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“It was a good night for us,’ added Falmouth coach Kevin Winship. “Everybody contributed today. It shows that we are a good team and we can play with anybody.”

Falmouth rose all the way to the top spot in the Western A Heals and improved to 11-2. The Yachtsmen were home against Cape Elizabeth Wednesday, go to Yarmouth Friday and finish the regular season at Poland Tuesday.

The Rangers were held scoreless for 13 innings against Falmouth, then finally scored some runs, but it was too late.

“We needed to break the ice much earlier,” said Greely coach Derek Soule. “If we did, things might have been much different. In high school baseball, things have a habit of steamrolling, positively or negatively. Guys felt the pressure. We dug too deep a hole.”

The Rangers (10-3 and third in Western B) were home with York Wednesday, go to Kennebunk Friday and close the regular season Monday at Cape Elizabeth.

Freeport and Yarmouth have some work to do if they want to make the playoffs.

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The Falcons began the week 4-8 and 12th in Western B (where only 10 teams qualify) after a 2-1 win at Lake Region and a 20-5 home loss to Poland. After going to Traip Tuesday and hosting Yarmouth Wednesday, Freeport welcomes Old Orchard Beach Friday and closes at Gray-New Gloucester Monday.

The Clippers were 7-6 and 13th after a 12-2 loss at Falmouth and a 9-2 win at York last week and a 5-0 loss at Poland Monday. Connor Lainey had three hits against the Yachtsmen. Luke Klenda homered and Andrew Kinsman earned the victory against the Wildcats. Yarmouth was at Freeport Wednesday, hosts Falmouth Friday and closes Tuesday at home versus Kennebunk.

Softball

Greely’s softball team was 8-3 and fourth in the Western B Heals entering the week. The Rangers beat Fryeburg in come-from-behind fashion for the second time this spring, 14-12, at Fryeburg, then lost, 4-3, at Gray-New Gloucester. In the win, Kaylee Cimino hit a three-run homer in the seventh to help turn the tide. Cimino also tripled and singled twice and Haley Felkel had three hits. Greely was at Old Orchard Beach Tuesday and hosted York Wednesday, visits Kennebunk Thursday, plays host to Falmouth in a makeup game Saturday, then finishes with a showdown at undefeated, top-ranked Cape Elizabeth Monday.

Yarmouth was 5-6 and eighth in Western B (where 10 teams make the playoffs) after a key 7-4 win at Falmouth last week. The Clippers erased an early 3-0 deficit and got multiple hits from Kallie Hutchinson and Eleanor O’Gorman. Mari Cooper earned the win. Yarmouth was at Freeport Wednesday, hosts Falmouth Friday and welcomes Kennebunk Tuesday. The Clippers also have to make up games against Sacopee and York.

Freeport was 2-10 and 15th after losses last week at Lake Region (1-0) and at home to Poland (21-6). Vanessa Lee was the hard-luck loser against the Lakers, giving up just one run on five hits. Lee singled, doubled and tripled and Jill Baker also had three hits versus the Knights, who blew the game open with a 12-run seventh. The Falcons were at Traip Tuesday and hosted Yarmouth Wednesday, play host to Old Orchard Beach Friday and close at Gray-New Gloucester Monday.

In Western A, Falmouth was seventh at 8-4 at press time after a 9-2 home win over Kennebunk and a 7-4 home loss to Yarmouth. Amanda Carver got the win, had two hits and added three RBI in the victory. Jessica Collins singled and tripled in the loss. The Yachtsmen were home against Cape Elizabeth Wednesday, visit Yarmouth Friday, play a makeup game at Greely Saturday and close Tuesday at Poland.

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Boys’ lacrosse

Falmouth’s boys’ lacrosse team made a big statement last week at Yarmouth. Trailing, 11-10, at halftime in a game that had almost no defense in the first 24 minutes, the Yachtsmen allowed just one goal in the second half and went on to a 17-12 win, thanks to four goals from I.V. Stucker, three from Tyler Jordan and clutch work in the faceoff circle from Marshall Kirk.

“We’ve learned to be relentless,” Stucker said. “We came out firing in the first half and we managed to keep it going in the second half.”

“It feels really good to beat them,” Kirk said. “They always coming out firing at home. They’re a very good team with great offensive players.”

“Anytime you can beat teams like (Yarmouth) it’s impressive,” added Falmouth coach Mike LeBel. “It helps with our confidence.”

The Yachtsmen then improved to 8-1 and second in Western B with 17-8 home win over Wells Friday (George Gilbert scored four goals). Falmouth was home against Greely Wednesday (see theforecaster.net for game story), goes to Kennebunk Saturday and closes at Cape Elizabeth Wednesday of next week.

Greely began the week 6-3 and third in Western B after an 8-4 home loss to Cape Elizabeth and a 16-2 home win over Freeport. In the loss, the Rangers got two goals apiece from Tim Adams and Mitch Mullin and 18 saves from goalie Griffin Doree, but committed 28 turnovers.

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“We just didn’t put a full four quarters together offensively,” Greely coach Mike Storey said. “We made some mental mistakes and a let the moment get away from us. We didn’t remain patient.”

In the win, Adams scored eight times, while Mullin added six goals. Greely was at Falmouth Wednesday, goes to NYA Saturday and closes at home against Kennebunk Thursday of next week.

In Eastern B, Yarmouth was second to Maranacook/Winthrop in the Heals at 6-3 after a 17-12 home loss to Falmouth and a 5-4 victory at Waynflete. In the loss, Brendan Dioli and Joe Oliva both had three goals, but after scoring 11 times in the first half, the Clippers only had one in the second.

“I think the back-and-forth of the game shows what we’re capable of,” Pearl said. “I’m really proud that guys played like a team. We had some great shots on goal which just didn’t fall.”

Against the Flyers, Yarmouth went up, 4-1, at halftime, then held on for dear life, as the Flyers pulled within a goal and had a chance to tie late, but a strong defensive effort from Matt Woodbury and Thomas Lord preserved the win.

“(Waynflete) played with a lot of intensity,” said Woodbury. “This was not an easy win.”

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“There’s no style points in this game,” said Pearl. “I give all the credit to the Waynflete team. They really wanted it and came out inspired and they were flying around the field.”

The Clippers were home against Kennebunk Wednesday, play at nemesis Cape Elizabeth Friday and close at home against NYA June 6.

Freeport was fourth in Eastern B at 6-4 after a 12-4 home win over York and a 16-2 loss at Greely. Brady LaFrance had four goals and Zac Wogan made 17 saves against the Wildcats. The Falcons were at Lake Region Tuesday and close at Waynflete Thursday of next week.

NYA showed some positive signs last week by taking visiting Kennebunk to overtime before losing, 4-3, then winning at Fryeburg, 9-6. Wes Bright scored five times in the win. The Panthers (2-7 and 10th in Eastern B) went to Cape Elizabeth Tuesday, host Greely Saturday (in NYA’s annual fundraiser for the Wounded Warrior Project, game time is 10 a.m., preceded by a pregame ceremony) and close at Yarmouth June 6. NYA needs at least one more win to make the playoffs.

Girls’ lacrosse

Yarmouth’s girls’ lacrosse team is closing in on the top seed in Eastern B after two more big wins last week stretched the Clippers’ win streak to seven games. First, Yarmouth held on for an 11-10 win at Cape Elizabeth, as Shannon Fallon, Grace O’Donnell and Emma Torres all had three goals. Then, last Thursday, the Clippers came home to face NYA and play on their turf for the first time in 20 days and they were clearly happy to be there, as Torres scored twice and O’Donnell once in the game’s first 35 seconds. Yarmouth led, 10-5, at halftime and put it away in the second half as it went on to a 17-8 win behind eight goals from O’Donnell, five from Fallon and four from Torres.

“We just want to come out hard in every game and take every opponent seriously,” O’Donnell said. “If we get our momentum going like that, we’re hard to stop.”

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“We worked really well together today,” Fallon said. “It was so nice being back home. We really wanted this game.”

“It’s so nice to be home and the girls are so psyched to be here,” added Clippers coach Dorothy Holt. “This was a big confidence booster for us. We don’t focus on being on the road or whatever, just the next game.”

Yarmouth (7-1 and first in Eastern B) welcomed Falmouth Wednesday (see theforecaster.net for game story), goes to Waynflete for a possible state championship game preview Saturday, then closes the regular season with home games versus Brunswick (June 2) and Kennebunk (June 4).

Freeport remains second in Eastern B at 7-2 after an agonizing 12-11 overtime loss at York and a dramatic 7-6 home win over Greely. The Falcons got three goals apiece from Meredith Broderick, Lindsay Cartmell and Emily Johnson and 10 saves from Molly Lane against the Wildcats and three from Broderick, including the winner with 18 seconds left, in the victory. Freeport is home against Gould Thursday, visits Wells Monday and closes at home against NYA June 4.

The Panthers are hoping to end their two-year run of missing the playoffs and appear in line to do so. NYA last week lost at home to Gould (15-11) and at Yarmouth (17-8). Olivia Madore and Abby McKelvy both scored three times against Gould. Madore finished with four goals against the Clippers.

“I was very proud of how the girls came back,” said Panthers coach Lucy Gerrity. “They could have hung their heads, but they got in the game and rallied.”

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NYA (3-6 and sixth in Eastern B, where six teams make the playoffs) was home against Wells Wednesday, hosts York Friday and closes at Freeport Wednesday.

In Western B, Falmouth almost earned a key win last Tuesday, but couldn’t hold a late lead and lost at home to powerhouse Kennebunk, 9-8. Friday, the Yachtsmen improved to 3-5 and fifth in the Heals after a 17-11 win at Gould. Sabrina Smithwick had six goals and Julia Spugnardi added two with five assists. Falmouth was at Yarmouth Wednesday, hosts Cape Elizabeth Saturday, plays at Greely June 3 and closes at home versus York June 4.

Greely went toe-to-toe with two-time defending Class B champion Waynflete last Tuesday and led the Flyers, 6-4, in the second half, but Waynflete scored seven straight goals and went on to beat the Rangers for the 17th straight time, 11-8. Greely got three goals from Teal Otley.

“There were stretches of great lacrosse,” said Rangers coach Becca Koelker. “We’re making progress. Not as fast as we want, but we’re making progress toward our goal.”

Greely fell to 3-5 and sixth in Western B after a 7-6 loss at Freeport Saturday. Cameron Keefe had three goals. The Rangers were home against Cape Elizabeth Wednesday, play at Gardiner Friday, visit Kennebunk Saturday and close the regular season at home against Falmouth June 3.

Outdoor track

The outdoor track regular season came to a close last weekend.

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Three local teams took part in a meet in Yarmouth Friday, as the Clippers hosted Cape Elizabeth, Falmouth, Greely and Waynflete.

In the boys’ competition, Falmouth was first, Yarmouth third and Greely fourth.

Yachtsmen event winners included Andre Clement in the 110 hurdles (16.94), 300 hurdles (42.63) and the 200 (23.95), Spencer Brown in the 800 (2 minutes, 3.04 seconds), Tony St. Angelo in the long jump (19-11) and their 100 (45.99), 1,600 (3:50.02) and 3,200 (8:37.61) relays.

The Rangers got wins from Chris Byron in the javelin (136-8) and Nathaniel Chapin the triple jump (36-11.5).

The Clippers got first-place performances from Travis Hamre in the 100 (11.77) and the 400 (53.41, Darren Shi in the shot put (49-5) and Ben Decker in the two-mile (9:40.72)

In the girls’ meet, Falmouth came in first, while Greely placed second and Yarmouth finished third.

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The Yachtsmen got wins from Adelaide Cooke in the 100 hurdles (17.35) and 200 (28.41), Mira Wyman in the 400 (1:03.72), Lydia Farmer in the long jump (15-11) and triple jump (35-0.5) and their 400 (54.28), 1,600 (4:31.01) and 3,200 (10:47.11) relays.

For the Rangers, Kirstin Sandreuter took the mile (5:21.32) and two-mile (10:57.45), Siana Emery won the racewalk (8:24.97), Hannah Keisman in the 300 hurdles (52.25), Eva Bates in the 800 (2:32.30), Alyssa Casarez in the discus (107-6) and shot put (34-8) and Kayla Berry in the javelin (66-10),

The Clippers got first-place showings from Emma Egan in the 100 (13.34) and the high jump (4-8).

Freeport and NYA joined Poland at Gray-New Gloucester.

The Panthers won the girls’ meet, with the Falcons coming in third.

NYA got wins from Jillian Bjorn-Caron in the 100 hurdles (18.37) and 300 hurdles (55.29), Hannah Austin in the mile (5:32.79) and two-mile (12:01.04), Muriel Adams in the discus (107-10), Sonia Lin in the long jump (14-5), Linnea Hull in the pole vault (7-0) and Carlota Rodriguez in the triple jump (28-8).

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Freeport event winners included Lexi Dietrich in the 100 (14.13) and 200 (28.17), Bethanie Knighton in the 400 (1:00.88), Hayley Steckler in the 800 (2:31.44) and the 400 (57.42) and 1,600 (4:30.76) relays.

In the boys’ competition, the host Patriots were first, with Freeport second and NYA fourth.

The Falcons were paced by Harrison Stivers, who took the 800 (2;01.27), Braden Marstaller, who won the 110 hurdles in 20.69, James Saucier, who took the 300 hurdles in 49.61, and Demetrius Rodriguez, who was tops in the triple jump (34-11).

The Panthers got wins from Michael McIntosh in the 100 (11.74), Matt Malcom in the two-mile (10:03.53), Xander Bartone in the 400 (53.33), Clayton Manchester in the pole vault (9-6) and their 400 relay (45.91).

This coming Saturday, the Western Maine Conference championship meet will be contested at Lake Region.

On June 7, Falmouth will vie for Class A state glory at Windham, while Greely competes at the Class B meet in Brewer and Freeport, NYA and Yarmouth take part in the Class C championships at Foxcroft Academy.

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Sports Editor Michael Hoffer can be reached at mhoffer@theforecaster.net. Follow him on Twitter: @foresports.

Sidebar Elements


Falmouth freshman Cam Guarino delivers a pitch during his two-hit shutout gem against Greely Saturday night, which helped the Yachtsmen to a doubleheader sweep.

Greely sophomore Kelsey Otley runs past Freeport senior Meredith Broderick during the Falcons’ 7-6 win Saturday morning. Broderick scored the winning goal with 18 seconds remaining.

Yarmouth’s Emma Egan heads toward a first-place finish in the 100 at last week’s regular season-ending home meet.

Falmouth’s unrivaled girls’ tennis program once again produced the top two doubles teams at last week’s Western Maine Conference doubles championships.

Left to right: Falmouth coach Sandra Stone, champions Katie Ryan and Kate Kelley, runners-up Amanda Watson and Riley Burfeind and assistant coach Cindy Churchill.

 


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