Fifth-Ranked Munster Blanks Tigers In Tennis Semistate
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
LAPORTE - He wasn't wearing one, but Warsaw girls tennis coach Rick Orban could have used a 10-gallon hat Saturday.
After his ninth-ranked Tigers won the Concord Regional last week, advancing to the semistate for the fourth consecutive year, Orban said if his team lost to a better team in Saturday's LaPorte Semistate he would tip his cap.
If they lost to a team he thought they should have beat, he said it would be a huge disappointment.
Saturday he was tipping his cap, and it was if he needed a big one.
After blanking most of its opponents this year, it was Warsaw that was on the short end Saturday in the semifinal round of the LaPorte Semistate, falling 5-0 to fifth-ranked Munster at Kesling Middle School.
"I'm tipping my cap," said Orban, whose team's season ended with a 17-2 record. "We knew Munster is an extremely good team. We knew that all along. We felt if we were gonna win any matches it would be at No. 2 doubles, No. 2 singles and we thought we had an outside shot at No. 1 doubles. Munster is a very good team."
As the match played out, it appeared as if the only chance the Tigers had in any match was an outside one, as Munster used a monster performance against Warsaw's experienced seniors and shut them down rather quickly.
At No. 1 singles, Tiger senior Jessica Davis, who advanced to the final four last year and entered Saturday's competition with a 22-1 record, fell 6-1, 6-0 to freshman Maureen Modesto. Their match was the first to finish and was over in approximately 50 minutes.
Ranked ninth in the nation in the 18-year-old division as a freshman, Modesto backed up her billing Saturday.
"Maureen Modesto is a just a freshman and is the coach's daughter," said Orban. "She's an absolutely great player. She hits side to side, and she hits with power. Other than when we played Park Tudor, she's without a doubt the best Jessica has seen this year."
Another nationally-ranked freshman, Alaina Trgovich, gave the Tigers fits as well.
The tall and talented Trgovich teammed with Ryann Perlinski and beat senior Kristi Haddad and junior Ashley Harrison 6-1, 6-1 at No. 2 doubles.
Trgovich and Perlinski's match was the third to finish, and gave the Mustangs their berth in the semistate finals. It also sent Modesto around hugging her young teammates.
"They're juniors and sophomores and freshmen," said Orban of the Munster team. "They're gonna be hard to beat next year."
At No. 2 singles, Tiger senior Kaitlyn Macdonald fell 6-2, 6-0 to Lindsay Weiss.
At No. 3 singles, Munster's Jill Young ousted Tiger junior Jessica Sadler 6-1, 6-0.
And in the final match to finish, Munster's duo of Nikki Bland and Stephanie Cowlis beat Tigers Brandy Allen and Jillian Harrison 6-4, 6-2.
He said he was tipping his cap to Munster, but Orban said he was also disappointed in the fact that his seniors, who had semistate experience, were the ones he thought came out nervous.
"I'm disappointed because they simply didn't come out with the fire I had hoped they would," said Orban. "Instead it looked like they came out nervous."
With the 5-0 win over Warsaw, Munster advanced to Saturday's championship round against Plymouth, which beat Michigan City 3-2 in the other semifinal match.
Just as they did to the first Northern Lakes Conference opponent they played Saturday, the Mustangs blanked Plymouth 5-0 in the championship round, improving to 16-0 and advancing to the state finals for the first time since 1997.
Warsaw finished the season 17-2, while Plymouth's season ended at 18-5 and Michigan City 17-1.
NO. 5 MUNSTER 5, NO. 9 WARSAW 0
Singles
No. 1 - Maureen Modesto (M) def. Jessica Davis 6-1, 6-0
No. 2 - Lindsay Weiss (M) def. Kaitlyn Macdonald 6-2, 6-0
No. 3 - Jill Young (M) def. Jessica Sadler 6-1, 6-0
Doubles
No. 1 - Alaina Trgovich/Ryan Perlinski (M) def. Kristi Haddad/Ashley Harrison 6-1, 6-1
No. 2 - Nikki Bland/Stephanie Cowlis (M) def. Brandy Allen/Jillian Harrison 6-4, 6-2
Other semifinal match: Plymouth 3, Michigan City 2
Championship match - Munster 5, Plymouth 0 [[In-content Ad]]
LAPORTE - He wasn't wearing one, but Warsaw girls tennis coach Rick Orban could have used a 10-gallon hat Saturday.
After his ninth-ranked Tigers won the Concord Regional last week, advancing to the semistate for the fourth consecutive year, Orban said if his team lost to a better team in Saturday's LaPorte Semistate he would tip his cap.
If they lost to a team he thought they should have beat, he said it would be a huge disappointment.
Saturday he was tipping his cap, and it was if he needed a big one.
After blanking most of its opponents this year, it was Warsaw that was on the short end Saturday in the semifinal round of the LaPorte Semistate, falling 5-0 to fifth-ranked Munster at Kesling Middle School.
"I'm tipping my cap," said Orban, whose team's season ended with a 17-2 record. "We knew Munster is an extremely good team. We knew that all along. We felt if we were gonna win any matches it would be at No. 2 doubles, No. 2 singles and we thought we had an outside shot at No. 1 doubles. Munster is a very good team."
As the match played out, it appeared as if the only chance the Tigers had in any match was an outside one, as Munster used a monster performance against Warsaw's experienced seniors and shut them down rather quickly.
At No. 1 singles, Tiger senior Jessica Davis, who advanced to the final four last year and entered Saturday's competition with a 22-1 record, fell 6-1, 6-0 to freshman Maureen Modesto. Their match was the first to finish and was over in approximately 50 minutes.
Ranked ninth in the nation in the 18-year-old division as a freshman, Modesto backed up her billing Saturday.
"Maureen Modesto is a just a freshman and is the coach's daughter," said Orban. "She's an absolutely great player. She hits side to side, and she hits with power. Other than when we played Park Tudor, she's without a doubt the best Jessica has seen this year."
Another nationally-ranked freshman, Alaina Trgovich, gave the Tigers fits as well.
The tall and talented Trgovich teammed with Ryann Perlinski and beat senior Kristi Haddad and junior Ashley Harrison 6-1, 6-1 at No. 2 doubles.
Trgovich and Perlinski's match was the third to finish, and gave the Mustangs their berth in the semistate finals. It also sent Modesto around hugging her young teammates.
"They're juniors and sophomores and freshmen," said Orban of the Munster team. "They're gonna be hard to beat next year."
At No. 2 singles, Tiger senior Kaitlyn Macdonald fell 6-2, 6-0 to Lindsay Weiss.
At No. 3 singles, Munster's Jill Young ousted Tiger junior Jessica Sadler 6-1, 6-0.
And in the final match to finish, Munster's duo of Nikki Bland and Stephanie Cowlis beat Tigers Brandy Allen and Jillian Harrison 6-4, 6-2.
He said he was tipping his cap to Munster, but Orban said he was also disappointed in the fact that his seniors, who had semistate experience, were the ones he thought came out nervous.
"I'm disappointed because they simply didn't come out with the fire I had hoped they would," said Orban. "Instead it looked like they came out nervous."
With the 5-0 win over Warsaw, Munster advanced to Saturday's championship round against Plymouth, which beat Michigan City 3-2 in the other semifinal match.
Just as they did to the first Northern Lakes Conference opponent they played Saturday, the Mustangs blanked Plymouth 5-0 in the championship round, improving to 16-0 and advancing to the state finals for the first time since 1997.
Warsaw finished the season 17-2, while Plymouth's season ended at 18-5 and Michigan City 17-1.
NO. 5 MUNSTER 5, NO. 9 WARSAW 0
Singles
No. 1 - Maureen Modesto (M) def. Jessica Davis 6-1, 6-0
No. 2 - Lindsay Weiss (M) def. Kaitlyn Macdonald 6-2, 6-0
No. 3 - Jill Young (M) def. Jessica Sadler 6-1, 6-0
Doubles
No. 1 - Alaina Trgovich/Ryan Perlinski (M) def. Kristi Haddad/Ashley Harrison 6-1, 6-1
No. 2 - Nikki Bland/Stephanie Cowlis (M) def. Brandy Allen/Jillian Harrison 6-4, 6-2
Other semifinal match: Plymouth 3, Michigan City 2
Championship match - Munster 5, Plymouth 0 [[In-content Ad]]