No. 5 Homestead Hands No. 8 Warsaw First Loss
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
Plain and simple, someone had to lose.
In a battle of state-ranked and undefeated girls tennis teams, No. 5 Homestead downed No. 8 Warsaw 4-1 Monday afternoon in a lengthy match that was closer than the team score indicated.
On an afternoon when forecasted rains never came, those who predicted a long, competitive match between the Spartans and the host Tigers were right on.
"This was a great match, but we made too many errors," Warsaw coach Rick Orban said. "Honestly, I think our girls were a little nervous. We started slow, we don't normally do that."
The Tigers trailed early in the first set of all three matches, including the No. 1 singles slot where Warsaw junior Jessica Davis fell behind 4-1 before making it 4-3. She trailed junior Laura Phillip 3-0 in the second set but fought back to a 5-4 deficit, eventually falling 7-5, 6-4 in straight sets.
"Our No. 1 singles just played a two and a half hour marathon," Orban said. "We knew this would be a close match. She probably shouldn't have played. Jessica and Ashley (Harrison, No. 2 singles) both talked about not feeling good Friday at Concordia."
To go with Davis being sick, Orban also noted that she had to battle the left-handed Phillip, something he called difficult in tennis.
"It's huge," Orban said. "You don't play that many left-handed people. Her top spin drove Jessica to the fence. That's hard to adjust to."
At No. 2 singles, Harrison was defeated 6-1, 6-2 by Spartan freshman Erin Wright.
At No. 1 doubles, Homestead juniors Brooke Parish and Connie Shim teamed up to best junior Kristi Haddad and Jessica Hollar 7-6, 6-3.
"Our No. 1 doubles team was down 5-2 in the first set and had to fight back," Orban said. "They beat us 3-2 last year. There's a reason they're ranked No. 5."
At the No. 2 doubles slot, Homestead seniors Katie Cornwell and Susan Shim downed the Tiger duo of Tracy Yoder and Jillian Harrison 6-3, 6-3.
Warsaw's lone win of the match came at No. 3 singles, where junior Kaitlyn Macdonald downed freshman Sarah Nicholson 6-3, 6-0.
The 4-1 loss drops the Tigers to 8-1 on the season, while Homestead improved to 10-0.
"This takes all the pressure off," Orban said of the team's first loss. "That's what we talked about in our meeting after the match. The season starts again tommorrow (Tuesday) with NorthWood. This is gonna help us a lot. This will help us get our focus and intensity back. It'll bring back some desire."
The Tigers host Northern Lakes Conference foe NorthWood today and conference rival Concord Friday.
NO. 5 HOMESTEAD 4, NO. 8 WARSAW 1
Singles
No. 1 - Laura Phillip (H) def. Jessica Davis 7-5, 6-4
No. 2 - Erin Wright (H) def. Ashley Harrison 6-1, 6-2
No. 3 - Kaitlyn McDonald (W) def. Sarah Nicholson 6-3, 6-0
Doubles
No. 1 - Brooke Parish/Connie Shim (H) def. Kristi Haddad/Jessica Hollar 7-6, 6-3
No. 2 - Katie Cornwell/Susan Shim (H) def. Tracy Yoder/Jillian Harrison 6-3, 6-3
JV - Warsaw 4, Homestead 1
Singles
No. 1 - Jessica Sadler (W) Leah Yablong 7-6, 6-4
No. 2 - Kyla Kesler (W) def. Renee Mercier 8-7
No. 3 - Lindsey Munsch (W) def. Jennifer Oberhausen 8-5
Doubles
No. 1 - Melissa Martin/Abby Carrigan (H) def. Brandy Allen/Alicia Swank 7-5, 6-4
No. 2 - Hillary Robinson/Phyllis Piper (W) def. Christine Antrobus/Jeanette Natusch 8-4!end [[In-content Ad]]
Plain and simple, someone had to lose.
In a battle of state-ranked and undefeated girls tennis teams, No. 5 Homestead downed No. 8 Warsaw 4-1 Monday afternoon in a lengthy match that was closer than the team score indicated.
On an afternoon when forecasted rains never came, those who predicted a long, competitive match between the Spartans and the host Tigers were right on.
"This was a great match, but we made too many errors," Warsaw coach Rick Orban said. "Honestly, I think our girls were a little nervous. We started slow, we don't normally do that."
The Tigers trailed early in the first set of all three matches, including the No. 1 singles slot where Warsaw junior Jessica Davis fell behind 4-1 before making it 4-3. She trailed junior Laura Phillip 3-0 in the second set but fought back to a 5-4 deficit, eventually falling 7-5, 6-4 in straight sets.
"Our No. 1 singles just played a two and a half hour marathon," Orban said. "We knew this would be a close match. She probably shouldn't have played. Jessica and Ashley (Harrison, No. 2 singles) both talked about not feeling good Friday at Concordia."
To go with Davis being sick, Orban also noted that she had to battle the left-handed Phillip, something he called difficult in tennis.
"It's huge," Orban said. "You don't play that many left-handed people. Her top spin drove Jessica to the fence. That's hard to adjust to."
At No. 2 singles, Harrison was defeated 6-1, 6-2 by Spartan freshman Erin Wright.
At No. 1 doubles, Homestead juniors Brooke Parish and Connie Shim teamed up to best junior Kristi Haddad and Jessica Hollar 7-6, 6-3.
"Our No. 1 doubles team was down 5-2 in the first set and had to fight back," Orban said. "They beat us 3-2 last year. There's a reason they're ranked No. 5."
At the No. 2 doubles slot, Homestead seniors Katie Cornwell and Susan Shim downed the Tiger duo of Tracy Yoder and Jillian Harrison 6-3, 6-3.
Warsaw's lone win of the match came at No. 3 singles, where junior Kaitlyn Macdonald downed freshman Sarah Nicholson 6-3, 6-0.
The 4-1 loss drops the Tigers to 8-1 on the season, while Homestead improved to 10-0.
"This takes all the pressure off," Orban said of the team's first loss. "That's what we talked about in our meeting after the match. The season starts again tommorrow (Tuesday) with NorthWood. This is gonna help us a lot. This will help us get our focus and intensity back. It'll bring back some desire."
The Tigers host Northern Lakes Conference foe NorthWood today and conference rival Concord Friday.
NO. 5 HOMESTEAD 4, NO. 8 WARSAW 1
Singles
No. 1 - Laura Phillip (H) def. Jessica Davis 7-5, 6-4
No. 2 - Erin Wright (H) def. Ashley Harrison 6-1, 6-2
No. 3 - Kaitlyn McDonald (W) def. Sarah Nicholson 6-3, 6-0
Doubles
No. 1 - Brooke Parish/Connie Shim (H) def. Kristi Haddad/Jessica Hollar 7-6, 6-3
No. 2 - Katie Cornwell/Susan Shim (H) def. Tracy Yoder/Jillian Harrison 6-3, 6-3
JV - Warsaw 4, Homestead 1
Singles
No. 1 - Jessica Sadler (W) Leah Yablong 7-6, 6-4
No. 2 - Kyla Kesler (W) def. Renee Mercier 8-7
No. 3 - Lindsey Munsch (W) def. Jennifer Oberhausen 8-5
Doubles
No. 1 - Melissa Martin/Abby Carrigan (H) def. Brandy Allen/Alicia Swank 7-5, 6-4
No. 2 - Hillary Robinson/Phyllis Piper (W) def. Christine Antrobus/Jeanette Natusch 8-4!end [[In-content Ad]]