Tiger Girls Tennis Team Wins Fourth Straight Regional Title
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
DUNLAP - Warsaw girls tennis coach Rick Orban believes his team is a proven power in northern Indiana. The Tigers winning their fourth straight regional championship Wednesday backed that up.
A win Saturday in the LaPorte Semistate would back it up even more.
The Tigers, who opened regional play Tuesday with a 4-1 win over Elkhart Central, came back and won the Concord Regional title Wednesday with a 4-1 win over DeKalb.
The regional championship was the eighth in school history and improved the ninth-ranked Tigers to 17-1 on the season.
Having been to the semistate round of the state tournament the three previous years, was Wednesday's regional championship expected of Warsaw?
"To be honest, yeah," said Orban. "We think the world of DeKalb, they've been here two years in a row and have a good program, but the reality is we've been here four years in a row and won. It would have been a huge disappointment not to win."
DeKalb took a first-set lead in three of the five matches, but as was the case against Elkhart Central the night before the Tigers were unfazed and came back to post victories. Three of Warsaw's four points Wednesday came via wins in straight sets.
Did DeKalb jumping out to first-set advantages cause reason for concern for Orban?
"We could have lost the first set on all five courts and I still would have been positive we would win," said Orban. "The girls wanted it. Their goal was to go back to semistate and nothing was gonna stop them."
Not even a 5-2 deficit in the first set could stop senior Jessica Davis from winning in straight sets.
The talented Tiger senior, who improved to 22-1 on the year, came back and won the first set 7-5 and then posted a 6-2 win over senior Vanessa Buchanan in the second set to give Warsaw its third team point and its fourth straight appearance in the semistate.
Davis trailed 4-1 in the first set Tuesday to Elkhart Central's Madeline Bond but came back and posted a 7-5, 6-0 win.
"I know that with the experience we have and the ability we have, that if the girls are down they'll figure it out and come back," said Orban.
In the first match to finish, Warsaw's No. 1 doubles team of senior Kristi Haddad and Ashley Harrison beat Baron juniors Anne Turner and Lisa Linstromber 6-3, 6-3. The win improved the Warsaw duo to 20-2 on the year.
"The No. 1 doubles team has been playing incredible," said Orban. "They played incredible again today. They played the team from Park Tudor, who was All-State last year, earlier in the year and lost in three sets in three hours. They're playing very well right now."
At No. 2 doubles, the final match to finish and the only one to go three sets, Tiger junior Brandy Allen and sophomore Jillian Harrison teamed up to defeat senior Christy Mo and junior Kristin Haggarty 6-4, 4-6, 6-0 and improve to 20-2 on the year.
At No. 2 singles, Tiger senior Kaitlyn Macdonald upped her season record to 17-2 with a 6-2, 6-2 win over DeKalb junior Jessica Dircksen in the second match to finish.
DeKalb picked up its lone win at No. 3 singles, where junior Rachelle Grogg defeated Tiger junior Jessica Sadler 6-0, 6-4. The loss left Sadler with a 17-6 record on the season.
Warsaw's 4-1 win advanced the Tigers to Saturday's LaPorte Semistate, where at 10 a.m. they will battle No. 5 Munster, winner of 12 straight regional titles. Both Munster, which beat Crown Point 4-1 to win the Highland Regional, and Warsaw have had their seasons ended in the semistate round the past three seasons.
Plymouth (17-4) advanced to the LaPorte Semistate with a 3-2 win over Mishawaka Marian in the South Bend Clay Regional and will battle unbeaten Michigan City (17-0) in the other 10 a.m. semifinal. Michigan City, ranked No. 21, beat Chesterton 3-2 to win the Portage Regional.
Saturday morning's winners will battle at 2 p.m. for a berth in the June 5 state finals at North Central High School in Indianapolis.
CONCORD REGIONAL
WARSAW 4, DEKALB 1
Singles
No. 1 - Jessica Davis (W) def. Vanessa Buchanan 7-5, 6-2
No. 2 - Kaitlyn Macdonald (W) def. Jessica Dircksen 6-2, 6-2
No. 3 - Rachelle Grogg (D) def. Jessica Sadler 6-0, 6-4
Doubles
No. 1 - Kristi Haddad/Ashley Harrison (W) def. Anne Turner/Lisa Linstromber 6-3, 6-3
No. 2 - Brandy Allen/Jillian Harrison (W) def. Christy Mo/Kristin Haggarty 6-4, 4-6, 6-0 [[In-content Ad]]
DUNLAP - Warsaw girls tennis coach Rick Orban believes his team is a proven power in northern Indiana. The Tigers winning their fourth straight regional championship Wednesday backed that up.
A win Saturday in the LaPorte Semistate would back it up even more.
The Tigers, who opened regional play Tuesday with a 4-1 win over Elkhart Central, came back and won the Concord Regional title Wednesday with a 4-1 win over DeKalb.
The regional championship was the eighth in school history and improved the ninth-ranked Tigers to 17-1 on the season.
Having been to the semistate round of the state tournament the three previous years, was Wednesday's regional championship expected of Warsaw?
"To be honest, yeah," said Orban. "We think the world of DeKalb, they've been here two years in a row and have a good program, but the reality is we've been here four years in a row and won. It would have been a huge disappointment not to win."
DeKalb took a first-set lead in three of the five matches, but as was the case against Elkhart Central the night before the Tigers were unfazed and came back to post victories. Three of Warsaw's four points Wednesday came via wins in straight sets.
Did DeKalb jumping out to first-set advantages cause reason for concern for Orban?
"We could have lost the first set on all five courts and I still would have been positive we would win," said Orban. "The girls wanted it. Their goal was to go back to semistate and nothing was gonna stop them."
Not even a 5-2 deficit in the first set could stop senior Jessica Davis from winning in straight sets.
The talented Tiger senior, who improved to 22-1 on the year, came back and won the first set 7-5 and then posted a 6-2 win over senior Vanessa Buchanan in the second set to give Warsaw its third team point and its fourth straight appearance in the semistate.
Davis trailed 4-1 in the first set Tuesday to Elkhart Central's Madeline Bond but came back and posted a 7-5, 6-0 win.
"I know that with the experience we have and the ability we have, that if the girls are down they'll figure it out and come back," said Orban.
In the first match to finish, Warsaw's No. 1 doubles team of senior Kristi Haddad and Ashley Harrison beat Baron juniors Anne Turner and Lisa Linstromber 6-3, 6-3. The win improved the Warsaw duo to 20-2 on the year.
"The No. 1 doubles team has been playing incredible," said Orban. "They played incredible again today. They played the team from Park Tudor, who was All-State last year, earlier in the year and lost in three sets in three hours. They're playing very well right now."
At No. 2 doubles, the final match to finish and the only one to go three sets, Tiger junior Brandy Allen and sophomore Jillian Harrison teamed up to defeat senior Christy Mo and junior Kristin Haggarty 6-4, 4-6, 6-0 and improve to 20-2 on the year.
At No. 2 singles, Tiger senior Kaitlyn Macdonald upped her season record to 17-2 with a 6-2, 6-2 win over DeKalb junior Jessica Dircksen in the second match to finish.
DeKalb picked up its lone win at No. 3 singles, where junior Rachelle Grogg defeated Tiger junior Jessica Sadler 6-0, 6-4. The loss left Sadler with a 17-6 record on the season.
Warsaw's 4-1 win advanced the Tigers to Saturday's LaPorte Semistate, where at 10 a.m. they will battle No. 5 Munster, winner of 12 straight regional titles. Both Munster, which beat Crown Point 4-1 to win the Highland Regional, and Warsaw have had their seasons ended in the semistate round the past three seasons.
Plymouth (17-4) advanced to the LaPorte Semistate with a 3-2 win over Mishawaka Marian in the South Bend Clay Regional and will battle unbeaten Michigan City (17-0) in the other 10 a.m. semifinal. Michigan City, ranked No. 21, beat Chesterton 3-2 to win the Portage Regional.
Saturday morning's winners will battle at 2 p.m. for a berth in the June 5 state finals at North Central High School in Indianapolis.
CONCORD REGIONAL
WARSAW 4, DEKALB 1
Singles
No. 1 - Jessica Davis (W) def. Vanessa Buchanan 7-5, 6-2
No. 2 - Kaitlyn Macdonald (W) def. Jessica Dircksen 6-2, 6-2
No. 3 - Rachelle Grogg (D) def. Jessica Sadler 6-0, 6-4
Doubles
No. 1 - Kristi Haddad/Ashley Harrison (W) def. Anne Turner/Lisa Linstromber 6-3, 6-3
No. 2 - Brandy Allen/Jillian Harrison (W) def. Christy Mo/Kristin Haggarty 6-4, 4-6, 6-0 [[In-content Ad]]