SYRACUSE -ÊOn an afternoon that was perfect for tennis, the Wawasee Warriors played host to the Warsaw Tigers. The Tigers then took advantage of the weather and the Warrior hospitality to earn a 4-1 victory over Wawasee.

Warsaw held a 1-0 lead after senior Kim Fluke defeated Kayla Auer in straight sets 6-0, 6-0 at the No. 3 singles slot in the quickest match of the evening.

The Tigers went up 2-0 after the next match finished. Warsaw's Ashley Cavert and Elizabeth Hann teamed up at No. 2 doubles to play Wawasee's Ashley Bell and Alex Heckaman and came out with a 6-1, 6-0 victory.

The next match to finish was the battle between Heather Van Puffelen of Warsaw and Shanda Bucher of Wawasee at No. 2 singles. Van Puffelen came out on top 6-1, 6-4 to earn the third Tiger win to seal a Warsaw victory.

"I have to give Warsaw a lot of credit," said Wawasee coach Phil Mishler. "They always have a tough team year in and year out. This match gave our kids the chance to see the quality of an NLC team and the level we want to reach. We want to get our program to the level of Warsaw."

Wawasee's only win of the evening came at the No. 1 singles spot where Mandy Perzanowski and Abbie Simmons squared off. Perzanowski defeated Simmons in the first set 6-2, but Simmons refused to give up and played a tough second set. Perzanowski came out on top in the end, defeating Simmons 7-5 in the second set to win the match for the Warriors.

"Mandy (Perzanowski) had the match in hand at No. 1 singles," said Mishler. "We tried some new things in the second set and that threw her off a little bit, but she pulled through it."

"Abbie Simmons is just a junior, and although she does not have 'winning' record, she brings back every second set and plays tough for us," said Warsaw coach Jill Basden.

In the final contest of the evening, the Warsaw and Wawasee No. 1 doubles teams faced off in a marathon match. Steph Shivers and Laura Lundin of Wawasee fell to Warsaw's Kara Kesler and Liza Weidenbenner 6-3 in the first set, but rallied in the second set to win 6-4. Kesler and Weidenbenner came out on top 6-4 in the tiebreaker match to give Warsaw a 4-1 win as a team.

"This season has been a major learning experience for us," said Basden. "We are a young team and we are improving every match."

"This was a little bit of a let-down tonight," said Mishler. "We just didn't come out ready to play. I don't think we came in focused, I'm not sure why, but we didn't. I think nerves played a big part in it also."

Warsaw and Wawasee now have identical 1-2 Northern Lakes Conference records. The Warriors defeated Concord and fell to Warsaw and Northridge while the Tigers fell to Northridge and Plymouth.

"It was good to get our first NLC win," said Basden. "We lost to Northridge and Plymouth. Plymouth is a deep, deep group, and that is what we're aiming for. Our goal is depth and with a team as young as ours with only two seniors, we have a lot to build on."

"We are rebuilding a little bit this year," said Mishler. "We have some young players, and we want to be able to focus and win the tough matches."

Warsaw 4, Wawasee 1

Singles

1. Mandy Perzanowski (Waw) def. Abbie Simmons 6-2, 7-5

2. Heather Van Puffelen (War) def. Shanda Bucher 6-1, 6-4

3. Kim Fluke (War) def. Kayla Auer 6-0, 6-0

Doubles

1. Kara Kesler/Liza Weidenbenner (War) def. Steph Shivers/Laura Lundin 6-2, 4-6, 6-4

2. Ashley Cavert/Elizabeth Hann (War) def. Ashley Bell/Alex Heckamen 6-1, 6-1

JV: Warsaw 5, Wawasee 0

Singles

1. Lauren Witzky (War) def. Diane Jackson 6-0, 6-0

2. Lili Aguilar (War) def. Andrea Sands 8-1

3. Allison Wentworth (War) def. Staci Van Lue 8-1

X. Sarah Tidball (War) def. Kim Bohnstedt 8-0

Doubles

1. Kristi Rosbruch/Lisa Wolf (War) def. Kelsey Vansickle/Amber Barrett 6-1, 6-0

2. Angela Suchecki/Lori Wolf (War) def. Ashley McGowen/Misty Miller 8-2

X. Kammi Sausaman/Annalisa Woodward (War) def. Rachel Newman/Abby Schori 8-4 [[In-content Ad]]