Tigers Topple Plymouth Netters Early
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
Even playing Plymouth, Warsaw tennis coach Andy Lewis had his mind on Goshen.
When he introduced Warsaw's Thursday opponent, he said, "I would like to welcome Goshen, er Plymouth, I'm sorry."
Goshen is the team that has beaten Warsaw eight of the past 10 times. Still, three teams figure to be in the running to win the Northern Lakes Conference this year.
One is Warsaw. One is Goshen. The other is Plymouth. Six of the seven players in Plymouth's varsity lineup are returning lettermen.
The Tigers won round one against Plymouth, beating the Pilgrims 4-1. Plymouth has another shot at Warsaw when it hosts the NLC Tournament at the end of this month.
Warsaw upped its record to 3-2 overall and 1-0 in the NLC. Plymouth dropped to 4-2 overall and 0-1 in the NLC.
While the 4-1 score may have indicated a ho-hum tennis match, it was anything but your run-of-the-mill tennis match. There are no line judges in high school tennis, but because of controversy in two different matches, line judges were summoned to finish out the matches.
Line judges or no line judges, Warsaw stripped the suspense out of this match early.
Ryan VanPuffelen won his No. 1 singles match 6-0, 6-3 over Tym Flory to put Warsaw up 1-0. He capped his win by running up to the net and hammering home a lob shot then screaming "Yeah!" to end his match.
"Ryan played an excellent match," Lewis said. "He played No. 2 singles well for us all last year, and this year he's lost only one match, to one of the top 10 players in the state."
Dan Benyousky finished next, winning his No. 2 singles match 6-2, 7-5 over Jeff Garriott to put Warsaw up 2-0.
Garriott asked for a line judge early in the second set. He complained early and often that Benyousky kept foot faulting as he served. Play was stopped, and the coaches and players huddled on the court. Warsaw assistant coach Kelly Morrow served as the line judge until Benyousky put Garriott away in the second set.
When Warsaw's No. 2 doubles team of Matt Krizmanich and David Honneffer won their match 4-6, 6-2, 6-4, to put Warsaw up 3-0 to seal the team win, Plymouth's assistant coach picked up a rock and flung it at the ground.
Before the match, Lewis said his No. 3 singles player, Pete Hake, would be playing the pivotal match. "If we win that," Lewis said, "we will be OK, because we should win two of the other four."
This is why Warsaw sealing the team win after the first three matches surprised even Lewis.
"I was really worried in the first 15 minutes," he said. "Our No. 1 doubles was losing their first set, and it looked like Pete would lose his first set. Our No. 2 doubles lost their first set. I had one and two singles winning their first sets."
Even though Hake was no longer playing the pivotal match that decided the team outcome, the match was pivotal for him. Down 5-2 in his first set, he rallied to beat Garrick Aplin 7-6 (7-3), 6-2.
By the time Warsaw surged ahead 4-0, Plymouth coaches wore grim expressions and stared at the ground.
Warsaw's lone loss came in the No. 1 doubles match. Kevin Huffman and Jeremiah Lauber outdueled Owen Compton and Eric Grossnickle 6-4, 2-6, 7-6 (7-5). Like the No. 2 singles match, a line judge was called into play here. After Plymouth called two shots wide that were undeniably in play - both calls even caused Plymouth teammates watching the match to look at each other and mumble - Compton asked for a line judge. This time, a Plymouth coach took the role.
"Even our No. 1 doubles team did a nice job," Lewis said. "They got down 5-2 in the first set, then came back to make it 5-4 before losing. Then they won the second set. I thought we just ran out of light."
Indeed. While the other matches had long finished, this match plowed on past 7:30 in the evening, and Warsaw's tennis courts have no lights. At one point near the end, Lewis took time out to plead his case for lights to Warsaw superintendent Dr. Lee Harman, who was watching the match.
Even the light problem and losing the last match didn't do much to dampen Lewis' spirit.
"Winning 4-1 against Plymouth," he said, "is a good way to make a statement to the conference." [[In-content Ad]]
Latest News
E-Editions
Even playing Plymouth, Warsaw tennis coach Andy Lewis had his mind on Goshen.
When he introduced Warsaw's Thursday opponent, he said, "I would like to welcome Goshen, er Plymouth, I'm sorry."
Goshen is the team that has beaten Warsaw eight of the past 10 times. Still, three teams figure to be in the running to win the Northern Lakes Conference this year.
One is Warsaw. One is Goshen. The other is Plymouth. Six of the seven players in Plymouth's varsity lineup are returning lettermen.
The Tigers won round one against Plymouth, beating the Pilgrims 4-1. Plymouth has another shot at Warsaw when it hosts the NLC Tournament at the end of this month.
Warsaw upped its record to 3-2 overall and 1-0 in the NLC. Plymouth dropped to 4-2 overall and 0-1 in the NLC.
While the 4-1 score may have indicated a ho-hum tennis match, it was anything but your run-of-the-mill tennis match. There are no line judges in high school tennis, but because of controversy in two different matches, line judges were summoned to finish out the matches.
Line judges or no line judges, Warsaw stripped the suspense out of this match early.
Ryan VanPuffelen won his No. 1 singles match 6-0, 6-3 over Tym Flory to put Warsaw up 1-0. He capped his win by running up to the net and hammering home a lob shot then screaming "Yeah!" to end his match.
"Ryan played an excellent match," Lewis said. "He played No. 2 singles well for us all last year, and this year he's lost only one match, to one of the top 10 players in the state."
Dan Benyousky finished next, winning his No. 2 singles match 6-2, 7-5 over Jeff Garriott to put Warsaw up 2-0.
Garriott asked for a line judge early in the second set. He complained early and often that Benyousky kept foot faulting as he served. Play was stopped, and the coaches and players huddled on the court. Warsaw assistant coach Kelly Morrow served as the line judge until Benyousky put Garriott away in the second set.
When Warsaw's No. 2 doubles team of Matt Krizmanich and David Honneffer won their match 4-6, 6-2, 6-4, to put Warsaw up 3-0 to seal the team win, Plymouth's assistant coach picked up a rock and flung it at the ground.
Before the match, Lewis said his No. 3 singles player, Pete Hake, would be playing the pivotal match. "If we win that," Lewis said, "we will be OK, because we should win two of the other four."
This is why Warsaw sealing the team win after the first three matches surprised even Lewis.
"I was really worried in the first 15 minutes," he said. "Our No. 1 doubles was losing their first set, and it looked like Pete would lose his first set. Our No. 2 doubles lost their first set. I had one and two singles winning their first sets."
Even though Hake was no longer playing the pivotal match that decided the team outcome, the match was pivotal for him. Down 5-2 in his first set, he rallied to beat Garrick Aplin 7-6 (7-3), 6-2.
By the time Warsaw surged ahead 4-0, Plymouth coaches wore grim expressions and stared at the ground.
Warsaw's lone loss came in the No. 1 doubles match. Kevin Huffman and Jeremiah Lauber outdueled Owen Compton and Eric Grossnickle 6-4, 2-6, 7-6 (7-5). Like the No. 2 singles match, a line judge was called into play here. After Plymouth called two shots wide that were undeniably in play - both calls even caused Plymouth teammates watching the match to look at each other and mumble - Compton asked for a line judge. This time, a Plymouth coach took the role.
"Even our No. 1 doubles team did a nice job," Lewis said. "They got down 5-2 in the first set, then came back to make it 5-4 before losing. Then they won the second set. I thought we just ran out of light."
Indeed. While the other matches had long finished, this match plowed on past 7:30 in the evening, and Warsaw's tennis courts have no lights. At one point near the end, Lewis took time out to plead his case for lights to Warsaw superintendent Dr. Lee Harman, who was watching the match.
Even the light problem and losing the last match didn't do much to dampen Lewis' spirit.
"Winning 4-1 against Plymouth," he said, "is a good way to make a statement to the conference." [[In-content Ad]]