Warriors Win Their Tennis Sectional
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
SYRACUSE -ÊThe 2000 Wawasee girls tennis sectional was one of the most evenly matched in years. Teams from Warsaw, Wawasee and Tippecanoe Valley were competitive all season, so there was no cut-and-dried favorite to win the sectional.
"This sectional had quality teams," said Valley coach Jack Shambaugh. "There were quality players up and down the line. I felt like if you had the three teams (Wawasee, Warsaw and Valley) play a bunch of times, they would split the wins. The teams all matched up well."
When all was said and done, Wawasee and Tippecanoe Valley met in the sectional final, and the Warriors defeated the Vikings 4-1.
"Tippecanoe Valley had a nice team," said Wawasee coach Phil Mishler. "I give them a lot of credit, they have a very talented group of girls."
Although Wawasee got the bye in the sectional, it had a tough road to travel, facing Warsaw in the second round of the sectional after the Tigers defeated Manchester 5-0 in the first round Friday night.
The Warriors defeated the Tigers 3-2 in the sectional, a score that mirrored their matchup earlier in the season. Wawasee earned wins at No. 1 and No. 2 singles as well as the No. 1 doubles slot to advance to Saturday afternoon's final.
The Tippecanoe Valley Vikings faced the Whitko Wildcats in the morning session of the Wawasee sectional. The Vikings defeated the Wildcats 5-0 after Whitko defaulted at the No. 3 singles slot.
So the matchup for the sectional final was set -Êthe 11-4 Wawasee Warriors vs. the 13-2 Tippecanoe Valley Vikings.
The No. 1 singles slot saw a match between two of the best singles players in the area, undefeated (21-0) Mandy Perzanowski of Wawasee and 13-3 Carissa Parker of Tippecanoe Valley.
Perzanowski was on a mission. After finishing the regular season undefeated, she did not want to tarnish her perfect record. Perzanowski defeated Warsaw's Abbie Simmons 6-2, 6-1 in the morning match, and she had her sights set on Parker for her next victim.
Perzanowski won the first set 6-2, and then won the first Wawasee point of the sectional by defeating Parker in the second set 6-1.
Although Wawasee was up 1-0, Valley was not down for long. The Vikings tied the score when the next match finished. Valley's 18-1 No. 1 singles team of Kris Sanders and Kyleigh Gast faced off against Laura Lundin and Margo Searfoss (13-2).
Sanders and Gast showed their experience by defeating Searfoss and Lundin 6-2 in the first set. In the second set, the Valley duo went up 5-0 before Searfoss and Lundin made a last minute surge. The Wawasee pair won two straight games before Sanders and Gast finished them off to win 6-2 and tie the team score at 1-all.
Wawasee went up 2-1 after Kate Murphy defeated Abby Lewis 6-0, 6-0 at the No. 2 singles slot.
The next two matches went into three sets, building suspense for the end of the sectional.
Kayla Auer and Wendy Tilden matched up at the No. 3 singles position in the match that decided the meet. Auer downed Tilden 6-3 in the first set, but Tilden refused to go down easily.
Tilden went up 3-0 in the second set before allowing Auer to win one match. Tilden went on to win the second set 6-1 and send the match into the third set. In the third set, Tilden went up 2-1, but Auer came back to take a 4-3 lead. Eventually Auer won the match 6-4, giving Wawasee the third and deciding point of the match.
"I think a big part of the problem for us was the No. 3 singles match," said Shambaugh. "Wendy Tilden did not get a chance to play in the morning match because Whitko did not have a player in the No. 3 singles match. Wendy Tilden had a lot of nerves and jitters in her first set. She did not find her groove and work out the jitters until the second set. By then she was down. Even though she won the second set, she got the jitters again in the third.
"But I'm not saying anything against the Wawasee girl, she did what she had to do to win the match. She played well."
The longest match of the day came in the No. 2 singles match. Valley's Alyssa Anglin and Julie Studebaker faced off against Ashley Ganz and Alex Heckaman in a real nail-biter.
Ganz and Heckaman came from behind to win the first set 7-6 before Anglin and Studebaker won the second 6-4.
Valley's tag team took a 5-2 lead in the third set, but Wawasee fought back to earn a 7-5 victory.
"Overall today, we grew up," said Mishler. "All season long we have depended on our seniors to pull out wins at No. 1 singles and No. 2 doubles. Today, we needed the entire team to step up, and they did it when they needed to. Our young inexperienced players stepped up today.
"We did not get a very good draw, facing Warsaw this morning and Valley this afternoon, but looking back, we can say we beat the two best teams in the sectional. There is no question that we earned this sectional win."
The win allows Wawasee to advance to the IHSAA Regional hosted by Northridge Tuesday afternoon where the Warriors will face the winner of the DeKalb Sectional.
Although the Viking team did not advance to the regional, Sanders and Gast have not seen the end of their season. They will compete in the Singles and Doubles Tournament at Northridge Tuesday as well.
WAWASEE SECTIONAL
Friday at Warsaw Racquet Club
WARSAW 5, MANCHESTER 0
Singles
No. 1 -ÊAbbie Simmons (War) def. Christy Markstahler 6-1, 6-1
No. 2 -ÊAmber Barrett (War) def. Molly McWithey 6-4, 6-2
No. 3 -ÊLauren Witzky (War) def. Jamie Lauer 6-1, 7-5
Doubles
No. 1 -ÊKara Kesler/Liza Weidenbenner (War) def.Carmen DeFusco/Katrina Runkel 6-4, 6-4
No. 2 -ÊAngie Suchecki/Tracy Yoder (War) def. Allison Ingold/Rachel Bushong 6-1, 6-0
Saturday in Syracuse
WAWASEE 3, WARSAW 2
Singles
No. 1 -ÊMandy Perzanowski (Waw) def. Abbie Simmons 6-2, 6-1
No. 2 -ÊKate Murphy (Waw) def. Amber Barrett 6-1, 6-3
No. 3 -ÊLauren Witzky (War) def. Kayla Auer 6-3, 6-0
Doubles
No. 1 -ÊLaura Lundin/Margo Searfoss (Waw) def. Kara Kesler/Liza Weidenbenner 6-3, 3-6, 6-4
No. 2 -ÊAngie Suchechi/Tracy Yoder (War) def. Ashley Ganz/Alex Heckaman 6-4, 6-4
TIPPECANOE VALLEY 5, WHITKO 0
Singles
No. 1 -ÊCarissa Parker (V) def. Alyson Frantz 6-2, 6-0
No. 2 -ÊAbby Lewis (V) def. Lisa Menck 6-2, 6-2
No. 3 -ÊWendy Tilden (V) won by default
Doubles
No. 1 -ÊKris Sanders/Kyleigh Gast (V) def. Jessica Porter/Brandy Bayles 6-0, 6-2
No. 2 -ÊAlyssa Anglin/Julie Studebaker (V) def. Abbie Fingerle/Brooke Workman 7-5, 6-3
Sectional Final
WAWASEE 4, TIPPECANOE VALLEY 1
Singles
No. 1 -ÊMandy Perzanowski (W) def. Carissa Parker 6-2, 6-1
No. 2 -ÊKate Murphy (W) def. Abby Lewis 6-0, 6-0
No. 3 -ÊKayla Auer (W) def. Wendy Tilden 6-3, 1-6, 6-4
Doubles
No. 1 -ÊKris Sanders/Kyleigh Gast (V) def. Laura Lundin/Margo Searfoss 6-2, 6-2
No. 2 -ÊAshley Ganz/Alex Heckaman (W) def. Alyssa Anglin/Julie Studebaker 7-6, 4-6, 7-5 [[In-content Ad]]
SYRACUSE -ÊThe 2000 Wawasee girls tennis sectional was one of the most evenly matched in years. Teams from Warsaw, Wawasee and Tippecanoe Valley were competitive all season, so there was no cut-and-dried favorite to win the sectional.
"This sectional had quality teams," said Valley coach Jack Shambaugh. "There were quality players up and down the line. I felt like if you had the three teams (Wawasee, Warsaw and Valley) play a bunch of times, they would split the wins. The teams all matched up well."
When all was said and done, Wawasee and Tippecanoe Valley met in the sectional final, and the Warriors defeated the Vikings 4-1.
"Tippecanoe Valley had a nice team," said Wawasee coach Phil Mishler. "I give them a lot of credit, they have a very talented group of girls."
Although Wawasee got the bye in the sectional, it had a tough road to travel, facing Warsaw in the second round of the sectional after the Tigers defeated Manchester 5-0 in the first round Friday night.
The Warriors defeated the Tigers 3-2 in the sectional, a score that mirrored their matchup earlier in the season. Wawasee earned wins at No. 1 and No. 2 singles as well as the No. 1 doubles slot to advance to Saturday afternoon's final.
The Tippecanoe Valley Vikings faced the Whitko Wildcats in the morning session of the Wawasee sectional. The Vikings defeated the Wildcats 5-0 after Whitko defaulted at the No. 3 singles slot.
So the matchup for the sectional final was set -Êthe 11-4 Wawasee Warriors vs. the 13-2 Tippecanoe Valley Vikings.
The No. 1 singles slot saw a match between two of the best singles players in the area, undefeated (21-0) Mandy Perzanowski of Wawasee and 13-3 Carissa Parker of Tippecanoe Valley.
Perzanowski was on a mission. After finishing the regular season undefeated, she did not want to tarnish her perfect record. Perzanowski defeated Warsaw's Abbie Simmons 6-2, 6-1 in the morning match, and she had her sights set on Parker for her next victim.
Perzanowski won the first set 6-2, and then won the first Wawasee point of the sectional by defeating Parker in the second set 6-1.
Although Wawasee was up 1-0, Valley was not down for long. The Vikings tied the score when the next match finished. Valley's 18-1 No. 1 singles team of Kris Sanders and Kyleigh Gast faced off against Laura Lundin and Margo Searfoss (13-2).
Sanders and Gast showed their experience by defeating Searfoss and Lundin 6-2 in the first set. In the second set, the Valley duo went up 5-0 before Searfoss and Lundin made a last minute surge. The Wawasee pair won two straight games before Sanders and Gast finished them off to win 6-2 and tie the team score at 1-all.
Wawasee went up 2-1 after Kate Murphy defeated Abby Lewis 6-0, 6-0 at the No. 2 singles slot.
The next two matches went into three sets, building suspense for the end of the sectional.
Kayla Auer and Wendy Tilden matched up at the No. 3 singles position in the match that decided the meet. Auer downed Tilden 6-3 in the first set, but Tilden refused to go down easily.
Tilden went up 3-0 in the second set before allowing Auer to win one match. Tilden went on to win the second set 6-1 and send the match into the third set. In the third set, Tilden went up 2-1, but Auer came back to take a 4-3 lead. Eventually Auer won the match 6-4, giving Wawasee the third and deciding point of the match.
"I think a big part of the problem for us was the No. 3 singles match," said Shambaugh. "Wendy Tilden did not get a chance to play in the morning match because Whitko did not have a player in the No. 3 singles match. Wendy Tilden had a lot of nerves and jitters in her first set. She did not find her groove and work out the jitters until the second set. By then she was down. Even though she won the second set, she got the jitters again in the third.
"But I'm not saying anything against the Wawasee girl, she did what she had to do to win the match. She played well."
The longest match of the day came in the No. 2 singles match. Valley's Alyssa Anglin and Julie Studebaker faced off against Ashley Ganz and Alex Heckaman in a real nail-biter.
Ganz and Heckaman came from behind to win the first set 7-6 before Anglin and Studebaker won the second 6-4.
Valley's tag team took a 5-2 lead in the third set, but Wawasee fought back to earn a 7-5 victory.
"Overall today, we grew up," said Mishler. "All season long we have depended on our seniors to pull out wins at No. 1 singles and No. 2 doubles. Today, we needed the entire team to step up, and they did it when they needed to. Our young inexperienced players stepped up today.
"We did not get a very good draw, facing Warsaw this morning and Valley this afternoon, but looking back, we can say we beat the two best teams in the sectional. There is no question that we earned this sectional win."
The win allows Wawasee to advance to the IHSAA Regional hosted by Northridge Tuesday afternoon where the Warriors will face the winner of the DeKalb Sectional.
Although the Viking team did not advance to the regional, Sanders and Gast have not seen the end of their season. They will compete in the Singles and Doubles Tournament at Northridge Tuesday as well.
WAWASEE SECTIONAL
Friday at Warsaw Racquet Club
WARSAW 5, MANCHESTER 0
Singles
No. 1 -ÊAbbie Simmons (War) def. Christy Markstahler 6-1, 6-1
No. 2 -ÊAmber Barrett (War) def. Molly McWithey 6-4, 6-2
No. 3 -ÊLauren Witzky (War) def. Jamie Lauer 6-1, 7-5
Doubles
No. 1 -ÊKara Kesler/Liza Weidenbenner (War) def.Carmen DeFusco/Katrina Runkel 6-4, 6-4
No. 2 -ÊAngie Suchecki/Tracy Yoder (War) def. Allison Ingold/Rachel Bushong 6-1, 6-0
Saturday in Syracuse
WAWASEE 3, WARSAW 2
Singles
No. 1 -ÊMandy Perzanowski (Waw) def. Abbie Simmons 6-2, 6-1
No. 2 -ÊKate Murphy (Waw) def. Amber Barrett 6-1, 6-3
No. 3 -ÊLauren Witzky (War) def. Kayla Auer 6-3, 6-0
Doubles
No. 1 -ÊLaura Lundin/Margo Searfoss (Waw) def. Kara Kesler/Liza Weidenbenner 6-3, 3-6, 6-4
No. 2 -ÊAngie Suchechi/Tracy Yoder (War) def. Ashley Ganz/Alex Heckaman 6-4, 6-4
TIPPECANOE VALLEY 5, WHITKO 0
Singles
No. 1 -ÊCarissa Parker (V) def. Alyson Frantz 6-2, 6-0
No. 2 -ÊAbby Lewis (V) def. Lisa Menck 6-2, 6-2
No. 3 -ÊWendy Tilden (V) won by default
Doubles
No. 1 -ÊKris Sanders/Kyleigh Gast (V) def. Jessica Porter/Brandy Bayles 6-0, 6-2
No. 2 -ÊAlyssa Anglin/Julie Studebaker (V) def. Abbie Fingerle/Brooke Workman 7-5, 6-3
Sectional Final
WAWASEE 4, TIPPECANOE VALLEY 1
Singles
No. 1 -ÊMandy Perzanowski (W) def. Carissa Parker 6-2, 6-1
No. 2 -ÊKate Murphy (W) def. Abby Lewis 6-0, 6-0
No. 3 -ÊKayla Auer (W) def. Wendy Tilden 6-3, 1-6, 6-4
Doubles
No. 1 -ÊKris Sanders/Kyleigh Gast (V) def. Laura Lundin/Margo Searfoss 6-2, 6-2
No. 2 -ÊAshley Ganz/Alex Heckaman (W) def. Alyssa Anglin/Julie Studebaker 7-6, 4-6, 7-5 [[In-content Ad]]