Warsaw Hands Wawasee First Loss
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
Going into Thursday's Northern Lakes Conference tennis match, both Wawasee and Warsaw knew it was huge.
Since both team were undefeated overall and in the Northern Lakes Conference, the winner of Thursday's match would take sole possession of first-place in the conference.
When all was said and done, Warsaw came out on top, 5-0, and took its spot atop the NLC.
"I am exteremly pleased with the performance tonight," said Warsaw coach Rick Orban. "The girls were really focused the entire match."
"I was a bit disappointed," said Wawasee coach Cindy Peterson. "But Warsaw is a very good team. They played a good match."
Due to injuries and illness Orban shuffled his lineup to fill in for injured No. 2 singles player Kaitlin Macdonald.
In the first match to finish, Warsaw's No. 1 singles player Jessica Davis took on Wawasee's Carly Murphy. Davis took control of the match early and won in straight sets, 6-1, 6-2.
"Jessica turned it on against Carly," said Orban. "Jess played her best match of the year."
"Carly did not play to her game at all," said Peterson. "I know she was disappointed."
The No. 3 singles match was the second to finish as Wawasee's Kira Steiner faced off against Warsaw's Jessica Sadler.
Sadler took a 3-0 lead in the first set before Steiner made a run to make the score 3-2. Sadler then went up 5-2 before Steiner turned an ankle. After a break to get her ankle wrapped, Steiner resumed play and finished the match.
Sadler came out on top 6-2, 6-4.
"I just told (Kira) to keep the ball in play," said Peterson. "She was not able to run on it, but she wanted finish the match. That's tough."
"Jessica stayed focused the whole time," said Orban. "I am thrilled."
In the third match to finish, No. 2 doubles teams Erin Windle and Jaclyn Abrams of Wawasee and Alicia Swank and Brandy Allen of Warsaw hit the courts.
The Tiger duo of Swank and Allen picked up a point for Warsaw with a 6-3, 6-2 win.
"Alicia normally plays JV No. 1 doubles, and she came into the match and played very well," said Orban. "She never wavered a bit. Brandy played smart and had a great attitude. Both girls did a good job of not getting down when they missed a shot."
The fourth Tiger point of the day came in the No. 1 doubles match. Warsaw senior Kristi Haddad and sophomore Jillian Harrison defeated Wawasee's Krista VanLue and Alison Kropf 6-4, 7-5.
"Jillian had never played a No. 1 doubles match," said Orban. "She came out and played with confidence. Kristi is a senior, and she led Jillian through the match. They communicated and played extremely well in a very close match."
In the longest match of the night, Kendra Ganz of Wawasee and Ashley Harrison of Warsaw played the No. 2 singles match.
Ganz took the first set 6-4. Then Harrison, playing the first singles match of the year, took a 5-0 lead in the second set. Ganz fought back to tie the score at 5-all before Harrison won 7-5 and forced a third set.
Harrison then took the deciding set with a 6-2 score.
"This was the first singles match of the year for Ashley," said Orban. "Kendra is a wonderful player, but Ashley came all the way back. She showed a lot of guts, especially considering she has not played singles - even in practice."
The win makes the Tigers 8-0 overall and more importantly 3-0 in NLC play.
"This match was huge," said Orban. "We have three matches left in the NLC - Concord, Goshen and NorthWood and they all have losing records."
Wawasee is now 7-1 on the season and 2-1 in the NLC.
"This means we'll have to fight harder in the NLC and try to get back into it," said Peterson.
WARSAW 5, WAWASEE 0
Singles
No. 1 -ÊJessica Davis (War) def. Carly Murphy 6-1, 6-2
No. 2 - Ashley Harrison (War) def. Kendra Ganz 4-6, 7-5, 6-2
No. 3 -ÊJessica Sadler (War) def. Kira Steiner 6-2, 6-4
Doubles
No. 1 -ÊKristi Haddad/Jillian Harrison (War) def. Krista VanLue/Alison Kropf 6-4, 7-5
No. 2 - Alicia Swank/Brandy Allen (War) def. Erin Windle/Jaclyn Abrams 6-3, 6-2
JV - Warsaw 6, Wawasee 0
Singles
No. 1 -ÊMilagros Ridoutt (War) def. Rachael Fleagle 6-0, 6-1
No. 2 -ÊVanessa Aguilar (War) def. Lindsay Ross 8-6
No. 3 -ÊLindsay Munsch (War) won by forfeit
Doubles
No. 1 -ÊGabby Schlitt/Phyllis Piper (War) def. Amy Taylor/Ashley Hardy 5-7, 6-2, 6-1
No. 2 -ÊDanielle DeGeeter/Karley Sasso (War) def. Allison Thornburgh/Brooke Tait 8-2
No. 3 -ÊAnushiri Gakhale/Tarissa Martin (War) def. Allison Thornburgh/Brooke Tait 8-4 [[In-content Ad]]
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Going into Thursday's Northern Lakes Conference tennis match, both Wawasee and Warsaw knew it was huge.
Since both team were undefeated overall and in the Northern Lakes Conference, the winner of Thursday's match would take sole possession of first-place in the conference.
When all was said and done, Warsaw came out on top, 5-0, and took its spot atop the NLC.
"I am exteremly pleased with the performance tonight," said Warsaw coach Rick Orban. "The girls were really focused the entire match."
"I was a bit disappointed," said Wawasee coach Cindy Peterson. "But Warsaw is a very good team. They played a good match."
Due to injuries and illness Orban shuffled his lineup to fill in for injured No. 2 singles player Kaitlin Macdonald.
In the first match to finish, Warsaw's No. 1 singles player Jessica Davis took on Wawasee's Carly Murphy. Davis took control of the match early and won in straight sets, 6-1, 6-2.
"Jessica turned it on against Carly," said Orban. "Jess played her best match of the year."
"Carly did not play to her game at all," said Peterson. "I know she was disappointed."
The No. 3 singles match was the second to finish as Wawasee's Kira Steiner faced off against Warsaw's Jessica Sadler.
Sadler took a 3-0 lead in the first set before Steiner made a run to make the score 3-2. Sadler then went up 5-2 before Steiner turned an ankle. After a break to get her ankle wrapped, Steiner resumed play and finished the match.
Sadler came out on top 6-2, 6-4.
"I just told (Kira) to keep the ball in play," said Peterson. "She was not able to run on it, but she wanted finish the match. That's tough."
"Jessica stayed focused the whole time," said Orban. "I am thrilled."
In the third match to finish, No. 2 doubles teams Erin Windle and Jaclyn Abrams of Wawasee and Alicia Swank and Brandy Allen of Warsaw hit the courts.
The Tiger duo of Swank and Allen picked up a point for Warsaw with a 6-3, 6-2 win.
"Alicia normally plays JV No. 1 doubles, and she came into the match and played very well," said Orban. "She never wavered a bit. Brandy played smart and had a great attitude. Both girls did a good job of not getting down when they missed a shot."
The fourth Tiger point of the day came in the No. 1 doubles match. Warsaw senior Kristi Haddad and sophomore Jillian Harrison defeated Wawasee's Krista VanLue and Alison Kropf 6-4, 7-5.
"Jillian had never played a No. 1 doubles match," said Orban. "She came out and played with confidence. Kristi is a senior, and she led Jillian through the match. They communicated and played extremely well in a very close match."
In the longest match of the night, Kendra Ganz of Wawasee and Ashley Harrison of Warsaw played the No. 2 singles match.
Ganz took the first set 6-4. Then Harrison, playing the first singles match of the year, took a 5-0 lead in the second set. Ganz fought back to tie the score at 5-all before Harrison won 7-5 and forced a third set.
Harrison then took the deciding set with a 6-2 score.
"This was the first singles match of the year for Ashley," said Orban. "Kendra is a wonderful player, but Ashley came all the way back. She showed a lot of guts, especially considering she has not played singles - even in practice."
The win makes the Tigers 8-0 overall and more importantly 3-0 in NLC play.
"This match was huge," said Orban. "We have three matches left in the NLC - Concord, Goshen and NorthWood and they all have losing records."
Wawasee is now 7-1 on the season and 2-1 in the NLC.
"This means we'll have to fight harder in the NLC and try to get back into it," said Peterson.
WARSAW 5, WAWASEE 0
Singles
No. 1 -ÊJessica Davis (War) def. Carly Murphy 6-1, 6-2
No. 2 - Ashley Harrison (War) def. Kendra Ganz 4-6, 7-5, 6-2
No. 3 -ÊJessica Sadler (War) def. Kira Steiner 6-2, 6-4
Doubles
No. 1 -ÊKristi Haddad/Jillian Harrison (War) def. Krista VanLue/Alison Kropf 6-4, 7-5
No. 2 - Alicia Swank/Brandy Allen (War) def. Erin Windle/Jaclyn Abrams 6-3, 6-2
JV - Warsaw 6, Wawasee 0
Singles
No. 1 -ÊMilagros Ridoutt (War) def. Rachael Fleagle 6-0, 6-1
No. 2 -ÊVanessa Aguilar (War) def. Lindsay Ross 8-6
No. 3 -ÊLindsay Munsch (War) won by forfeit
Doubles
No. 1 -ÊGabby Schlitt/Phyllis Piper (War) def. Amy Taylor/Ashley Hardy 5-7, 6-2, 6-1
No. 2 -ÊDanielle DeGeeter/Karley Sasso (War) def. Allison Thornburgh/Brooke Tait 8-2
No. 3 -ÊAnushiri Gakhale/Tarissa Martin (War) def. Allison Thornburgh/Brooke Tait 8-4 [[In-content Ad]]