Warsaw Netters Fall To Penn At Semistate
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
By Dale [email protected]
In a boys tennis semistate final that was much closer than the score indicates, No. 19 Penn beat the Warsaw Tigers 5-0 at Culver Military Academy’s Gable Tennis Center.
With the win, the Kingsmen improved to 21-3 on the season and advanced to the quarterfinals of Friday’s state finals at Fishers High School, where they will play No. 6 Evansville Memorial (18-0) at 3 p.m.
The Tigers, playing in the semistate for the first time since 2007, finished their season with a 14-6 mark.
“We gave them a match,” said Warsaw coach Rick Orban, whose team also lost to Penn 4-1 during the regular season. “The score was 5-0, but we could have won at No. 3 singles and No. 2 doubles. I’m so proud of my guys. They never gave up today. We had a great season, and it was a great run for our seniors. It was their goal to get to semisate. It was nice to see them accomplish that.”
The Kingsmen scored the three team points needed to win the match with wins at Nos. 1 and 2 singles and No. 1 doubles.
At No. 1 singles, junior Michael Wang beat Warsaw junior Sam Rice 6-1, 6-1.
At No. 2 singles, Penn junior Jacob Macri topped senior Kyle Wettschurack 6-0, 6-3.
And in the No. 1 doubles match, seniors Sean Anderson and Aidan Koch beat Warsaw seniors Will Petro and Nikos Schlitt 6-1, 6-3.
Action on the other two courts went three sets and provided plenty of excitement for fans of both teams.
At No. 2 doubles, Penn’s duo of junior Brendan Butler and freshman Mason Lee defeated Warsaw juniors Nic Jansen and Caleb Ray 7-5, 5-7, 6-4.
And in the final match to finish, Penn freshman Stuart Feeley upended Warsaw senior Evan Miller 6-1, 3-6, 7-6 (8-6).
“If I’m going to lose to anyone, I want to lose to Penn,” said Orban. “They’re a great program and they have a great coaching stuff. I wish them the best at state.”
Penn won the semistate title for the fourth time in program history and second time in three years.
“I challenged the guys and asked them who was going to step up,” said Penn coach Eric Bowers. “We read some stuff about Warsaw saying they were confident and I asked our guys if they wanted it. They showed me today they did.”
After winning Northern Lakes Conference, sectional and regional championships this season, Orban has to bid farwell to seniors Wettschurack, Miller, Petro and Schlitt.
Miller has been the definition of consistency for the Tigers.
A four-year varsity player, Miller only lost four matches over his final two seasons.
“Evan was an incredible player for us,” said Orban. He was varsity four years. He was 20-2 last year at No. 2 singles. And the only other match he lost this season was to Canterbury in our invitational. We’re going to miss him. We’re going to miss all of our seniors. We had a great season.”
PENN 5, WARSAW 0
Singles: No. 1 – Michael Wang (P) def. Sam Rice 6-1, 6-1; No. 2 – Jacob Macri (P) def. Kyle Wettschurack 6-0, 6-3; No. 3 – Stuart Feeley (P) def. Evan Miller 6-1, 3-6, 7-6 (8-6)
Doubles – Sean Anderson/Aidan Koch (P) def. Will Petro/Nikos Schlitt 6-1, 6-2; No. 2 – Brendan Butler/Mason Lee 7-5, 5-7, 6-4
Records: Penn 21-3, Warsaw 14-6[[In-content Ad]]
In a boys tennis semistate final that was much closer than the score indicates, No. 19 Penn beat the Warsaw Tigers 5-0 at Culver Military Academy’s Gable Tennis Center.
With the win, the Kingsmen improved to 21-3 on the season and advanced to the quarterfinals of Friday’s state finals at Fishers High School, where they will play No. 6 Evansville Memorial (18-0) at 3 p.m.
The Tigers, playing in the semistate for the first time since 2007, finished their season with a 14-6 mark.
“We gave them a match,” said Warsaw coach Rick Orban, whose team also lost to Penn 4-1 during the regular season. “The score was 5-0, but we could have won at No. 3 singles and No. 2 doubles. I’m so proud of my guys. They never gave up today. We had a great season, and it was a great run for our seniors. It was their goal to get to semisate. It was nice to see them accomplish that.”
The Kingsmen scored the three team points needed to win the match with wins at Nos. 1 and 2 singles and No. 1 doubles.
At No. 1 singles, junior Michael Wang beat Warsaw junior Sam Rice 6-1, 6-1.
At No. 2 singles, Penn junior Jacob Macri topped senior Kyle Wettschurack 6-0, 6-3.
And in the No. 1 doubles match, seniors Sean Anderson and Aidan Koch beat Warsaw seniors Will Petro and Nikos Schlitt 6-1, 6-3.
Action on the other two courts went three sets and provided plenty of excitement for fans of both teams.
At No. 2 doubles, Penn’s duo of junior Brendan Butler and freshman Mason Lee defeated Warsaw juniors Nic Jansen and Caleb Ray 7-5, 5-7, 6-4.
And in the final match to finish, Penn freshman Stuart Feeley upended Warsaw senior Evan Miller 6-1, 3-6, 7-6 (8-6).
“If I’m going to lose to anyone, I want to lose to Penn,” said Orban. “They’re a great program and they have a great coaching stuff. I wish them the best at state.”
Penn won the semistate title for the fourth time in program history and second time in three years.
“I challenged the guys and asked them who was going to step up,” said Penn coach Eric Bowers. “We read some stuff about Warsaw saying they were confident and I asked our guys if they wanted it. They showed me today they did.”
After winning Northern Lakes Conference, sectional and regional championships this season, Orban has to bid farwell to seniors Wettschurack, Miller, Petro and Schlitt.
Miller has been the definition of consistency for the Tigers.
A four-year varsity player, Miller only lost four matches over his final two seasons.
“Evan was an incredible player for us,” said Orban. He was varsity four years. He was 20-2 last year at No. 2 singles. And the only other match he lost this season was to Canterbury in our invitational. We’re going to miss him. We’re going to miss all of our seniors. We had a great season.”
PENN 5, WARSAW 0
Singles: No. 1 – Michael Wang (P) def. Sam Rice 6-1, 6-1; No. 2 – Jacob Macri (P) def. Kyle Wettschurack 6-0, 6-3; No. 3 – Stuart Feeley (P) def. Evan Miller 6-1, 3-6, 7-6 (8-6)
Doubles – Sean Anderson/Aidan Koch (P) def. Will Petro/Nikos Schlitt 6-1, 6-2; No. 2 – Brendan Butler/Mason Lee 7-5, 5-7, 6-4
Records: Penn 21-3, Warsaw 14-6[[In-content Ad]]
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