The Warsaw Tennis Sectional on Saturday went according to form as Warsaw defeated Wawasee in the championship match 5-0 to advance to the Elkhart Central Regional on Wednesday.

Both teams got to the finals with easy wins in the first round. Warsaw beat Valley 4-1 as Craig Harman handed Eric Love just his second loss of the season in a 6-3, 6-0 win. Ryan VanPuffelen blanked Drew Shafer 6-0, 6-0 at No. 2 singles. Valley's only win came at No. 2 doubles, where Aaron Martin and Brian Love beat Eric Grossnickle and Matt Krizmanich 6-4, 3-6, 7-6 (8-6).

For Wawasee, it was one of the most impressive tennis scores possible as the Warriors won eight sets from Whitko 6-0 and the other two 6-1. Andy Cole at No. 1 singles, Quyen Tran and Jared Mahnensmith at No. 1 doubles and Farhan Haq and Shane Beer won at No. 2 doubles with scores of 6-0, 6-0.

The championship was a rematch of Warsaw's 5-0 win over the Warriors on Sept. 16. In that match, Matt Kloser stepped in at No. 3 singles for the injured Ryan VanPuffelen and helped spark the Tigers to a win. The Tigers didn't drop a set on that day. So this looked like an easy win for Warsaw.

However, midway through the first set, Wawasee still had hope. Warsaw was winning easily at No. 1 singles and doubles, but the other three matches were all tight. Harman and Peter Anders each took the first set and Dan Benyousky and Owen Compton followed with a first set win. However, VanPuffelen struggled against Steve Ummel, dropping the opening set 6-4. Haq and Beer, the team that kept Warsaw from a clean sweep in the NLC tournament last week, beat Grossnickle and Krizmanich 6-4 in the first set.

In the second sets, Warsaw took over as the rain began to play havoc on the players' footing. Anders was the first to finish a match, beating Cole 6-3, 6-1 to move to 17-0 on the year.

Benyousky and Compton were the next to get off the court, closing out their match with Tran and Mahnensmith to the tune of 6-1, 6-4 to give Warsaw a 2-0 lead. VanPuffelen then came back with a 6-0 win in set two to push Ummel to a third set, while Grossnickle and Krizmanich began to gain momentum with a 6-2 win in set two to even up the match with Haq and Beer.

When Harman put the final touches on a 6-2, 6-3 win over Perzanowski, it clinched Andy Lewis' fourth sectional championship in as many years as head coach of the Tigers.

As the matches moved to the Warsaw Racquetclub because of the rain, VanPuffelen closed out Ummel 4-6, 6-0, 6-1 and Grossnickle and Krizmanich got their revenge on Haq and Beer with a 4-6, 6-2, 6-4 victory.

"Warsaw's a very strong team all the way down," Wawasee head coach Phil Mishler said. "They are probably one of the strongest teams I've seen in the five years I've been coaching. We had an experienced team and we came out ready to play. We were hoping that they were overlooking us, but it didn't happen that way. They met us head on."

Mishler also understood that just because his team rolled through Whitko easily, it didn't mean a whole lot going into the championship against Warsaw.

"When you're talking about the NLC," Mishler said, "you're talking about a different level of competition. We were wise enough to know that. Warsaw and Whitko this year are at two different levels. That's not taking anything away from Whitko. Fred Lucas is going to turn that program around (at Whitko). He has his whole team coming back. We had an experienced team coming back and that's why we beat them. Whitko's going to be ready to go next year. I know they are."

Lewis was happy with his team's play, but still knows that there is more work to do.

"I knew that we could beat them, but we still had to go out and prove it," Lewis said. "Monday morning there are some things we need to work on to fine tune our game. We've got either Goshen or Elkhart Central and we've got the winner of the DeKalb Sectional. I've got no idea what kind of team we're going to play, but we'll be ready. Warsaw is ready to play tennis this year."

Wawasee ends the season with a 13-5 record, the second-most wins in school history.

Warsaw (13-2) will play DeKalb on Tuesday at 4:30 p.m. at Northridge High School in the first round of the regional. Elkhart Central will play the winner of Goshen and Jimtown at the same time at McMalton Park in Elkhart. The championship will be Wednesday at 4:30 p.m. at McMalton Park.

FIRST ROUND

WARSAW 4, VALLEY 1

Singles

No. 1 - Craig Harman (W) def. Eric Love 6-3, 6-0

No. 2 - Ryan VanPuffelen (W) def. Drew Shafer 6-0, 6-0

No. 3 - Peter Anders (W) def. Andy Martin 6-1, 6-2

Doubles

No. 1 - Dan Benyousky and Owen Compton (W) def. JayDee Parker and Mike Parker 6-1, 6-0

No. 2 - Brian Love and Aaron Martin (V) def. Eric Grossnickle and Matt Krizmanich 6-4, 3-6, 7-6 (8-6)

WAWASEE 5, WHITKO 0

Singles

No. 1 - Ryan Perzanowski (WA) def. Justin Roman 6-0, 6-1

No. 2 - Steve Ummel (WA) def. Nate Allen 6-0, 6-1

No. 3 - Andy Cole (WA) def. Nathan Haywood 6-0, 6-0

Doubles

No. 1 - Quyen Tran and Jared Mahnensmith (WA) def. Nick Hamill and Eric Lee 6-0, 6-0

No. 2 - Farhan Haq and Shane Beer (WA) def. Jordan Schrader and James Hoffman 6-0, 6-0

CHAMPIONSHIP

WARSAW 5, WAWASEE 0

Singles

No. 1 - Craig Harman (WAR) def. Ryan Perzanowski 6-2, 6-3

No. 2 - Ryan VanPuffelen (WAR) def. Steve Ummel 4-6, 6-0, 6-1

No. 3 - Peter Anders (WAR) def. Andy Cole 6-3, 6-1

Doubles

No. 1 - Dan Benyousky and Owen Compton (WAR) def. Quyen Tran and Jared Mahnensmith 6-1, 6-4

No. 2 - Eric Grossnickle and Matt Krizmanich (WAR) def. Farhan Haq and Shane Beer 4-6, 6-2, 6-4 [[In-content Ad]]