Warsaw Tennis Season Ends At Portage Semistate
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
PORTAGE -ÊWhen the Warsaw tennis team finished last season with a loss in the semistate, the girls set a goal for this season - to make it back there this year. Only this time they wanted a different outcome -Êa win and a trip to the state meet.
Like last year, the Tigers faced off against Penn in the opening match of the Portage Semistate. And like last year, the Kingsmen topped the Tigers 3-2.
However, the weather conditions were a bit different from last year. Winds were gusting from 25 to 50 miles per hour and wind chills made the temperature feel like 30 degrees. Despite the unseemly contitions, the Portage athletic director refused to move the matches inside.
"This was not tennis weather," said Warsaw coach Rick Orban. "Do I think we should have gone inside? Yeah.
"At this level of tennis, it was not fair to the girls to play in this weather. But both teams had to play in the same conditions.
"The wind took away our strength. Our type of tennis is risky, we play close to the net. The wind took that away from us. When playing on the north side of the court, you could not hit the ball hard or it would go out of bounds. On the south side of the court, you had to pound the ball and hope it made it over the net."
Warsaw's No. 1 singles player Jessica Davis won the quickest match of the morning over Penn's Bailey Louderback. Davis took a 2-0 lead early in the first set before Louderback fought back to make the score 3-2 in Warsaw's favor. However, Davis battled back to win the first set 6-4.
In the second set, Davis didn't mess around. She went up 3-0 before allowing Louderback to win a game. Eventually, Davis picked up a 6-2 victory to put the Warsaw team up 1-0 in the match.
Davis' win earns a spot in the the individual state finals in Indianapolis June 13-14.
"Jessica Davis played incredible, smart tennis," said Orban. "She is playing very well right now."
Penn tied the team score at 1-all after the No. 2 singles match finished. Penn's Jenny Whitney faced off against Warsaw's Ashley Harrison. Harrison took a 4-3 lead in the first set, but Whitney fought back to win the set 7-5. In the second set, Whitney stayed on her game and won 6-2.
In the No. 3 singles match, Warsaw's Kaitlyn Macdonald faced off against Penn's Ivana Juric. Macdonald, who had not lost a match all season, took a 2-1 lead early. However, Juric made a comeback and won the first set 7-6 on a 6-4 tiebreaker. As the winds picked up, so did Juric's game, and she won the second set 6-1, giving Macdonald her first loss of the season.
"Kaitlyn plays a very risky type of tennis," said Orban. "She plays a low ball and paints the lines, but this weather took that away from her."
With Penn up 2-1 in the overall team match, Warsaw needed a boost to stay alive in the semistate competition. That boost came at the No. 2 doubles match.
Penn's duo of Katy Carlile and Lauren Woodard teamed up to beat Warsaw's Tracy Yoder and Jillian Harrison 6-3 in the first set. However, Yoder and Harrison refused to get down. The Tiger twosome battled back in to win the second set 6-2 and force a tiebreaking third set.
In the third set, Warsaw took a 2-1 lead early and finished with a 7-5 victory to tie the team score at 2-all.
In the longest match of the morning, Tiger pair Kristi Haddad and Jessica Hollar joined forces against Penn's Natalie Beam and Heather Speraw in the No.1 doubles match. The Warsaw duo won the first set 6-3 before the Penn pair wonth the second set 7-6 on a 6-4 tiebreaker.
With all eyes set on the deciding tiebreaker, Beam and Speraw defeated Haddad and Hollar to give the Kingsmen the match, 3-2.
Warsaw finished the season 17-2 and sees only one senior graduate. Yoder is the only member of the Tiger squad who will graduate Friday evening.
"I am very proud of these girls," said Orban. "We have had a great season. We have a lot of girls returning next year, and we hope to build on this."
PORTAGE SEMISTATE
PENN 3, WARSAW 2
Singles
No. 1 -ÊJessica Davis (Warsaw) def. Bailey Louderback 6-4, 6-2
No. 2 -ÊJenny Whitney (Penn) def. Ashley Harrison 7-5, 6-2
No. 3 -ÊIvana Juric (Penn) def. Kaitlyn Macdonald 7-6 (6-4), 6-1
Doubles
No. 1 -ÊNatalie Beam/Heather Speraw (Penn) def. Kristi Haddad/Jessica Hollar 3-6, 7-6 (6-4), 6-1
No. 2 -ÊTracy Yoder/Jillian Harrison (Warsaw) def. Katy Carlile/Lauren Woodward 3-6, 4-2, 7-5 [[In-content Ad]]
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PORTAGE -ÊWhen the Warsaw tennis team finished last season with a loss in the semistate, the girls set a goal for this season - to make it back there this year. Only this time they wanted a different outcome -Êa win and a trip to the state meet.
Like last year, the Tigers faced off against Penn in the opening match of the Portage Semistate. And like last year, the Kingsmen topped the Tigers 3-2.
However, the weather conditions were a bit different from last year. Winds were gusting from 25 to 50 miles per hour and wind chills made the temperature feel like 30 degrees. Despite the unseemly contitions, the Portage athletic director refused to move the matches inside.
"This was not tennis weather," said Warsaw coach Rick Orban. "Do I think we should have gone inside? Yeah.
"At this level of tennis, it was not fair to the girls to play in this weather. But both teams had to play in the same conditions.
"The wind took away our strength. Our type of tennis is risky, we play close to the net. The wind took that away from us. When playing on the north side of the court, you could not hit the ball hard or it would go out of bounds. On the south side of the court, you had to pound the ball and hope it made it over the net."
Warsaw's No. 1 singles player Jessica Davis won the quickest match of the morning over Penn's Bailey Louderback. Davis took a 2-0 lead early in the first set before Louderback fought back to make the score 3-2 in Warsaw's favor. However, Davis battled back to win the first set 6-4.
In the second set, Davis didn't mess around. She went up 3-0 before allowing Louderback to win a game. Eventually, Davis picked up a 6-2 victory to put the Warsaw team up 1-0 in the match.
Davis' win earns a spot in the the individual state finals in Indianapolis June 13-14.
"Jessica Davis played incredible, smart tennis," said Orban. "She is playing very well right now."
Penn tied the team score at 1-all after the No. 2 singles match finished. Penn's Jenny Whitney faced off against Warsaw's Ashley Harrison. Harrison took a 4-3 lead in the first set, but Whitney fought back to win the set 7-5. In the second set, Whitney stayed on her game and won 6-2.
In the No. 3 singles match, Warsaw's Kaitlyn Macdonald faced off against Penn's Ivana Juric. Macdonald, who had not lost a match all season, took a 2-1 lead early. However, Juric made a comeback and won the first set 7-6 on a 6-4 tiebreaker. As the winds picked up, so did Juric's game, and she won the second set 6-1, giving Macdonald her first loss of the season.
"Kaitlyn plays a very risky type of tennis," said Orban. "She plays a low ball and paints the lines, but this weather took that away from her."
With Penn up 2-1 in the overall team match, Warsaw needed a boost to stay alive in the semistate competition. That boost came at the No. 2 doubles match.
Penn's duo of Katy Carlile and Lauren Woodard teamed up to beat Warsaw's Tracy Yoder and Jillian Harrison 6-3 in the first set. However, Yoder and Harrison refused to get down. The Tiger twosome battled back in to win the second set 6-2 and force a tiebreaking third set.
In the third set, Warsaw took a 2-1 lead early and finished with a 7-5 victory to tie the team score at 2-all.
In the longest match of the morning, Tiger pair Kristi Haddad and Jessica Hollar joined forces against Penn's Natalie Beam and Heather Speraw in the No.1 doubles match. The Warsaw duo won the first set 6-3 before the Penn pair wonth the second set 7-6 on a 6-4 tiebreaker.
With all eyes set on the deciding tiebreaker, Beam and Speraw defeated Haddad and Hollar to give the Kingsmen the match, 3-2.
Warsaw finished the season 17-2 and sees only one senior graduate. Yoder is the only member of the Tiger squad who will graduate Friday evening.
"I am very proud of these girls," said Orban. "We have had a great season. We have a lot of girls returning next year, and we hope to build on this."
PORTAGE SEMISTATE
PENN 3, WARSAW 2
Singles
No. 1 -ÊJessica Davis (Warsaw) def. Bailey Louderback 6-4, 6-2
No. 2 -ÊJenny Whitney (Penn) def. Ashley Harrison 7-5, 6-2
No. 3 -ÊIvana Juric (Penn) def. Kaitlyn Macdonald 7-6 (6-4), 6-1
Doubles
No. 1 -ÊNatalie Beam/Heather Speraw (Penn) def. Kristi Haddad/Jessica Hollar 3-6, 7-6 (6-4), 6-1
No. 2 -ÊTracy Yoder/Jillian Harrison (Warsaw) def. Katy Carlile/Lauren Woodward 3-6, 4-2, 7-5 [[In-content Ad]]