Warsaw Tennis Team Advances To Regional Final
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
DUNLAP - As coach Rick Orban put it, he can say all kinds of good things about his Warsaw boys tennis team.
Nothing, however, says as much as the way the Tigers have played.
Yes, actions do speak louder than words.
Warsaw continued its incredible run of success Tuesday in the first round of the Concord Regional, beating DeKalb 5-0.
The win improved the Tigers to 13-1 on the season and advanced them to tonight's regional championship match against Northern Lakes Conference foe Northridge.
The Raiders (11-6) defeated fellow NLC school NorthWood 3-2 in Tuesday's other semifinal match.
Since falling 3-2 to Penn in the season opener, the Tigers have won 13 consecutive matches.
This is a fact impressive in itself.
More impressive is the fact that Warsaw has won its last eight matches by the score of 5-0.
"I told the kids we had a chance to do something I don't think anybody else (at Warsaw) has done," said Orban. "With the sectional championship, we won seven matches in a row 5-0. This makes eight. We've won 40 individual matches. That's an incredible amount of focus and desire to win. I can say what I want about this team, but nothing says as much as that."
The Tigers came away with the regional semifinal win in an hour and 10 minutes when No. 3 singles player Mike Chanthanlangsy, a senior, walked off the court after beating senior Brian Hines 6-2, 6-3.
Warsaw scored the first team point of the match when senior Ben Voorhorst beat sophomore Landon Grogg 6-2, 6-0.
At No. 1 singles, Warsaw sophomore Deon Shafer scored Warsaw's second team point with a 6-2, 6-2 win over senior Tim Wallace.
"Deon is very solid," said Orban. "Tomorrow he'll have to be focused. The kid from Northridge almost beat him in an invitational. At No. 2, Mike is so strong. Our No. 2 singles is virtually unstoppable. Ben Voorhorst at No. 3, I've said this before, he's one of the best No. 3 singles players in the state."
While Warsaw's singles players didn't waste any time providing the team points needed to defeat DeKalb, the Tigers' doubles teams provided plenty of excitement.
Both duos lost convincly in the first set, yet came back to win the second and third sets in impressive fashion.
In the No. 2 doubles match, Warsaw senior Ben Kawsky and junior teammate Mark Krizmanich fell 6-3 to junior Jake Cyran and sophomore Nick Kelley in the first set.
The Tiger twosome came back, however, and looked impressive in winning the final two sets 6-0, 6-3 to give Warsaw a 4-0 lead in the team score.
At No. 1 doubles, Warsaw juniors Jake Wallin and Zach Tucker fell 6-1 in the first set to senior Will Reynolds and Jonathan Haggerty.
Wallin and Tucker, who seemed to gain momentum as the match wore on, defeated the DeKalb duo 6-1, 6-3 in the second and third sets to complete the five-match sweep by the Tigers.
"DeKalb is a good team," said Orban. "They have good doubles teams. The thing of it was, we lost the first set in both matches so convincingly but came back to win. We challenged both doubles teams and they responded. This was a great match, it really was. Credit DeKalb, they have good doubles teams."
After pulling out the doubles wins and winning the match 5-0, Orban's excitement could be read by his ear-to-ear grin.
He has talked a number of times this season about his players being confident and believing in each other.
It was evident Tuesday against DeKalb.
"These kids believe in each other, and I truly believe they believe in the coaching staff," said Orban. "They listen to everything we say. As a coach, this is the time of the year you want your team to have that confidence. And this truly is a team."
Warsaw's regional championship match against Northridge is scheduled for 5 p.m. today at Concord High School. The Tigers defeated Northridge 4-1 during the regular season.
The winner of the Concord Regional will play the winner of the South Bend Clay Regional at 10 a.m. in Saturday's South Bend Semistate at Leeper Park.
Penn and Culver Academy square off in tonight's South Ben Clay Regional championship match.
CONCORD REGIONAL
WARSAW 5, DEKALB 0
(Singles)
No. 1 - Deon Shafer (W) def. Tim Wallace 6-2, 6-2
No. 2 - Mike Chanthalangsy (W) def. Brian Hines 6-2, 6-3
No. 3 - Ben Voorhorst (W) def. Landon Grogg 6-2, 6-0
(Doubles)
No. 1 - Jake Wallin/Zach Tucker (W) def. Will Reynolds/Jonathan Haggerty 1-6, 6-1, 6-3
No. 2 - Mark Krizmanich/Ben Kawsky (W) def. Jake Cyran/Nick Kelley 3-6, 6-0, 6-3
Other semifinal - Northridge 3, NorthWood 2 [[In-content Ad]]
DUNLAP - As coach Rick Orban put it, he can say all kinds of good things about his Warsaw boys tennis team.
Nothing, however, says as much as the way the Tigers have played.
Yes, actions do speak louder than words.
Warsaw continued its incredible run of success Tuesday in the first round of the Concord Regional, beating DeKalb 5-0.
The win improved the Tigers to 13-1 on the season and advanced them to tonight's regional championship match against Northern Lakes Conference foe Northridge.
The Raiders (11-6) defeated fellow NLC school NorthWood 3-2 in Tuesday's other semifinal match.
Since falling 3-2 to Penn in the season opener, the Tigers have won 13 consecutive matches.
This is a fact impressive in itself.
More impressive is the fact that Warsaw has won its last eight matches by the score of 5-0.
"I told the kids we had a chance to do something I don't think anybody else (at Warsaw) has done," said Orban. "With the sectional championship, we won seven matches in a row 5-0. This makes eight. We've won 40 individual matches. That's an incredible amount of focus and desire to win. I can say what I want about this team, but nothing says as much as that."
The Tigers came away with the regional semifinal win in an hour and 10 minutes when No. 3 singles player Mike Chanthanlangsy, a senior, walked off the court after beating senior Brian Hines 6-2, 6-3.
Warsaw scored the first team point of the match when senior Ben Voorhorst beat sophomore Landon Grogg 6-2, 6-0.
At No. 1 singles, Warsaw sophomore Deon Shafer scored Warsaw's second team point with a 6-2, 6-2 win over senior Tim Wallace.
"Deon is very solid," said Orban. "Tomorrow he'll have to be focused. The kid from Northridge almost beat him in an invitational. At No. 2, Mike is so strong. Our No. 2 singles is virtually unstoppable. Ben Voorhorst at No. 3, I've said this before, he's one of the best No. 3 singles players in the state."
While Warsaw's singles players didn't waste any time providing the team points needed to defeat DeKalb, the Tigers' doubles teams provided plenty of excitement.
Both duos lost convincly in the first set, yet came back to win the second and third sets in impressive fashion.
In the No. 2 doubles match, Warsaw senior Ben Kawsky and junior teammate Mark Krizmanich fell 6-3 to junior Jake Cyran and sophomore Nick Kelley in the first set.
The Tiger twosome came back, however, and looked impressive in winning the final two sets 6-0, 6-3 to give Warsaw a 4-0 lead in the team score.
At No. 1 doubles, Warsaw juniors Jake Wallin and Zach Tucker fell 6-1 in the first set to senior Will Reynolds and Jonathan Haggerty.
Wallin and Tucker, who seemed to gain momentum as the match wore on, defeated the DeKalb duo 6-1, 6-3 in the second and third sets to complete the five-match sweep by the Tigers.
"DeKalb is a good team," said Orban. "They have good doubles teams. The thing of it was, we lost the first set in both matches so convincingly but came back to win. We challenged both doubles teams and they responded. This was a great match, it really was. Credit DeKalb, they have good doubles teams."
After pulling out the doubles wins and winning the match 5-0, Orban's excitement could be read by his ear-to-ear grin.
He has talked a number of times this season about his players being confident and believing in each other.
It was evident Tuesday against DeKalb.
"These kids believe in each other, and I truly believe they believe in the coaching staff," said Orban. "They listen to everything we say. As a coach, this is the time of the year you want your team to have that confidence. And this truly is a team."
Warsaw's regional championship match against Northridge is scheduled for 5 p.m. today at Concord High School. The Tigers defeated Northridge 4-1 during the regular season.
The winner of the Concord Regional will play the winner of the South Bend Clay Regional at 10 a.m. in Saturday's South Bend Semistate at Leeper Park.
Penn and Culver Academy square off in tonight's South Ben Clay Regional championship match.
CONCORD REGIONAL
WARSAW 5, DEKALB 0
(Singles)
No. 1 - Deon Shafer (W) def. Tim Wallace 6-2, 6-2
No. 2 - Mike Chanthalangsy (W) def. Brian Hines 6-2, 6-3
No. 3 - Ben Voorhorst (W) def. Landon Grogg 6-2, 6-0
(Doubles)
No. 1 - Jake Wallin/Zach Tucker (W) def. Will Reynolds/Jonathan Haggerty 1-6, 6-1, 6-3
No. 2 - Mark Krizmanich/Ben Kawsky (W) def. Jake Cyran/Nick Kelley 3-6, 6-0, 6-3
Other semifinal - Northridge 3, NorthWood 2 [[In-content Ad]]