Warsaw Tops Wawasee In Tennis Sectional Opener
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
By Anthony [email protected]
The first-round match between the squads was supposed to take place Wednesday, but rain forced it back again. So, when rain came again, the teams went to the Kosicusko Community Racquet Center.
"Most of the guys really don't play here, so Wawasee probably had the same advantages we had as far as the courts go," Warsaw coach Rick Orban said. "But it is a totally different atmosphere. I told the guys they had to really focus, because you get more echoes, especially when they're giving lessons at the same time."
There were breaks taken for children who needed to cross to the courts at the back of the center, but both teams were kind of used to playing indoors, having done it this weekend when rain forced the Northern Lakes Conference Championships inside the Eastlake Athletic Club in Elkhart.
"I talked about how well we played this weekend," Orban said. "Truly, we probably played the best tennis of the season. I reminded them of that."
Playing on two courts at a time, the Tigers did look strong against the defending sectional champions, only losing seven sets in all three singles matches, as well as No. 2 doubles.
But at No. 1 doubles, there was a bit of a hiccup.
"One doubles was interesting tonight," Orban said. "They were way over confident, and I'm the first one to say that. Then, all of a sudden they're down a break, then they can't really break (Wawasee). You start to see the pressure add up, and you know you're a better team, but all of a sudden, the other team has confidence."
Warsaw's No. 1 doubles tandem of junior A.J. Herendeen and freshman Sam Rice dropped their first set against Wawasee seniors Westin Becker and Derek Zurcher 6-3.
Then, in the second set, Becker and Zurcher were serving for the match with a 6-5 lead, when things changed.
Herendeen and Rice went on to break Wawasee's serve, forcing a tiebreaker which the Tigers won 7-4.
"There's a lot of momentum shifts in tennis, and unfortunately for us, the momentum shifted away from us at that point," Wawasee coach Drew Ummel said.
In the decisive third set, Herendeen and Rice fell behind 1-0, but went on to win 6-4, spending two hours on the match.
"It was a job in the second set to get their confidence back up, to get their energy back up," Orban said. "I just told them, 'You're the better team. You know that. Now it's a matter of just proving it.' We figured out a weakness, and we attacked it and we attacked it very well."
Other Tigers who got wins were sophomores Kyle Wettschurak and Evan Miller at No. 1 and 2 singles, respectively, while senior Keaton Joyner finished the first match of the evening with a 6-0, 6-2 win.
In the last match of the night, Warsaw's No. 2 doubles team of junior A.J. Jansen and Connor Singrey were 6-3, 6-0 winners.
Despite the loss, Ummel felt good about his team.
"We just left too many points on the court," he said.
"I thought the guys played great, Warsaw just played better. Warsaw deserved to win the match."
The loss wraps up Ummel's first year at the helm of Wawasee's boys tennis team, and despite a 3-13 record, he saw some positives.
"I'm really happy with what the guys did," Ummel said. "If you look at the varsity team that we put out on the court this year, four of those guys had never played a two-out-of-three set match. I'm happy with what they did. They learned a lot and we're going to keep building."
Warsaw continues to roll, taking on Tippecanoe Valley today back at Warsaw Community High School, while Whitko will also square off with Columbia City.
A win between Warsaw and Columbia City will pit the two teams against each other for the first time since the Eagles defeated the Tigers 3-2 on Aug. 17.
"I don't want to look past Valley, but Columbia City beat us in our second match of the season," Orban said. "Everybody's kind of hoping Columbia City beats Whitko and we beat Tippy Valley, then we meet in the finals. It'd be an interesting match."
If rain does strike again today, the two semifinal matches will be moved to Saturday morning, with the championship being played two-and-a-half hours following the completion of the last match.
WARSAW 5, WAWASEE 0
(Warsaw Sectional, 1st Rd)
SINGLES: No. 1 — Kyle Wettschurack (Warsaw) def. Kyler Love 6-0, 6-0; No. 2 — Evan Miller (Warsaw) def. Isaac Rigdon 6-0, 6-2; No. 3 — Keaton Joyner (Warsaw) def. Tyler Kissinger 6-0, 6-2
DOUBLES: No. 1 — A.J. Herendeen/Sam Rice (Warsaw) Westin Becker/Derek Zurcher 3-6, 7-6 (7-4), 6-4; No. 2 — A.J. Jansen/Connor Singrey (Warsaw) def. Cole Love/Jacob Thompson 6-3, 6-0
Records — Warsaw 8-4, Wawasee 3-13[[In-content Ad]]
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The first-round match between the squads was supposed to take place Wednesday, but rain forced it back again. So, when rain came again, the teams went to the Kosicusko Community Racquet Center.
"Most of the guys really don't play here, so Wawasee probably had the same advantages we had as far as the courts go," Warsaw coach Rick Orban said. "But it is a totally different atmosphere. I told the guys they had to really focus, because you get more echoes, especially when they're giving lessons at the same time."
There were breaks taken for children who needed to cross to the courts at the back of the center, but both teams were kind of used to playing indoors, having done it this weekend when rain forced the Northern Lakes Conference Championships inside the Eastlake Athletic Club in Elkhart.
"I talked about how well we played this weekend," Orban said. "Truly, we probably played the best tennis of the season. I reminded them of that."
Playing on two courts at a time, the Tigers did look strong against the defending sectional champions, only losing seven sets in all three singles matches, as well as No. 2 doubles.
But at No. 1 doubles, there was a bit of a hiccup.
"One doubles was interesting tonight," Orban said. "They were way over confident, and I'm the first one to say that. Then, all of a sudden they're down a break, then they can't really break (Wawasee). You start to see the pressure add up, and you know you're a better team, but all of a sudden, the other team has confidence."
Warsaw's No. 1 doubles tandem of junior A.J. Herendeen and freshman Sam Rice dropped their first set against Wawasee seniors Westin Becker and Derek Zurcher 6-3.
Then, in the second set, Becker and Zurcher were serving for the match with a 6-5 lead, when things changed.
Herendeen and Rice went on to break Wawasee's serve, forcing a tiebreaker which the Tigers won 7-4.
"There's a lot of momentum shifts in tennis, and unfortunately for us, the momentum shifted away from us at that point," Wawasee coach Drew Ummel said.
In the decisive third set, Herendeen and Rice fell behind 1-0, but went on to win 6-4, spending two hours on the match.
"It was a job in the second set to get their confidence back up, to get their energy back up," Orban said. "I just told them, 'You're the better team. You know that. Now it's a matter of just proving it.' We figured out a weakness, and we attacked it and we attacked it very well."
Other Tigers who got wins were sophomores Kyle Wettschurak and Evan Miller at No. 1 and 2 singles, respectively, while senior Keaton Joyner finished the first match of the evening with a 6-0, 6-2 win.
In the last match of the night, Warsaw's No. 2 doubles team of junior A.J. Jansen and Connor Singrey were 6-3, 6-0 winners.
Despite the loss, Ummel felt good about his team.
"We just left too many points on the court," he said.
"I thought the guys played great, Warsaw just played better. Warsaw deserved to win the match."
The loss wraps up Ummel's first year at the helm of Wawasee's boys tennis team, and despite a 3-13 record, he saw some positives.
"I'm really happy with what the guys did," Ummel said. "If you look at the varsity team that we put out on the court this year, four of those guys had never played a two-out-of-three set match. I'm happy with what they did. They learned a lot and we're going to keep building."
Warsaw continues to roll, taking on Tippecanoe Valley today back at Warsaw Community High School, while Whitko will also square off with Columbia City.
A win between Warsaw and Columbia City will pit the two teams against each other for the first time since the Eagles defeated the Tigers 3-2 on Aug. 17.
"I don't want to look past Valley, but Columbia City beat us in our second match of the season," Orban said. "Everybody's kind of hoping Columbia City beats Whitko and we beat Tippy Valley, then we meet in the finals. It'd be an interesting match."
If rain does strike again today, the two semifinal matches will be moved to Saturday morning, with the championship being played two-and-a-half hours following the completion of the last match.
WARSAW 5, WAWASEE 0
(Warsaw Sectional, 1st Rd)
SINGLES: No. 1 — Kyle Wettschurack (Warsaw) def. Kyler Love 6-0, 6-0; No. 2 — Evan Miller (Warsaw) def. Isaac Rigdon 6-0, 6-2; No. 3 — Keaton Joyner (Warsaw) def. Tyler Kissinger 6-0, 6-2
DOUBLES: No. 1 — A.J. Herendeen/Sam Rice (Warsaw) Westin Becker/Derek Zurcher 3-6, 7-6 (7-4), 6-4; No. 2 — A.J. Jansen/Connor Singrey (Warsaw) def. Cole Love/Jacob Thompson 6-3, 6-0
Records — Warsaw 8-4, Wawasee 3-13[[In-content Ad]]
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