SYRACUSE - For the first time in many years, a team other than Warsaw will go into the tennis sectional at Warsaw as the favorite. That team is the Wawasee Warriors.

Three teams actually have a realistic shot at winning the sectional, but after Wednesday afternoon, Wawasee has now beaten both of the other two teams, Warsaw and Manchester. The Warriors won in convincing fashion, dropping just one set on the way to a 5-0 whitewash.

"Warsaw's won the sectional for how many years?" Wawasee head coach Phil Mishler asked. "In no way do we feel like we're the top dog. We're not the favorite until we can win one. Yes, we beat Warsaw, but it was 4-1 with three three-setters. They're an experienced team. Manchester's experienced too, and I wouldn't count them out."

Since starting the season 3-3, Wawasee has now won five of six. The only blemish was a 4-1 loss to Plymouth Tuesday.

The Warriors dominated Manchester from the beginning despite playing in their third match in three days and fourth in five days. Mishler saw that as a positive from his squad.

"We've had a long week," Mishler said. "A lot of our players were a little injured, but they played through it. Everyone came out ready to play."

Wawasee won the first set in four of the five matches as Manchester's Sarah Gilbert was the only Squire that could get out to an early lead with a 6-4 first-set win over Shanda Bucher. However that quickly turned around as Bucher came back for a 6-2 win in set No. 2 and a 6-0 win in the third set to put Gilbert away.

In the other four matches, the Warriors seemed to get stronger after getting out to fast starts. Mandy Perzanowski followed up a 6-4 first set with a 6-2 second set. Kara Mathew had back-to-back 6-1 wins, and Kim Troup and Steph Shivers won the second set 6-1 after winning the first 6-4. Kardia Senkspiel and Laura Lundin were the only Warriors to lose more games in the the second set than the first. At No. 1 doubles, they won the second set 6-1 after winning the first 6-0.

One key to Wawasee's improvement and record over the past two weeks has been getting players into spots in the lineup and keeping them there, according to Mishler.

Other teams, especially sectional opponents, have been experimenting with different lineups to see what works best. Mishler has had the same varsity starters in the same positions since the fourth match of the year.

"I think it works best if you can do that," Mishler said. "It's the first time since I've been here that we've really been able to do that. Unless something unforeseen comes up, like an injury, this is how we're going into the sectional."

Wawasee (8-4) will be at Northridge Friday and Saturday for the NLC tennis championship before finishing the regular season with a home match against Whitko Tuesday. Manchester (7-3) will be at the Fort Wayne Concordia Invite Saturday at 8:30 a.m. before matches Monday (Southwood) and Tuesday (Mississinewa) at home to close out the regular season.

WAWASEE 5, MANCHESTER 0

Singles

No. 1 - Mandy Perzanowski (Wawasee) def. Keziah DeFusco 6-4, 6-2

No. 2 - Kara Mathew (Wawasee) def. Kerri Metzger 6-1, 6-1

No. 3 - Shanda Bucher (Wawasee) def. Sarah Gilbert 4-6, 6-2, 6-0

Doubles

No. 1 - Kardia Senkspiel and Laura Lundin (Wawasee) def. Amy Manges and Rachel Almond 6-0, 6-1

No. 2 - Kim Troup and Steph Shivers (Wawasee) def. Katrina Runkel and Carmen DeFusco 6-4, 6-1

JV: MANCHESTER 4, WAWASEE 1

Singles

No. 1 - Greta Miller (Manchester) def. Brenda Wong 6-4, 6-0

No. 2 - Andrea Matias (Manchester) def. Mandi Mitchell 8-1

No. 3 - Allison Ingold (Manchester) def. Casi Wells 8-0

Doubles

No. 1 - Danielle Smith and Brooke Freeman (Wawasee) def. Jennifer McIntyre and Molly McWithey 8-3

No. 2 - Erin Beyer and Rachel Bushong (Manchester) def. Krista Richey and Kristy Sullivan 8-0

Extras

Kristen Fradette and Erin Hemming (Manchester) def. Casi Wells and Mandi Mitchell 6-4 [[In-content Ad]]