Lady Tigers top Wawasee, win 13th-straight sectional title
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Dale Hubler-dhubler@timesuniononline.com
Warsaw’s varsity girls tennis team won more matches this week than it did the rest of the season, and as a result the Lady Tigers kept their sectional championship streak alive. With a 4-1 win over rival Wawasee in Friday’s sectional final, the host Lady Tigers improved to 4-10 on the season and won their 13th-straight sectional title. “It’s been an interesting year,” said Warsaw coach Rick Orban. “I think I finally got through to them about pride. It’s cool to have this much confidence this late in the season. We haven’t had it all year. We’re extremely confident right now. We’re on an incredible roll.” When state tournament play began Wednesday, the Lady Tigers had a record of 1-10. But after a thrilling 3-2 win over Columbia City, a 5-0 victory over Tippecanoe Valley Thursday and the 4-1 win over Wawasee in the title match, Warsaw has reason to celebrate. “It was definitely in doubt,” said Orban. “I think the kids really wondered if we’d get 13 in a row. To pull it out against Columbia City, and I’ll just be honest, that was the sectional championship...and then to come back and beat Valley and Wawasee, I’m extremely proud of the kids.” While Warsaw advanced to Tuesday’s regional semfinal at Culver Academy against conference foe Plymouth, the Wawasee Lady Warriors ended their season with a 5-9 record. “Warsaw did what they needed to do,” said Wawasee coach Christine Winters. “Give credit to Warsaw.” The Lady Warriors’ lone win came at No. 1 singles, where junior Esther Hermann, a foreign exchange student from Germany, beat junior Sarah Boyle in straight sets. “I knew what I had to do, I just had to go out and do it,” said Hermann. “That I beat her at the NLC (Tournament) was a surprise. I really wanted to win today because I knew I could (after beating her at the NLC Tournament).” Warsaw, which scored its only regular-season win with a 5-0 victory over Wawasee on April 25, dominated on the other four courts, as it took little more than a half hour to score the three team points needed to capture the championship. At No. 2 singles, junior Jacqueline Sasso beat junior Katy Ashpole 6-0 6-0. At No. 3 singles, senior Lindsay Sciarra topped junior Priscilla Par 6-0, 6-0. In No. 1 doubles action, Warsaw seniors Olivia Wallin and Marlena Smith defeated sophomore Jada Antonides and junior Samantha Prins 6-2, 6-0. And in the No. 2 doubles match, sophomore Camille Kerlin and freshman Rosalia Fleming, who had never played together before the start of the sectional, beat sophomores Natalie Fritz and Molly Smith 6-1, 6-1. Plymouth, now 14-4 on the season, advanced to Tuesday’s regional semifinal with a 5-0 win over Triton at the Bremen Sectional. Plymouth beat Warsaw 5-0 on April 16. “We’re huge underdogs,” Orban said of facing Plymouth. “Plymouth is a great team, probably better than we are, but I don’t think it’ll be 5-0 this time.”
