Continuously serving Kosciusko County since 1854
NORTH MANCHESTER - Two tennis teams on the upswing as the regular season closes met Tuesday at Manchester High School.
On one side of the net was Wawasee, a team that entered with the second-most wins in school history, 11.
On the other side was Manchester. After a rough 2-5 start, the Squires rode a five-match win streak into their meeting with the Warriors.
Something had to give. And it did. Wawasee won 3-2.
What gave were Manchester's doubles teams.
All year long, first-year Manchester coach Eric Christiansen has touted his No. 1 doubles team of Mark Gathany and Derek Ring and his No. 2 doubles team of Mitch Eads and Michael Good as his team's biggest strengths.
And they have been. When Manchester wins, the Squires have typically gone 2-0 in their doubles matches.
Wawasee would have none of it. The Warriors marched in and swept the doubles matches on Manchester's home courts.
The Squires didn't exactly keel over and roll out the carpet for the Warriors. One doubles win went to a tiebreaker, and another went three sets.
Wawasee's No. 2 doubles team of Farhan Haq and Shane Beer, fresh off receiving their Northern Lakes Conference All-Conference honors Saturday, showed why they earned the award. The two seniors fought off Mitch Eads and Michael Good 6-3, 7-6 (10-8).
With the teams tied 2-2, who won the match came down to the No. 1 doubles. Both teams served a lot of aces. Both teams smashed countless lobs for points. Momentum passed back and forth between the two teams like a game of keepaway. As soon as Manchester delivered an ace, the Warriors bounced back with a smash with an exclamation point on it that served notice that, oh yeah, they were still on the other side of the net.
Once Wawasee coach Phil Mishler got his team squared away on the basics - when Mahnensmith tried to get a little fancy to no avail, he barked, "Just hit the shot, Jared" - the Warriors went on to win 4-6, 6-3, 6-3 to give Wawasee the 3-2 victory.
Wawasee's other win came in the No. 1 singles match. Ryan Perzanowski beat Nate Little 7-5, 6-0.
Manchester won the two and three singles matches. Chris Hemmig, who has been Manchester's most consistent singles player, beat Steve Ummel 6-4, 7-5 in the No. 2 singles match. Matt Purdy beat Andy Cole 6-1, 6-1 in the No. 3 singles match.
Despite playing in blustery conditions, the two teams drew a large crowd for high school tennis. More than 40 looked on, leading one person to crack to Manchester athletic director Steve Shumaker that he "ought to start charging admission."
Manchester heads into Friday's Peru Sectional with a 7-6 record. Matches will start at 4:30 p.m.
Wawasee, 12-4, plays in the Warsaw Sectional at 10 a.m. Saturday.
WAWASEE 3, MANCHESTER 2
Singles
No. 1 - Ryan Perzanowski (W) def. Nate Little 7-5, 6-0
No. 2 - Chris Hemmig (M) def. Steve Ummel 6-4, 7-5
No. 3 - Matt Purdy (M) def. Andy Cole 6-1, 6-1
Doubles
No. 1 - Jared Mahnensmith/Quyen Tran (W) def. Mark Gathany/Derek Ring 4-6, 6-3, 6-3
No. 2 - Farhan Haq/Shane Beer (W) def. Mitch Eads/Michael Good 6-3, 7-6 (10-8)
JV: WAWASEE 3, MANCHESTER 2
Singles
No. 1 - Kyle Farrell (W) def. Todd Shumaker 8-2
No. 2 - Blake Knisely (W) def. Brad Keffaber 8-5
No. 3 - Peter Naragon (M) def. Kyle Hilgenberg 8-6
Doubles
No. 1 - Bart King/Josh White (M) def. Drew Gradle/Travis Klenke 8-4
No. 2 - R.J. Wilson/Neil Higginbotham (W) def. Mitch Purdy/Mike Howard 8-6
