Tiger tennis team falls 3-2 to CMA in battle of defending sectional champs
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Anthony Gadson-agadson@timesuniononline.com
An elusive win over Culver Military Academy slipped through the hands of the Warsaw boys tennis team Wednesday at the Tiger Courts. Early in the match between the CMA Eagles (2-0) and Warsaw Tigers (5-2), it appeared the home team was in control with easy wins at No. 2 and 3 singles, and its No. 2 doubles team claiming an opening set victory. However, as the sun continued to draw near the horizon, Warsaw’s control of the match dwindled and eventually evaporated in a 3-2 loss. “We lost 3-2 tonight and we were the better team,” Warsaw coach Rick Orban said. “We just didn’t finish.” The positives for Warsaw were senior Evan Miller’s dominating 6-0, 6-2 victory at No. 3 singles, followed by senior Will Petro’s 6-4, 6-4 win at No. 2 singles. Warsaw junior Sam Rice fell 6-0, 6-2 to CMA’s lone returnee from last year’s regional champion, sophomore Sam Concannon, but that setback wasn’t a big shock. The same couldn’t be said for the losses on the doubles courts. At No. 1 doubles, senior Kyle Wettschurack and junior Nic Jansen led the opening set 5-4, but surrendered three-straight games to CMA sophomores Chris Bilicic and Martin Fecarotta, falling 7-5. In the second set, Warsaw’s duo appeared to have righted the ship, winning 6-3, but came back to lose 6-1 in the third. “At 1 doubles, we totally dominated the second set,” Orban said. “I thought we were on a roll, but we came out and lost (the third set) 6-1. It was just a complete flip-flop from the second set.” Warsaw’s No. 2 duo of senior Nikos Schlitt and junior Caleb Ray won their opening set 6-4, but fell 6-2, 6-3 in the second and third, respectively, of the last completed match of the night. Contributing to the loss at No. 2 doubles may have been a wrist injury suffered by Ray as he dove for a ball early in the second set. Following the injury to his racket hand, CMA seemed to roll, but Orban wasn’t putting it all on wrist discomfort. “Did the injury have a lot to do with it? Sure it did,” Orban said. “But it didn’t have a lot to do with the missed shots at the net, the double faults. We just got tight. That’s something you can’t do against a really good team.” And a really good team is what CMA is, regardless of how many returnees it has. Winners of nine-straight sectionals and five of the last six regionals, CMA is a completely revamped squad after winning last year’s regional with a 4-1 victory over Warsaw in Culver. With only Concannon back, CMA coach Alan Loehr has coached just two complete matches with this year’s team, but he likes its approach. “This is only our third match and only the second we’ve finished,” he said, that shortened match being against Chesterton. “What’s interesting about this team is, I don’t think we’re going to dazzle a lot of people. We’ve had some talent the last several years with some accomplished players. I don’t think we have as many of those this year, but what we seem to have is an ability to find a way to win. I thought tonight was a good example.” The win over Warsaw was indeed an example of grinding one out. The loss definitely stung Orban, but some solace may be taken in the fact the two teams may meet again in the regional. At the CMA Regional, the Warsaw, CMA, Bremen and Peru sectional winners meet. Based on recent history, it’s a fair bet to say CMA will continue it’s reign at its sectional, Plymouth will win its 17th-straight Bremen Sectional and Warsaw will defend its sectional title, claiming its seventh in ninth years. While it’s a fair bet, it’s not one Loehr is making quite yet. “There’s a long way to go,” he said. “There could be injuries. I think I’d just say Warsaw will clearly be one of the better teams in our area. They’ll be near the top of their conference, if not at the top. It’s a good win for us. It’s a nice benchmark for us to get a road win like this one.” And if Warsaw’s going to contend for its second-straight Northern Lakes Conference championship, it’s going to need to win tonight at Plymouth, which it defeated 3-2 a year ago en route to a 7-0 NLC season. Taking a nine-match winning streak in NLC play into Plymouth, Orban is ready for a battle. “Plymouth has a good team, they always do,” he said. “They always fight hard. It’s basically a regional matchup, just like tonight. It’s going to be interesting.”
CULVER MILITARY ACADEMY 3, WARSAW 2 SINGLES: No. 1 – Sam Concannon (C) def. Sam Rice 6-0, 6-2; No. 2 – Will Petro (W) def. Abel Barrera 6-4, 6-4; No. 3 – Evan Miller (W) def. Josh Thompkins 6-0, 6-2 DOUBLES: No. 1 – Chris Bilicic/Martin Fecarotta (C) def. Kyle Wettschurack/Nic Jansen 7-5, 3-6, 6-1; No. 2 – Evan Dillon/Nick Haydon (C) def. Caleb Ray/Nikos Schlitt 4-6, 6-2, 6-3 Records: CMA 2-0, Warsaw 5-2 JV – Warsaw 9, CMA 6 JV Singles: No. 1 – Andrew Gauger (W) def. Kemble Manning 8-2; No. 2 – Justin Stout (W) def. Raul Gonzalez 8-4; No. 3 – David Homme (W) def. Josh Thompkins 8-6; No. 4 – Drew McCollom (W) def. Manuel Guerra 6-0 JV Doubles: No. 1 – William Bilicic/Brian Tao (C) def. Christopher Herendeen/Ryan Wettschurack 8-6; No. 2 – Cole Baker/Tim Rata (W) def. Luc Anderson/Santiago Fernandez 8-2; No. 3 – Caleb DeBoest/Hudson Snyder (W) def. Andrew Dorrell/Kevin Fang 6-1; No. 4 – Chris Stichter/Wesley Shuler (W) def. Jack Yang/ Eduardo Saenz 6-3; No. 5 – Keeton Bartol/Jean-Luc Baldwin (W) def. Ian McMahen/Nate Misra 6-4; No. 6 – Graham Ousley/Mario Hernandez (W) def. Tyler Baker/Hector Herrera 6-2; No. 7 – Evan Ousley/Hayden Steger (W) def. Mike Curtis/Cole Payne 7-6; No. 8 – Cole Grandel & Johnny Young (C) def. Eric Baumgartner/Drake Swartzendruber 6-3; No. 9 – Ean Anderson/Luc Anderson (C) def. Quentin Wright/Tanner Lockridge 6-4; No. 10 – Jack Yang/Eduardo Saenz (C) def. Bruce Pequignot/Jarod Barber 6-1; No. 11 – Tyler Baker/Hector Herrera (C) def. Patrick Mosher/Chris Stichter 6-2
