Warsaw senior Sarah Hartle isn't getting it done with flash, but she is getting it done. As the lone senior on the Warsaw girls tennis team, Hartle is the undisputed leader on a team going for a sectional title today at home against Columbia City. Starting on the varsity since she was a freshman, Hartle wrapped up her Northern Lakes Conference career with a 40-0 record after defeating Northridge's Sarah Smith 6-4, 6-2 at last week's NLC Championships. "I’ve only had one other girl do that, so I know how tough it is," Warsaw coach Rick Orban said, referring to 2004-graduate Jessica Davis. Hartle began her prep career at No. 3 singles, where she swept through the NLC, winning the crown at that position, followed by back-to-back titles at No. 2 singles as a sophomore and a junior. "I knew she had a lot of talent and I knew she had a lot of determination, but that freshman year, you just never know," Orban said about what his early expectations were for Hartle. "When she went undefeated at 3 singles and won the conference title, doing it easily, I knew she’d probably be playing 2 (singles) the next year, because Alli Tucker was here (at 1 singles). She fit into that role perfectly." After going 30-0 in NLC play over the course of her first three years, Hartle's streak was in danger after injuring her foot in this year's season opener at Fort Wayne Canterbury. "It was cold that night, and we hit the second set and I’d lost the first," Hartle said. "I played all through the second set with cramps (in my foot), then in the third set, I rolled my ankle. So, I just thought it was a sprained ankle. I waited a week-and-a-half to go to the doctor. Finally when I went, he said I had a minimal stress fracture in my heel. That was kind of a surprise." The injury wasn't only a surprise to Hartle, but also something that threatened to put an end to a goal of her’s. "She was very aware of the fact she was 30-0," Orban said. "As the season went on, and the pain got worse and worse, we talked about it and I even asked her once if she wanted to sit out one of the matches to rest. She just looked at me and said, ‘No. No way. I want to be 40-0.’ That was her goal from the beginning of the year." Hartle verified that conversation. "I wouldn’t let him do it, because I’m just too much of a fighter," she said. "I didn’t care how much it hurt, I just wanted to play." That pain hit its pinnacle on April 18 at Northridge, against Smith. "It seemed like an easy match because I won 6-3, 6-2, but it was a struggle," she said. MRIs have shown the fracture has healed, but there's still inflammation in the foot, which is causing discomfort, but she knows her role as the elder statesman on the team. "When I was a freshman, I was a lot more vocal and I could get down on myself a lot easier," she said. "This year, with the injury and us having to switch the lineup so much, I’ve had to stay mentally tough throughout the year." She can still be heard yelling at herself from time to time on the court, but it's her play that has been drawing attention of NLC coaches. "The other coaches sure know about her," Orban said. "Every year, from her freshman year on, they’ve just stood there and gone, ‘Ugh. Sarah Hartle.’ "She’s quiet," Orban said. "She isn’t real flashy on the court. She’s very motivated and the concentration level is unbelievable. You can’t win 40 matches in this conference without being able to concentrate on each and every match." Getting all those wins, Hartle's relied on her smarts instead of a hard-hitting serve or lethal stroke. "Everyone just gets really frustrated playing me, because I move them around the court really well," she said. "I don’t have really hard strokes, but I’m able to place the ball well — hit it deep, hit it short, bring them in. Just make them make the errors, because I don’t have a strong serve or a hard ground strokes." Along with being a four-time NLC tennis champion, Hartle's also been named All-NLC as a member of the Warsaw girls golf team, which finished 12th at state this past season. And despite her strong showing on the tennis court, it's golf she'll be playing at Holy Cross next year, as she just signed to play there Thursday. "It’s been a good senior year," she said.
