With focus and determination, the Warsaw Lady Tiger tennis team easily swept aside the final opponent between them and a 15th consecutive sectional title. Warsaw lost just five games in beating Whitko 5-0 at the Warsaw tennis courts Friday afternoon. The Lady Tigers wasted little time in gaining an advantage. Ella Knight won her No. 3 singles match in a little less than an hour over Mikayla Findley. Moments later, the No. 1 doubles team of Camille Kerlin and Hannah Rice finished off Jackie Werstler and Aurelia Slusher in 13 games. The remaining matches took another half-hour or so, with Liza Lewis beating Morgan Keirn in No. 1 singles 6-1, 6-2. Warsaw held off the celebration while Collette Smith completed her win over Delaney Keirn. While the Lady Tiger team is young, with three freshman singles players and a classmate playing doubles, Warsaw was clearly the most experienced team on the courts Friday. “Those freshmen have obviously played tennis a lot,” said Whitko head coach Chris McGehee. “My three freshmen hadn’t played before this year.” While the streak began just as many of the players were coming into the world, Warsaw head coach Rick Orban said the streak has been anything but routine, and getting the trophy doesn’t get old. “It doesn’t; it really doesn’t. It’s hard to believe that this streak started a decade-and-a-half ago. There have been many years when we haven’t been the best team in this sectional, and the kids have fought for the win,” he said. “This year’s team; let’s face it, Columbia City kinda took it to us earlier in the year. They’re a good team. As I told the kids on the way to the (Northern Lakes Conference tournament), ‘you freshmen aren’t freshmen anymore, the seniors aren’t seniors; they’re kids that are going into college. Our sophomores aren’t sophomores, they’re really juniors.’ They bought into it.” Orban said playing a tough schedule helps prepare the team for moments like Friday afternoon. “We play the best of the best constantly,” Orban said. “And I just knew the way we reacted and played at the NLC tournament, that we’d win this sectional. There was just no doubt in my mind. It’s a great group of girls, with great senior leadership. And that’s so important when you have this many freshmen. Everybody supported each other, there was never any animosity. we had talented freshmen coming in; they’re taking spots from people and there wasn’t any of that. It was all about the team. so this sectional is pretty special. Fifteen in a row is pretty special. In the Whitko huddle, MeGehee said his understaffed team gave their best. The Lady Wildcats were forced to forfeit the No. 2 doubles match and into a deficit before the first serve. “I’m just proud of the way they competed. They didn’t give up on any single point. I told them ‘come in and play point-by-point and see what happens.’ We took a lot of games to deuce, and we battled,” he said. “Warsaw’s a good program; 15 years in a row is something special. I’m glad we got to this point, and the progress we’ve made this season. Our goal at the beginning of the year was to get into the sectional final, and not only did we get here, but I felt we competed. Nobody expected us to win, but we can walk out made a run of it, and let them know we were here.” Next up for Warsaw is the Culver Academies Regional on Tuesday, where the Lady Tigers will take Plymouth, the winner of the Bremen Sectional. The Pilgrims beat Warsaw 5-0 in NLC play on April 21. With a win there, they would play in the regional final later that night. WARSAW 5. WHITKO 0 Singles – No. 1: Liza Lewis (War) def. Morgan Keirn 6-1, 6-2; No. 2: Collette Smith (War) def. Delaney Keirn 6-0, 6-1; No. 3: Ella Knight (War) def. Mikayla Findley 6-0, 6-0 Doubles – No. 1: Camille Kerlin/Hannah Rice (War) def. Jackie Werstler/Aurelia Slusher 6-0, 6-1; No. 2: Athena Schlitt/Sidney Hartman (War) won by forfeit.
