MIDDLEBURY - The very way that Warsaw's girls tennis team has won its matches as of late, that's how the NorthWood Panthers beat the Tigers 4-1 in the championship match of the Northridge Regional Wednesday.
"NorthWood came out very aggressive and very confident from the beginning," said Warsaw coach Rick Orban. "That's what you have to do at this level, kudos to them."The Panthers' win avenged a 3-2 loss to the Tigers in the regular season and gave them the school's first regional championship in tennis - boys or girls.
NorthWood, now 15-3 on the season, will play in the LaPorte Semistate Saturday against the winner of today's South Bend Regional final between No. 8 St. Joe and No. 18 Penn.
"Wow, I haven't even thought about Saturday," said NorthWood coach Tif Schwartz. "That's new territory for us. I'm so excited for these girls, they've put so much work into this season and they're so much fun to work with."
The Tigers, who entered regional play confident and on a roll, finished the season with an 11-6 record.
For the past month or so, Warsaw won their matches by being confident and aggressive. That wasn't the case Wednesday.
"The kids were nervous on the way here," said Orban, whose team was looking for the program's 10th regional title. "We've known for a couple weeks that the girls were playing at their top level. Because of that, I was a little concerned today."
When the Panthers and Tigers battled during the regular season, NorthWood picked up its wins at No. 1 singles and No. 1 doubles.
That happened again Wednesday, as Melissa Ramer beat Alli Tucker 6-2, 6-2 at No. 1 singles and Alli Heeter and Kerry Hoffer upended Carlye Bishop and Lauren Sciarra 6-3, 6-4 at No. 1 doubles.
The Panthers added wins at No. 2 singles, where Courtney Simpson beat Tara Akers 6-3, 6-3, and at No. 2 doubles, where Jill Focht and Lindsey Mast defeated Stefani Davis and Jessica Cesaretti 7-6 (7-4), 7-5.
"Tif's a great coach," said Orban. "They've really improved the last couple years. NorthWood is extremely solid from No. 1 singles down to No. 2 doubles. They took it to us today."
Warsaw's lone win came at No. 3 singles, where freshman Sarah Hartle beat Ashley McClintic 6-4, 6-2.
"Sarah Hartle won NLC as a freshman," said Orban. "She's tough, she really is. She's a great player and she'll challenge for the No. 1 spot next year."
While the disappointment of the loss may sting right now, the Tigers will welcome back a number of experienced players next season in Tucker, Hartle, Bishopp and Sciarra.
Akers, Davis and Cesaretti are all seniors.
During their state tournament run, the Panthers have avenged all three of their losses from the regular season.
Fairfield, Northridge and Warsaw all beat NorthWood 3-2 this season.
The Panthers beat Fairfield in the sectional semifinal and then ousted Northridge in the regional semifinal before beating the Tigers.
