SOUTH WHITLEY – With four of the five matches complete and the team score knotted 2-2 Thursday, Manchester High School’s varsity boys tennis team turned to its No. 1 doubles squad of junior Heath Dierks and freshman Luke Donathan. After losing 6-1 to Whitko senior Bill Stump and freshman Austin Hollowell in the first set, Dierks and Donathan came back to win the next two sets 6-0, 6-4, securing the 3-2 win for the Squires. “Heath and Luke came out flat and soon gained traction by sweeping the second set 6-0,” said Manchester coach Joel Eichenauer. “Heath really brought energy and solid returns, while Luke improved his net play and shot selection to win.” Thursday marked the second time this season Manchester has defeated the Wildcats on the tennis courts. The Squires beat Whitko 4-1 last week in Three Rivers Conference action in North Manchester. “We started a little slow and finally pulled away from a scrappy Whitko team,” said Eichenauer. The Squires picked up the evening’s first team point in the No. 1 singles match, where senior Max Karg played his way to a quick 6-0, 6-1 win over Whitko junior Bailey Platt. “Max Karg cruised to a fast victory tonight,” said Eichenauer. “Max controlled every aspect of the match and improved to 11-1 on the season.” Manchester’s other team point came at No. 1 doubles, where seniors Noah Cain and Matthew Pegg improved their season record to 12-1 by beating junior Nicholas Rose and senior Tim Gensch 6-3, 6-1. Whitko’s two team points came at Nos. 2 and 3 singles. In the No. 2 singles match, junior Cory Hersha beat Manchester freshman Spence Trick 6-3, 6-3. At No. 3 singles, Whitko junior Alex Bechtold topped sophomore Parker Wagoner 7-6 (7-4) 6-3. With the team win, the Squires are now 6-4 overall. Manchester will travel to Columbia City for a match Monday, and then host Triton Tuesday and entertain conference foe Tippecanoe Valley Thursday. The Wildcats, now 2-8 on the season, will be in action again Saturday when they compete in the Knox Invitational.
