Continuously serving Kosciusko County since 1854
With most of last year's regional-champion Warsaw tennis team returning this season, teams around the area know the Tigers are a force to be reckoned with.
Sporting a 5-0 record going into last night's match, the No. 4 Tigers took on the Tippecanoe Valley Vikings Monday night and improved to 6-0 with a 5-0 win.
"This is almost the same team as last year," said first-year Warsaw coach Rick Orban. "But this year they have really improved mentally. They are striving for a common goal, and they are focusing very well. Most of the girls played in tournaments all summer and in the fall because they have one goal in mind.
"They really take every match seriously. They believe that the match they are about to play is the most important match of the season. They are really buying into it and they really believe that."
Last night against the Vikings, Warsaw showed why they are ranked No. 4 in the state, blanking the squad from Tippecanoe Valley 5-0.
In the No. 1 singles match, Warsaw's Jessica Davis faced off against Tippecanoe Valley's Kelly Sanders. Davis went up 5-0 in the first set before Sanders won a game. Davis went on to win the first set 6-1 and then pick up the second set 6-0.
"Our No. 1 doubles team played really well tonight," said Orban. "They lost a match to Plymouth because they just weren't concentrating and moving well together. Saturday (in the LaPorte Invitational) they really started clicking and blew their opponents away. They played that way again today, they moved well and were really focused. They were aggressive and never backed off. I think they finally figured it out."
In the No. 2 singles battle, Tippecanoe Valley's Linda Weller took on Warsaw's Ashley Harrison. Harrison also took a 5-0 advantage before Weller scored a game. The first set went to Harrison 6-1 before she won the second set 6-0.
Viking Chris Swanson faced off against Tiger Kaitlyn Macdonald in the No. 3 singles match. Macdonald won the match in straight sets, 6-0, 6-0.
In the No. 1 doubles match, Warsaw's Kristi Haddad and Jessica Hollar took on Valley's Carli Anglin and Karissa Fields. Haddad and Hollar won the first set 6-0 and went up 5-0 in the second set before Anglin and Fields won a game. Warsaw's pair won the second set 6-1.
In the closest match of the night, Warsaw duo Tracey Yoder and Jillian Harrison took on Vikings Becky Wright and Autumn Beasley. Wright and Beasley won the first game to take a 1-0 lead in the first set before Yoder and Harrison made their comeback to win the set 6-3. Valley scored once in the second set, but the experienced Warsaw pair picked up a 6-1 win.
The win moves Warsaw's record to 6-0 on the season while Valley falls to 4-3.
"It's not what we were hoping, but realistically, it's what we were expecting," said Tippecanoe Valley coach Jack Shambaugh. "Warsaw is probably the best team we'll see all year. I'm proud of our girls, they played hard, but Warsaw is just a great team."
The Tigers take on Elkhart Memorial in a Northern Lakes Conference match tonight, while Valley hits the courts again Wednesday at John Glenn.
WARSAW 5, TIPPECANOE VALLEY 0
Singles
No. 1 -ÊJessica Davis (Waraw) def. Kelly Sanders 6-1, 6-0
No. 2 - Ashley Harrison (Warsaw) def. Linda Weller 6-1, 6-0
No. 3 -ÊKaitlyn Macdonald (Warsaw) def. Chris Swanson 6-0, 6-0
Doubles
No. 1 -ÊKristi Haddad/Jessica Hollar (Warsaw) def. Carlin Anglin/Karissa Fields 6-0, 6-1
No. 2 -ÊTracy Yoder/Jillian Harrison (Warsaw) def. Becky Wright/Autumn Beasley 6-3, 6-1
JV - WARSAW 10, TIPPECANOE VALLEY 0
Singles
No. 1 -ÊJessica Sadler (Warsaw) def. Allison Rock 6-0, 6-0
No. 2 -ÊKyla Kessler (Warsaw) def. Ashley Clampitt 8-3
No. 3 -ÊVanessa Aguilar (Warsaw) def. Brooke Prater 8-1
No. 4 -ÊWhitney Bradley (Warsaw) def. Amy Shriver 8-1
No. 5 -ÊLindsey Munsch (Warsaw) def. Krysta Andrews 8-3
Doubles
No. 1 -ÊBrandy Allen/Alicia Swank (Warsaw) def. Erin Smith/Andrea Kindig 6-0, 6-0
No. 2 -ÊHillary Robinson/Phyllis Piper (Warsaw) def. Krysta Kindig/Maribeth Martin 8-0
No. 3 -ÊCaitlyn Anderson/Gabby Schlitt (Warsaw) def. Karen Foegly/Renee Bitting 8-0
No. 4 -ÊMegan Miller/Brittany Hamilton (Warsaw) def. Shenna Reed/Brandy Wernz 8-0
No. 5 -ÊTarissa Martin/Sara Whitehead (Warsaw) def. Rachel McDaniel/Amy Jackson 8-1
