DUNLAP - Their backs against the wall, the Wawasee Warriors went down swinging at Tuesday's boys tennis regional at Concord High School.
Playing in the regional round of the state tournament for the first time since 2004, the Warriors quickly found themselves down 2-0 after the Northridge Raiders posted wins at No. 1 singles and No. 2 doubles.The Raiders went on to win 3-2, advancing to tonight's regional final against the Fairfield Falcons, but not without an inspired rally by Wawasee.
"We're a better team than when we started the season," said Wawasee coach Roger Brady, whose team fell 4-1 to Northridge earlier in the season. "All you can ask is for them to give it their all, and they did that."
Northridge scored the first two team points, as Nick Myers beat Nathan Brady 6-0, 6-1 at No. 1 singles and Doug Jakubowicz and Alex Radelich beat Derek Zurcher and Cole Love 6-0, 6-2 at No. 2 doubles.
The Warriors responded with wins at No. 2 singles and No. 1 doubles, as Garly Windle defeated Josh Garfein 6-3, 6-3 and Westin Becker and Nick Price edged David Long and Chris Robbins 7-5, 6-3.
With the team scored knotted at 2-2, the match down down to the No. 3 singles court, where Northridge's A.J. Thielking slipped past David Toerner 6-4, 3-6, 6-4.
Toerner, a senior foreign exchange student from Sweden, held a 4-3 lead in the third set before Thielking scored the final three points in front of a lively crowd.
Afterward, Brady praised Toerner's effort and talked about how the senior was playing with a heavy heart.
"Most people don't know this, but David got a call earlier today and learned that a good friend of his in Sweden was in a serious accident and was having surgery," said Brady. "I know that was on his mind. He gave it all he had."
The Warriors finished the season with a record of 11-7, having won their first sectional championship since their four seniors were in sixth grade with a 3-2 win over rival Warsaw, which had won five straight sectional titles.
"We changed our lineup, and it worked well," said Brady. "We knew we could beat Warsaw, and we proved it. We got down tonight, but we fought back. I'm proud of this team."
While the Warriors are done as a team, Becker and Price will continue to play in the individual portion of the state tournament.
"I can't say enough about our No. 1 doubles team," said Brady. "We didn't get them set until halfway through the season."
Northridge improved to 9-7 and will play Fairfield today 5 p.m. Fairfield advanced by beating East Noble 3-2 in Tuesday's other semifinal match.
The Falcons, who improved to 19-1, scored points at No. 2 and No. 3 singles with Josh Mullet and Malachi Randolph and at No. 1 doubles with Brad Shipley and Jordan Hochstetler.
East Noble finished the season with an 11-6 record.
