Losing 3-2 to Columbia City in the second match of the season was surprising to Warsaw boys tennis coach Rick Orban, but Saturday's 3-2 loss in the Warsaw Sectional championship was downright stunning. "Earlier in the year, when we lost, I was really tinkering with the lineup," Orban said. "We came out today and won four out of five first sets. Columbia City is a good team. Their kids are tough, they're mentally tough. And at this point in the season, I can't really blame it on the youth we have, because I look at the freshmen as being sophomores and the sophomores as juniors. Yet, we still really caved in." It actually appeared Warsaw was primed to win its 25th sectional title, as the Tigers led 2-1 and their No. 2 doubles team was winning the third set, serving with a 5-4 lead. However, Columbia City's duo of Brandon Gay and Matt Rethlake rallied to break the serve of juniors Conner Singrey and A.J. Jansen and forced a tiebreaker, which they won 7-2, taking the match. "I have a lot of confidence in both Brandon and Matt," first-year Columbia City coach Marcus Moore said. "They're both basketball kids and they've played together a lot. So, they have that teamwork aspect down pretty well." The loss all but did the Tigers in, as the only other match going on at the time was at No. 2 singles, where Columbia City's Gabe Boles was leading Warsaw sophomore Evan Miller 4-1 in the third set, and went on to win it 6-1. Losing the match was tough for Orban, but adding in the fact that his team won the first set in four of the five matches, including a 6-0 first-set win by Miller, it was even tougher. "(Miller) should have won today, and he knows that," Orban said. "Two doubles should have won, and they know that. But you have to give credit to Columbia City. Their kids never gave up. When that happens, it creates a lot of pressure and sometimes pressure gets to you. Obviously, it got to us today." After winning five-straight sectional crowns between 2005 and 2009, Warsaw has lost in the championship match the past two years, as Wawasee knocked the Tigers off last year. "When I asked them if they were disappointed, every one of them said, 'Yes,'" Orban said. "I told them, 'You have to remember this. You have to remember this for next year.' They're all kind of shocked." One positive of the day was the play of junior A.J. Herendeen and freshman Sam Rice at No. 1 doubles, as they advanced in the individual state tournament with a 6-2, 6-0 victory. "They played extremely well earlier today (against Tippecanoe Valley in the semifinals) and they played extremely good against a talented Columbia City team," Orban said. "So, they're playing extremely well and hopefully that continues." As the Tigers were licking their wounds, the Columbia City Eagles were celebrating their first-ever sectional championship, advancing on to the Culver Military Academy Regional. "Obviously, this could have gone either way," Moore said. "They're a great team. We feel like we've had a successful year. It was a battle, and both times we played them, it went down to the final match." Moore may have been soaking the win in even more when thinking about the people he'll graduate, while Warsaw only loses Keaton Joyner, who won 6-2, 6-0 at No. 3 singles. "They're absolutely reloading, so we'll have our hands full next year, because they were very young and we graduate a lot," Moore said. Orban is also looking forward to next year. "It's a great group of kids and we are young," Orban said. "Yes, we have virtually everyone back next year. We should be a very, very good team, but mentally, we have to toughen up." And to toughen them up, the coach will be implementing a new kind strategy. "All season long, I've been looking at the way I've been coaching," he said. "Next year, it's going to be different — probably a little bit tougher in practice."
