Continuously serving Kosciusko County since 1854
SYRACUSE -Ê"This is a match you don't have to talk about or worry about the kids being ready," said Warsaw boys tennis coach Rick Orban. "It's Wawasee, the guys are always ready to play. Our guys look forward to coming up here to play, and it's always a good match."
The Warsaw team arrived in Syracuse Tuesday ready to play and picked up a 5-0 Northern Lakes Conference win over the Wawasee Warriors.
"Warsaw is playing well," said Wawasee coach Al McDowell. "Tonight was a fun match to watch. The scores really didn't indicate the match itself. Both teams had some nice long rallies and played good tennis out there."
In the first match to finish, Warsaw's No. 1 singles player Luke Wright took on Wawasee's Cole Stage. Wright captured the match 6-0, 6-1.
At the No. 2 singles position, Tiger junior Ray Truman faced off against Warrior freshman Justin McDowell. Truman put the Warsaw squad up 2-0 with a 6-0, 6-2 win over McDowell.
Then at the No. 3 singles slot, Warsaw senior exchange student Krijn Kouyzer and Wawasee junior Ethan Drent met at the net. Kouyzer won the match 6-1, 6-1 to give Warsaw a 3-0 advantage.
"Warsaw's strength is in the one, two and three singles spots," said McDowell. "We had an injury during the No. 3 singles match, so he had trouble with horizontal movement. He may have played a little better if he had not hurt his tailbone."
"We played a strong match across the board," said Orban. "We stayed focused all through the match. Talent-wise at this point, we are probably the superior team, but we talked before the match about how any team at any given time can come out and win. Our guys played very well."
In doubles action, Warsaw's Mark Sherman and Blaine Sumpter teamed up to face Wawasee's Chris Cavell and Andrew Custer in the No. 1 match. The Tiger duo picked up a 6-1, 6-3 win in the match.
In the longest match of the night, Wawasee's pair of Jason McDowell and Kyle Jackson took on Warsaw's duo of Austin Francalancia and Alex Hannah. Francalancia and Hannah slipped by McDowell and Jackson in the first set 7-6 after winning a tiebreaker 7-5. In the second set, Francalancia and Hannah won 6-4 to give Warsaw a 5-0 win in the match.
"Normally Mark Sherman and Andrew Zale play No. 1 doubles for us, but Zale is injured so we had to switch some things around," said Orban. "We moved Blaine Sumpter up to No. 1 doubles and then put Austin Francalancia in at the No. 2 doubles position with Alex Hannah. Those guys moved into new positions and never skipped a beat. I a very pleased with their play tonight."
The win moves Warsaw's record to 7-1 overall and 4-0 in NLC play. Wawasee falls to 6-5 overall and 4-1 in the NLC.
Warsaw faces off against NorthWood Thursday in Nappanee. Originally, the match was to be played in Warsaw, but the Tiger courts are being worked on so the match has been moved. Wawasee hits the court again Thursday at Elkhart Memorial.
WARSAW 5, WAWASEE 0
Singles
No. 1 -ÊLuke Wright (War) def. Cole Stage 6-0, 6-1
No. 2 - Ray Truman (War) def. Justin McDowell 6-0, 6-2
No. 3 - Krijn Kouyzer (War) def. Ethan Drent 6-1, 6-1
Doubles
No. 1 - Mark Sherman/Blaine Sumpter (War) def. Chris Cavell/Andrew Custer 6-1, 6-3
No. 2 - Austin Francalancia/Alex Hannah (War) de. Jason McDowell/Kyle Jackson 7-6 (7-5), 6-4
JV - WARSAW 5, WAWASEE 0
Singles
No. 1 -ÊJason Sells (War) def. Ryan Harkleroad 6-3, 1-6, 7-5
No. 2 -ÊBen Voorhorst (War) def. Ryan Edgington 6-0, 6-4
No. 3 - Warsaw wins by default
Doubles
No. 1 - Jason Ummel/Cameron Abbott (War) def. Josh Bohnstedt/Aaron Hoover 6-3, 6-3
No. 2 -ÊWarsaw wins by default
