Continuously serving Kosciusko County since 1854
DUNLAP -ÊIt wasn't the outcome that Warsaw would have liked, but the Tigers fought hard against Northern Lakes Conference and regional final opponent Northridge.
The Raiders knocked the Tigers out of the state tournament with a 4-1 win Wednesday night at the Concord Regional.
Although the Tigers lost to Northridge for the second time this season, Warsaw coach Andy Lewis saw a big difference in this match.
"We came out and played some solid tennis," said Lewis. "Northridge beat us pretty badly in the regular season, but our team decided to come out here tonight and play hard. I'm very happy with how the team played tonight."
But Warsaw is not completely finished in it's quest for a match in Indianapolis. The No. 1 doubles pair of Mark Sherman and Andrew Zale defeated Northridge's Lonnie Newburn and Jeff McLaughlin 6-2, 6-2 to advance in the individual sectional competition tonight at Concord High School.
"Our No. 1 doubles team got beat by Northridge in three sets earlier in the season," said Lewis. "They also fell to Northridge in the NLC Tournament. Basically, they were tired of losing to Northridge, and they came out and beat them in two sets this time.
"I told the guys we needed to get to Indy somehow, some way. Now we might just ride the No. 1 doubles team all the way down there. The way they played tonight, who knows?"
Sherman and Zale sport a record of 16-5 and will face off against Angola's Trent Huffman and Jason Stump at 5 p.m. tonight.
In the other doubles match, Warsaw's Blaine Sumpter and Alex Hannah challenged Northridge's Alex Yoder and Austin Schrock. However, Yoder and Schrock's senior experience paid off against the sophomore Tiger duo, and the Raiders won the match 6-4, 6-4.
At the No. 1 singles match, Brandon Conley lost the first set 6-0, but made a comeback in the second set. Conley took a 2-1 lead over Northridge's Lance Yoder early in the second set, but Yoder fought back to pick up a 6-4 win.
"Brandon lost the first set 6-0, but he never gave up," said Lewis. "He kept his head up and played hard in the second set."
In the No. 2 singles match, Tiger junior Luke Wright took the court against Northridge senior Mark Saner. Sainer defeated Wright 6-3, 6-3.
Finally, in the No. 3 singles match, Warsaw's Ray Truman lost a hard-fought match to Collin Stanley, 6-1, 6-1.
Warsaw finished the season with a 12-4 overall record. Northridge improves to 18-0 on the season and advances to the semistate this weekend.
"We are a very young team," said Lewis. "We have three juniors and three sophomores and just one senior. We should be very strong next year. We could be very dangerous."
NORTHRIDGE 4, WARSAW 1
Singles
No. 1 -ÊLance Yoder (N) def. Brandon Conley 6-0, 6-4
No. 2 -ÊMark Saner (N) def. Luke Wright 6-3, 6-3
No. 3 -ÊCollin Stanley (N) def. Ray Truman 6-2, 6-1
Doubles
No. 1 -ÊMark Sherman/Andrew Zale (W) def. Lonnie Newburn/Jeff McLaughlin 6-2, 6-2
No. 2 -ÊAlex Yoder/Austin Schrock (N) def. Blaine Sumpter/Alex Hannah 6-4, 6-4
