Continuously serving Kosciusko County since 1854
MIDDLEBURY - As a coach for both the boys and girls tennis teams, coach Rick Orban never ended a season before making a semistate appearance.
That was until Tuesday night.
The Warsaw Tigers struggled in singles action and fell to DeKalb 3-2 in the semifinal of the Northridge Regional.
The Tigers were looking to win their sixth straight regional crown. Orban was at the helm of the previous five and also won a regional title with the boys team in his first season as head coach.
Elkhart Central moved to 15-0 on the season with a 5-0 win over Bethany Christian with all five matches lasting less than an hour and a half.
Warsaw trailed 2-1 with two matches still on the court in No. 3 singles action and No. 2 doubles.
The Tigers' Lauren Piper gave a valiant effort in trying to force a third set against Courtni Gafken in No. 3 singles action but couldn't break her in the tiebreaker. Piper fell 6-1, 7-6 (7-5).
"(Lauren) Piper showed a lot of guts out there," said Orban. "She was psyched by (Gafken)'s size and her big serve. By the time she realized she was as good, it was too late."
Karley Sasso and Erin Coppes cruised in the first set of their No. 2 doubles match with DeKalb's Megan Culler and Brittany Hanes.
Sasso and Coppes then struggled in the second set before pulling out a 6-1, 4-6, 6-3 win.
Warsaw's lone postseason hope lies in Gabby Schlitt and Jill Harrison. Schlitt and Harrison were sharp in the first set and did just enough in the second to earn a 6-1, 7-6 (7-5) win over the Barons' Rachel South and Carolyn Hanes.
When Schlitt and Harrison were rolling, they gave DeKalb fits with aggressive returns and well placed volleys. Schlitt and Harrison struggled when they had trouble with their first serve and unforced errors.
Schlitt and Harrison will advance in individual action.
The duo will return to Middlebury for singles/doubles regional competition Saturday.
"They've really come together as a team," said Orban of his No. 1 doubles squad. "They're playing their best tennis of the season which is a great thing. They're playing a lot more aggressive and smarter."
DeKalb's Rachel Buchanan was the first off the court with a 6-1, 6-1 win over the Tigers' Anushri Gokhale.
Gokhale committed several unforced errors and looked out of sync most of the time against Buchanan.
Warsaw's No. 1 singles Alicia Swank fought against Natalie Buchs but couldn't keep up with Buchs' racquet and foot speed.
Buchs was effective with drop shots and made Swank work all match.
Swank was content to play long points that put the onus on Buchs to make a mistake. Buchs was aggressive however and forced Swank to the net a lot more than she was comfortable with.
Swank retired from her match in the final of the Warsaw Sectional against Wawasee due to injury.
Swank is one of four seniors for Orban's squad. Most years four seniors would translate into success at tournament time.
This however was not the case with this year's Tiger team. Besides Schlitt, none of the other seniors saw significant time at varsity last year.
"It was tough for our seniors," said Orban. "They never had to lead until this year. Gabby, Jillian and Alicia really did step forward and gave it everything that had. The kids came a long way this season and it's because of the seniors."
Last year's team led by the one-two punch of Ashley Harrison and Milagros Riddout at No. 1 and No. 2 singles, advanced to semistate action. Both Harrison and Riddout currently are playing college tennis with Harrison at Division I Butler.
Warsaw finishes the season with a record of 9-8. The Tigers won their seventh straight sectional last Saturday 3-2 over Wawasee.
DEKALB 3, WARSAW 2
Singles
No. 1 -ÊNatalie Buchs (D) def. Alicia Swank 6-1, 6-2
No. 2 -ÊRachel Buchanan (D) def. Anushri Gokhale 6-1, 6-1
No. 3 -ÊCourtni Gafken (D) def. Lauren Piper 6-1, 7-6 (7-5)
Doubles
No. 1 -ÊGabby Schlitt/Jill Harrison (W) def. Rachel South/Carolyn Hanes 6-1, 7-6 (7-5)
No. 2 -ÊKarley Sasso/Erin Coppes (W) def. Megan Culler/Brittany Hanes 6-1, 4-6, 6-3
