Warsaw Netters Fall To Peru In Regional SemifinalCULVER – In a 3-2 loss to Peru, there was a silver lining for the Warsaw Tigers Tuesday evening.
It came in the form of seniors Spencer Britton and Nolan Knight.
Britton and Knight, Warsaw's No. 1 doubles team, remained unbeaten in the IHSAA boys tennis state tournament, this time beating Peru juniors Christopher Dicken and Greysen Spohn 6-1, 6-3 in the regional semifinals at Culver Academies' Gable Tennis Center.
While the Tigers are done in the team tournament, Britton and Knight will play in the individual sectional Saturday at noon at Culver Academies, where they will face Triton seniors Chase Butler and Carter Kuntz.
Butler and Kuntz beat the Rochester duo of Andrew Dunwoody and Aaron Meiser Tuesday 6-3, 7-6 (5).
“They've earned it. They've gone out there and played hard and they've won their matches,” first-year Warsaw coach Stacy Lind said of Britton and Knight. “I'm looking forward to seeing them get to, hopefully, semistate.”
In the individual singles tournament, Maconaquah’s Cole Borden beat Wabash’s Rob Ford 6-2, 6-1 and will face Tippecanoe Valley’s Payton Mills tonight.
With Tuesday’s win, which came over a different Rochester team than they faced earlier this season, Butler and Kuntz improved to 14-7.
“They played well. This was a different team than we played earlier when we won pretty decent,” said Triton coach Allen Peckham. “They were solid, Rochester looked good.
“Our guys battled, they did a good job. They’ve always had a knack of hitting the right shot at the right time. I think that’s what happened. Sometimes they just get on a roll.”
In the Peru vs. Warsaw team match – a matchup of Tigers vs. Tigers – Peru swept the singles contests, while Warsaw won both doubles matches.
Warsaw’s No. 2 doubles team of senior Jarrett Orr and sophomore Michael Ray beat Peru’s duo of senior Bryce Cochran and junior Gabe Baker 6-2, 7-5.
“The doubles teams went out there and were just point on tonight,” said Lind.
In No. 1 singles action, Peru senior Ethan Hyde beat Warsaw junior Caleb Williams 6-2, 6-0.
At No. 2 singles, junior Ryan Smith of Peru beat Warsaw senior Reuben Williams 6-2, 6-1.
In a match that could have turned the tide for Warsaw, junior Brian Elliott was up 5-2 in the first set over Peru junior Brad Ryan.
According to assistant coach John Rice, Elliott rolled his ankle.
The tall junior, a standout on Warsaw’s basketball team, wasn’t the same after, as he fell 7-6 (5), 6-0.
With its 3-2 team victory, Peru advanced to tonight’s regional final against Culver Academies, a 5-0 winner over Plymouth in Tuesday’s other semifinal.
The host Eagles are playing for their 10th regional title in 12 years, while Peru is in search of its first regional championship since 1995.
Warsaw’s seven-player lineup Tuesday included four seniors – Williams, Williams, Britton and Knight.
“I’ve been very excited to be here. I’ve had a lot of fun,” Lind said of her first year at the helm of the program. “The boys are hard-working. I have John Rice, who is a wonderful assistant, and is there, my right hand man.
“It’s going to be hard losing our seniors, but I think we have a lot of upcoming young men who are eager and want to play. It’ll be exciting next year to see how it unfolds.”
PERU 3, WARSAW 2
Singles: No. 1 – Ethan Hyde (P) def. Caleb Williams 6-2, 6-0; No. 2 – Ryan Smith (P) def. Reuben Williams 6-2, 6-1; No. 3 – Brad Ryan (P) def. Brian Elliott 7-6 (5), 6-0
Doubles: No. 1 – Spencer Britton & Nolan Knight (W) def. Christopher Dicken & Greysen Spohn 6-1, 6-3; No. 2 – Jarrett Orr & Michael Ray (W) def. Gabe Baker & Bryce Cochran 6-2, 7-5
