GOSHEN — For the second-straight year, the Warsaw boys tennis team is celebrating a Northern Lakes Conference championship. After going 7-0 a year ago and breezing through the conference tournament with four champions, the Warsaw Tigers had a little bit more of a fight on their hands this year, but it ultimately ended with the same result. Wrapping up the regular season with a 3-2 loss last Monday at home to Concord, the Tigers entered the NLC Championships in a three-way tie with Concord and Plymouth at 6-1. The overall conference championship is decided by points earned for a team’s regular season record, then combined with the conference tournament result. With that format, the winner of the conference tournament would most likely be the champion. As it was, the Tigers finished with two champions and three third-place finishes, tallying 47 points, followed by Plymouth’s 41 and Concord’s 39, which turned out to be the overall standings in the NLC. Despite entering the tournament in a three-way tie for first, Warsaw coach Rick Orban was just as confident in this year’s team as he was in the 2012 edition. “We had a blip on the radar last week with a loss to Concord, but I never believed we weren’t the best team (in the NLC),” Orban said. “We talked about coming out in the first round and winning that 5-0,” Orban said about the opening round, which like the semifinals, was played at Plymouth before moving to Goshen for Saturday’s finals. “Everybody was going to have to play his part. Everybody was going to have to play his game.” One Tiger who played his game to a tee was senior Evan Miller, who at No. 3 singles, and only lost nine sets in the three matches to the title, defeating Concord’s Jared Searer 6-3, 6-3 in the championship match. “Evan was pretty much unstoppable,” Orban said. “He really was.” Having won the No. 2 singles title a year ago, the top-seeded Miller’s title wasn’t anything unexpected, but the championship at No. 2 doubles may have been. During Warsaw’s 3-2 home loss to Culver Military Academy on Sept. 4, junior Caleb Ray suffered a wrist injury, but played the match out. That loss was his last until he returned for the NLC tournament, and coupled with junior Nic Jansen, nabbed the No. 2 doubles title, defeating top-seeded Braydon Davidson and Ryan Johnson of Plymouth 6-2, 7-5. “When Caleb went down with his fractured wrist, he still came to practice, every practice,” said Orban. “He played left-handed, but did his best. None of us knew if he would be back. He hit some really nice shots, nice serves and really enhanced that 2 doubles team.” According to Orban, it was that win, along with junior Sam Rice’s at No. 1 singles over Plymouth sophomore John Hunter (6-2, 6-1) in a third-place match and senior Kyle Wettschurack picking up a third-place finish by downing Plymouth freshman John Gerard at No. 2 singles, 6-0, 5-7, 6-2. It was those wins over Plymouth that Orban credits with putting his team over the top. “That was the only team that really had a chance of beating us, and we won all three,” he said of the Plymouth matchups. Warsaw’s No. 1 doubles team of seniors Nikos Schlitt and Will Petro also finished third, defeating Goshen’s Derick Hostetler and Peter Vukovich, 6-4, 2-6, 6-4, giving Orban a good feeling at the end of the day. “The focus was there,” he said. “We probably played some of our best tennis as a team here today.” His team’s finish helped Orban get voted the NLC Coach of the Year, a title that eluded him last year, despite a perfect conference campaign. “What means the most to me is that the team wins and that we play well,” he said. “That’s what I look for in the NLC tournament. Anything personal? No.” Now that the NLC tournament is behind the Tigers, next up is the sectional, which it hosts this week. The draw takes place today. “We feel pretty confident that we’ll play really well,” Orban said.
NORTHERN LAKES CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIPS Team Scores – 1. Warsaw 47, 2. Plymouth 41, 3. Concord 39, 4. Goshen 34, 5. Northridge 29, 6. NorthWood 20, 7. Wawasee 10, 8. Elkhart Memorial 1 (Final Round) No. 1 Singles 1st – Josh Garfein (Nr) def. Nick Pollock (C) 6-0, 6-1; 3rd – Sam Rice (War) def. John Hunter (P) 6-2, 6-1; 5th – Hudson Kay (G) def. Kyler Love 2-6, 7-6 (7-5), 6-3; 7th – Mitchell Keiser (NW) def. Brenden Graber (EM) 6-0, 6-2 No. 2 Singles 1st – Bernardo Cardario (C) def. Austin Stutzman (G) 6-4, 6-1; 3rd – Kyle Wettschurack (War) def. John Gerard (P) 6-0, 5-7, 6-2; 5th – Austin Schmidt (Nr) def. Todd Hauser (Waw) 7-6 (10-8), 4-6, 6-4; 7th – Luke Stump (NW) def. Tristen Singleton (EM) 6-0, 6-1 No. 3 Singles 1st – Evan Miller (War) def. Jared Searer (C) 6-3, 6-3; 3rd – Nate Knapp (P) def. Luke Rush (G) 4-6, 6-1, 6-4; 5th – Ryan Menzie (NW) def. Luke Smith (Waw) 6-1, 6-3; 7th – Aardarsh Patel (Nr) def. Juan Pizana (EM) 6-4, 6-2 No. 1 Doubles 1st – Matt Flynn/Max Holloway (P) def. Quinn Stillson/Caleb Yoder (NW) 6-2, 6-0; 3rd – Nikos Schlitt/Will Petro (War) def. Derick Hostetler/Peter Vukovich (G) 6-4, 2-6, 6-4; 5th – Clay Schnell/Ted Field (Nr) def. Mitch Boyer/Aaron Allen (C) 6-0, 6-2; 7th – Chase Myers/Dylan Houser (Waw) def. Jon Bailey/Stephen Teft (EM) 6-4, 6-3 No. 2 Doubles 1st – Caleb Ray/Nic Jansen (War) def. Braydon Davidson/Ryan Johnson (P) 6-2, 7-5; 3rd – Logan Troyer/Zach Troyer (G) def. Landon Arnold/Sam Hoover (Nr) 6-4, 7-6 (7-4); 5th – Riley Huffer/Mitchell Lozier (C) def. Devyn Maugel/Nick Myers (NW) 6-1, 7-6 (7-3); 7th – Justin Walter/Brett Wilson (EM) def. Doug Hapner/Jake Hutchinson (Waw) 6-2, 4-6, 6-2 NLC Regular Season Records – 1. (tie) Concord, Plymouth, Warsaw 6-1, 4. (tie) Goshen, Northridge 3-4, 6. (tie) NorthWood, Wawasee 2-5, 8. Elkhart Memorial 0-7 Final NLC Standings – 1. Warsaw 15, 2. Plymouth 14, 3. Concord 13, 4. Goshen 4.5, 5. Northridge 4.5, 6. NorthWood 2.5, 7. Wawasee 2.5, 8. Elkhart Memorial 1 All-NLC – Josh Garfein (Northridge), Bernardo Cardario (Concord), Evan Miller (Warsaw), Matt Flynn (Plymouth), Max Holloway (Plymouth), Caleb Ray (Warsaw), Nic Jansen (Warsaw) All-NLC At-Large – Nick Pollock (C), John Hunter (P), Sam Rice (War) All-NLC Honorable Mention – Hudson Kay (G), Derick Hostetler (G), Pete Vukovich (G), Caleb Yoder (NW), Quinn Stillson (NW), Kyle Wettschurack (War), Austin Stutzman (G), Kyler Love (Waw) Coach of the Year – Rick Orban (War)
