It took multiple three-set matches, but the Warsaw Community High School's boys tennis team got a 4-1 Northern Lakes Conference win over the visiting Plymouth Pilgrims Thursday.
On the night, each of the three, three-set matches were won by the Tigers and included a lopsided score in one of the three sets."Every time we play Plymouth, it's a tough match," Warsaw coach Rick Orban said. "The Plymouth kids never, ever give up."
And like the Pilgrims (2-3, 1-1 NLC), the Tigers (6-1, 3-0 NLC) also proved they never give up.
After losing his first No. 1 singles set 6-1, senior Will Anderson responded by taking the second 6-3 and outlasting Plymouth's Kyle Cartwright in the third, winning in a tiebreaker 7-6 (7-4).
"He just got waxed in that first set," Orban said about Anderson. "He made a tremendous amount of unforced errors. At the end of the set, we sat and talked. I just told him, 'All you have to do is keep the ball in play.' We had a strategy where we wanted to hit the ball. He did it, and my gosh, the whole match turned around."
Over at No. 2 doubles, Warsaw's tandem of A.J. Herendeen and Nick Shoemaker came back from a 7-6 loss in the opening set to take the second and third, 6-0 and 6-1, respectively.
"They showed a lot of guts," Orban said. "I'm really, really proud of Nick and A.J., because they played extremely well."
Warsaw's last three-set victory came at No. 2 singles, where freshman Brenton Reyner got the 6-4 win in the first set, but then got swept in the second, 6-0. After taking a break in-between the second and third sets, Reyner returned to the court and won convincingly, 6-2.
The Tigers other freshman, Evan Miller, only needed two sets to get a 7-5, 6-1 victory, but those two sets were only defeated in length of time by Anderson and Cartwright's battle.
On the season, Reyner and Miller are undefeated on the No. 2 and No. 3 singles courts, and that's something that is making Orban happy.
"They're extremely tough to beat," he said about the freshmen. "It sounds weird, and I'm not ready to give them all the credit yet, but I have a lot of confidence in those two."
The win increased the Tigers' win streak to six matches, as the team now sits at 6-1 following a loss at Penn in the season opener.
"The biggest key was the win," Orban said. "Whether it was 3-2 or 4-1 or 5-0. We're now 6-1 heading into Northridge (Tuesday). I'm proud of the team. It's really coming together. We're playing pretty good tennis."
Orban may have been proud of his team, but Plymouth coach Michael Delp didn't seem too enthused with his.
Following the match, Delp gave his guys a long talking to inside of the 'cage' at the Tiger Courts, then had them doing a little running.
"It's a rivalry," Orban said. "You can even see the coaches getting tense. I'm sure Mike (Delp) and Brad (Haeck) don't like losing to us, and this is two years in a row. I'm sure that's not sitting well."
WARSAW 4, PLYMOUTH 1
SINGLES: No. 1 - Will Anderson (W) def. Kyle Cartwright 1-6, 6-3, 7-6 (7-4); No. 2 - Brenton Reyner (W) def. Gabe Vervynckt 6-4, 0-6, 6-2; No. 3 - Evan Miller (W) def. Lane Singleton 7-5, 6-1
