A pair of Northern Lakes Conference schools will play in the championship match of the girls tennis sectional at Warsaw Community High School. With wins over Three Rivers Conference opponents Whitko and Tippecanoe Valley, respectively, in Thursday's semifinals, Warsaw and Wawasee advanced to today’s 4:30 p.m. final. The host Lady Tigers beat Whitko 5-0, while the Lady Warriors beat Valley 4-1. Warsaw is vying for its 16th straight sectional title in coach Rick Orban’s 16th season with the program. Today's winner will advance to Tuesday's regional semifinals at Culver Academies to face the winner of the Peru Sectional. The sectional winners at Bremen and Rochester also feed into the Culver Academies Regional. “Shane (Staley) is a great coach, he's done a great job at Wawasee,” said Orban, whose team beat Wawasee 5-0 in a regular season match in Warsaw on April 28. “He's working really hard with the kids. They won (Wednesday night), they won again tonight. Should we win the match? Sure. His kids have a great attitude, though, they're not gonna walk in here thinking they're going to lose. They're going to come in and try to win. “It'll be pretty much the same thing for us in the finals. I want the kids to work on their game ... not play our opponents' game. I want them to stay focused, and that will help us get ready for the regional next week, if we win.” In the regular season victory over Wawasee, the Lady Tigers won 6-0, 6-0 on four of the five courts. “Warsaw is a tough team,” said Staley, whose team improved to 5-9 on the season with the win over Valley. “We're just gonna come out with one focus – being aggressive and playing the best we can possibly play. “I think we've turned the corner a little bit on several of our courts mentally. We're starting to have a little more focus, which is really important, especially for the younger girls on the team.” Wawasee's seven-player sectional lineup features two seniors, while Warsaw has just one senior in its sectional lineup. In singles action Thursday, Warsaw got wins from sophomores Liza Lewis, Colette Smith and Ella Knight. Lewis beat Whitko junior Morgan Keirn 6-3, 6-2; Smith upended junior Delaney Keirn 6-2, 6-1; and Knight defeated sophomore Jackie Werstler 6-0, 6-0. In the No. 1 doubles slot, the Lady Tigers’ duo of sophomore Hannah Rice and junior Athena Schlitt beat Whitko sophomores Natalie Iholtz and Jenna Vancuren 6-0, 6-1. On the No. 2 doubles court, Warsaw’s team of senior Rosie Fleming and sophomore Grace Miller topped junior Gabriella Lancaster and freshman Brookelyn Prater 6-0, 6-0. Wawasee’s lone loss Thursday was on the No. 2 singles court, where Valley senior Maddy Henninger beat Peyton Rookstool 7-5, 6-3. In the No. 1 singles match, Wawasee senior Jazlyn Gehlhausen was a 4-6, 6-4, 6-2 winner over junior Aerin Shewman. At No. 3 singles, Wawasee freshman Meg Heinisch beat sophomore Lea Stouder 6-0, 6-0. The Lady Warriors’ duo of sophomore Kabrea Rostochak and senor Charity Parker defeated senior Morgan Brazo and junior Kennedy Niedbalski 6-1, 6-1. In the No. 2 doubles match, Wawasee freshman Kendra Doerr and sophomore Courtney Larson upended seniors Brooke Danner and Cassidy Cave 6-4, 6-1.
