Athletic events aren't won on paper, but the outcome of Friday's sectional championship tennis match with rival Wawasee came out how Warsaw boys coach Rick Orban would have drawn it up.
The host Tigers improved to 10-4 on the season and won their fifth-straight sectional championship by dominating the Warriors 5-0.Warsaw also beat their Kosciusko County and Northern Lakes Conference rival 5-0 during the regular season.
"Congratulations to Wawasee for beating Tippy Valley (Thursday) night and getting to the sectional championship," said Orban, who has never lost a sectional match while coaching the Tigers. "Wawasee has a great bunch of kids. They were still smiling when they came off the courts. They have a lot to be proud of this year."
Though Wawasee's season ended with a 4-12 record, the Warriors made monumentous strides this season after posting a combined 0-45 record the past three seasons.
"They're a great bunch of kids," Orban said of the Warriors. "They have nothing to hang their head about."
Neither do the Tigers, who advanced to Tuesday's semifinal round of the Concord Regional. Warsaw will play the winner of the Concord Sectional, while the winners from sectionals at East Noble and NorthWood will square off in the other semifinal match, with Tuesday's winners returning for Wednesday's regional championship match.
"Focus is everything," Orban said of his team playing a sectional final match in which his team was the runaway favorite. "I looked at the kids during warmups and they were joking around and having fun, but when I called them out for the team meeting they had their game faces on. I knew they were focused and ready to go."
The Tigers won all five matches in straight sets. The match took approximately one hour to conclude.
At No. 1 singles, the first match to finish, Warsaw senior Deon Shafer kept his undefeated season record intact with a convincing 6-0, 6-0 over sophomore Nathan Brady.
"Deon is Deon," Orban said of his talented ace. "He's undefeated, which is the first time since Luke Wright, who is now a senior at Indiana Wesleyan. Kudos to Deon. It takes a tremendous amount of concentration and focus to go undefeated. And he's played some great players this season."
At No. 2 singles, Warsaw junior Bryce Scott beat Wawasee senior Hayden Shock 6-0, 6-0.
In the No. 3 singles match, Warsaw junior Andrew Cutshall upended Warrior freshman Westin Becker 7-5, 6-1.
At the No. 1 doubles position, the Warsaw duo of junior Will Coen and senior Collin Bishopp beat junior Ryan Smith and senior Vince Baumgartner 6-2, 6-2.
And in the No. 2 doubles match, Warsaw junior Richard Feng and senior Ethan Guy topped Wawasee senior Chris Brill and sophomore Garly Windle 6-1, 6-2.
