NORTH MANCHESTER – Behind some dominant singles play, Wawasee’s varsity boys tennis team opened the season with a 3-2 win at Manchester Monday. Junior Nathan Perek scored a 6-0, 6-0 win over Manchester freshman Spence Trick at No. 2 singles, while junior Cameron Brill won by the same score at No. 3 singles over the Squires’ Parker Wagner. “This is a great first win,” said Wawasee coach Vince Rhodes. Manchester senior Max Karg topped Wawasee junior Nate Haines 6-1, 6-1 in the No. 1 singles match. “Max played his style and beat a solid player,” said Manchester coach Joel Eichenauer. “We look forward to Max leading the way this year after going 34-3 the last two seasons at No. 2 singles.” With the team score knotted at 2-2, the Warriors won the match as junior Evan Krueger and sophomore Dylan Staley beat junior Heath Diercks and freshman Luke Donathan 6-3, 6-2. “We needed to put ourselves in a better position to win, both court placement and mindset,” said Eichenauer. “We have some practice time to improve and we look forward to getting better.” At No. 1 doubles, Manchester seniors Noah Cain and Matthew Pegg beat Wawasee senior Cal Heinisch and junior Tim Conley 6-2, 6-3. “At 1 doubles, Cain and Pegg started slow (down 2-1) but soon gained momentum to win the first set 6-2,” said Eichenauer. “Noah and Matthew stayed in control the rest of the match as they defeated a very athletic and talented duo.” Wawasee (1-0) is in action again Wednesday at Lakeland, while Manchester (0-1) travels to Maconaquah Thursday.
