Wawasee’s Thanatcha “Nealy” Thanasrivanitchai fires a return volley to Erin Manake from Central Noble Wednesday in the No. 2 singles duel. (Photos by Mike Deak)

SYRACUSE – Wawasee put up a good fight Wednesday. Central Noble just put up a better fight.

The visiting Cougars split its first two courts then outdueled Wawasee the remainder of the way in a 4-1 girls tennis team victory at the Wawasee tennis complex.

Chelsea Carolus of Wawasee tracks down a shot against Central Noble.

Central’s three singles and one doubles teams were playing just feet apart, but left the courts as a virtual one. Chelsea Carolus of Wawasee played her game, patiently taking what was given from Maggie Kaiser to run to a 6-2, 6-1 victory at three singles while Cougar teammates Tricia Vangessel and Cassidy Klemp built up quite a bit of momentum to take down Ashley Larson and Charity Parker 6-2, 6-0 as the courts finished in almost identical time.

Cougar Emily Manake at one singles used a quick early burst to gain the upper hand against Jada Antonides. Racing out to a quick 4-1 lead in the first set, Manake kept the pace going in the second set to post a 6-1, 6-2 win.

The Central two doubles tandem of Ellie Cole and Erika Maneke locked up the Central Noble team win just minutes after Emily finished off Antonides. Withstanding a 6-4 win over Kabrea Rostochak and Brooke Fick in the first set, the Central duo didn’t waiver with a 6-1, second set clincher.

“(Central) came in and were better than they were in past years,” stated Wawasee head coach Shane Staley. “Varsity-wise, there is definitely a lot of things we need to take from this and get better.”

Charity Parker of Wawasee’s No. 1 doubles team rallies with Central Noble.

Pacing the final match of the night was Central Noble’s Erin Maneke and Wawasee’s Thanatcha “Nealy” Thanasrivanitchai. The No. 2 for the visitors won the first set 6-4 only for Nealy to rally for a 6-3 win in the second set. After a short break, the two traded groundstrokes in the third set in what became a mini marathon, 10-7, in favor of Maneke.

Wawasee, which opened its season Tuesday night with a 3-2 win against Lakeland, now will have 12 days off before hitting the court again April 14 against Westview. Staley, in his first year as girls head coach, is hoping to find some balance during the spring break.

“It’s real tough in trying to tackle in my first year in this,” stated Staley. “We’ll do what we can, but, unfortunately, some of my doubles are split up and some are going on spring break and some are staying here. I really want to work on some of the doubles and work on solidifying them as a team within the team. We’ll work on some things during spring break and work on picking up momentum the best we can.”