Warsaw Tennis: Lady Tigers Bow Out At Semistate
CULVER — Last year, Warsaw’s girls tennis team ran into a bit of a wall when they ran into South Bend St. Joseph at the Culver Academies Semistate.
The Lady Tigers suffered a decisive 5-0 defeat in that meeting, and, although this season’s result wound up looking much the same in the scorebook, Warsaw was far more competitive. It wasn’t a win, but it was progress for a young Tigers lineup.
St. Joe topped Warsaw 5-0 for its fourth semistate title in the past eight years, while Carmel downed Munster 4-1 on the other courts at the Gable Tennis Complex Saturday. The Indians, who finished the 2016 season as state runners-up behind Cathedral, now advance to play Jasper at the IHSAA State Finals at Carmel High School Friday.
“St. Joe has got a good team. I mean, they’re ranked up there for a reason,” said Warsaw coach Rick Orban.
“I wish them the best. You always want a Northern Indiana team to finish big at state, so I wish the girls good luck, the coaches good luck, and we really mean that.”
It took St. Joe a little more than an hour to clinch three match points Saturday. While the Indians eventually swept all five matches, the Tigers made them earn it, taking a total of 17 games in the season-capper.
Alyssa Zellers fell 6-1, 6-2 in her three singles match with Isabel Neal but pushed her to deuce over and over again. With nothing left on the line but pride, Ella Knight hung tough through her second set with an ultra-consistent Natalie Sill at two singles only to fall 6-1, 6-4 in the last match to wrap.
Lone senior Athena Schlitt closed out her career alongside Colette Smith at one doubles as Talle Corrigan and Kayla Graham powered their way to a 6-2, 6-2 win.
“Last year we just got blown out by St. Joe. This year we were competitive, extremely competitive,” Orban said. “Two singles, a few points one way or the other, it goes the other way. Three singles, same way. And actually our one doubles, really competitive.”
The afternoon started on an inauspicious note when Rachel Herendeen rolled her ankle in warm-ups and was forced to watch from the sidelines as two doubles partner Rachel Boyle teamed up with Rachel Yeager opposite St. Joe’s Nicole Pascual and Kathryn Borders.
Yeager did a creditable job despite jumping back into play at the semistate level, particularly in the first set as she and Boyle took three games from Pascual and Borders, although they ultimately succumbed, 6-3, 6-0.
“In the warm-ups, just 10 minutes before we were ready to start she stepped on a ball, rolled an ankle,” explained Orban of the injury to Herendeed. “Injuries are always tough, especially when you’re looking forward to playing, which I know she was. But that’s why we have alternates; you never know.”
Liza Lewis showed spirit in her one singles bout with Madelyn Yergler, but Yergler’s power proved too much for her. Tournament director Rob Vessely likened the difference in speed of play between last week’s regional and Saturday’s semistate as being like merging onto an interstate, and he may as well have been talking specifically about Yergler.
“Yergler is so good. She hits with an incredible amount of topspin, and that’s where all that power comes in play because she can swing as hard as she wants, she keeps that ball in with that topspin. Her serves are dynamite,” Orban said. “She’s just an extremely good player. She’s going to be tough to beat.”
Warsaw bows out of its season at 14-4 with repeat regional bragging rights. The Tigers will no doubt miss Schlitt’s presence next season, but the future still seems bright for a squad that expects to have everyone else from the top seven back in 2018.
“Win or lose here, we’ve had a great season,” Orban said. “The girls were excited about it. They played well this year. They came through in clutch times. This team, couldn’t be more proud of them. Yeah, we’re going to miss Athena, but when you say one name that you’re going to miss, it bodes well for the following year.”