Warsaw Tennis: Tigers Top Warriors, Stay Perfect In NLC
WARSAW — Apart from a dispute at the tail end of the 3 singles match, there was little drama to Thursday’s Northern Lakes Conference meet between host Warsaw and Wawasee.
The Lady Tigers won in straight sets on all courts, punctuated by Alyssa Zellers’ 6-4, 6-3 win over Kennedy Church at 3 singles. There was a bit of controversy over the scores late, but it was too late to do anything about it, and the win solidified the sweep on an otherwise smooth night for Warsaw.
“The way it ended, my player disputed the actual score because she thought the turning of the actual scorecards were wrong with the very first game of the set. By that time, it’s a moot point for us because she needed to address that at that point,” explained Wawasee coach Shane Staley. “Whether it was or not, I wasn’t there to actually see it. I don’t think their coach was either, but it was no big argument on my part because she needed to call us out there at that very time. That’s just a learning lesson for her. I told her just to learn from it, and the next time that happens we’ll do the right thing.”
Although she didn’t get the win, Staley was pleased with Church’s performance. Warsaw coach Rick Orban wasn’t unhappy with Zellers’ performance, either, as she found a way to battle through a night where nothing in her game seemed to be clicking.
“She struggled with serves, forehands, backhands; there wasn’t much she didn’t struggle with tonight,” Orban said. “But when you’re doing that, you can either mentally be defeated or you can fight back and fight through, so I’m really happy that that’s what she did.”
The 1 doubles match was decided by another 4-3 final, as Taylor Shoaf and Rachel Yeager earned the Tigers the meet’s penultimate point over Kabrea Rostochak and Courtney Larson. The competitors went back and forth as Rostochak and Larson grabbed an initial 4-0 advantage in the first set before Shoaf and Yeager battled back with six straight games, and the Warsaw tandem opened up a 5-0 lead over their opponents in the second set before Rostochak and Larson claimed three straight to make it competitive.
“We had a rough start at 1 doubles, talked to the girls, told them what they were doing wrong. They corrected it, they fought back and then they actually won that first set,” recounted Orban. “They were up that second set, I think it was 5-0, and it’s so easy sometimes to let down and say ‘OK, we have this one, and the opponents are surely going to give up.’ Then the opponents have nothing to lose, so they play better. A little lesson there.”
“I think focus was going in and out, which is something we’re trying to work on, but I still think in the tournament they can stand toe-to-toe with anyone in this conference. It’s just pulling it all together and making sure they stay focused throughout the whole match because they go in streaks like that,” said Staley of his 1 doubles duo.
“They’re a new doubles team this year so it’s just something they’ve got to get used to — keeping each other up and focused — so we’ll work on that.”
Warsaw seniors Liza Lewis and Ella Knight were their usual dominant selves at 1 and 2 singles, as Lewis topped Doerr 6-1, 6-1 for the Tigers’ first match point, and Knight finished off Kleopfer 0-0 soon after to bring Warsaw within a point of the team win. Reagan Merchant and Rachel Boyle put away Kailtin Graber and Molly Jones 1-0 at 2 doubs to clinch the win.
With Thursday’s victory, Warsaw remains unbeaten in NLC play at 4-0. The Lady Tigers’ second NLC win of the week following a 5-0 win at Memorial Tuesday also pushed the team to a 7-2 overall mark. They’ll play at the Delta Tournament Saturday.
Wawasee slid to 3-5 overall and 1-3 in the conference play. The Warriors play host to Manchester tonight.
“I always look at the scores from previous years, and I always want to see growth,” Staley said. “I think our singles only won one total game last year on all three courts so just to see that fight on 3 singles and Kendra picking up a couple against a really tough Liza, they fought very well. Kendra is new, Kennedy is new to singles, and those were two encouraging courts right there.”
Warsaw’s JV also won their meet Thursday, beating the Wawasee junior varsity, 7-1.