Panthers Win Slugfest With RedHawks
NAPPANEE – It was a match that wouldn’t end, and had it been a pro tour, may still be going on this morning.
NorthWood and Goshen played spirited tennis Thursday in the semi-finals of the NorthWood Boys Tennis Sectional, with three of its five courts playing into a second hour. The Panthers were able to come out on top, 4-1, advancing to the finals in the slight upset of the RedHawks.
After Goshen’s phenomenal regular season, going 17-3 in dual matches that included a win over the Panthers, the hosts had the leg up after the first sets were in the books. Wes Troyer at one singles went ahead and made it 1-0 ultra quickly, polishing off a one and love clinic of Ryan Harmelink to foil any drama on the middle court. That physical divide of the court set up some prime drama on either side, that played well into dusk.
Goshen’s No. 2 doubles team of Axel Brown and Drake Crowder did its part, surviving a tiebreaker, 7-5, in the first set, to close out Dawson Bley and Grant Topping 6-2 in the second set.
At 1-1, it was anyone’s guess as to where the match would spin with the other three courts deep into competitive second and third sets.
“Wes was just ready to go today,” noted NorthWood head coach Tif Schwartz. “He was itching to go all day. He was ready to go in the halls at school. He just played a great match today and looked as sharp as he has been all year.”
NorthWood got a huge boost from its No. 1 doubles team, which withstood a sometimes excessively celebratory RedHawks duo of Diego Torres and Ben Bontrager-Singer to make its own noise late. After Goshen ripped through a 6-1 win in the first set, NorthWood flipped the script and celebrated its own dashing play. Trajan Schwartz made a very cheeky shot to put Wood up 3-2, then smashed home a winner at 5-2 en route to a 6-3 second set. In the third, Jack Wysong showed his penchant for the slick shot with a no-look drop past Torres as Wood stormed out to a 5-2 lead. Goshen rallied to trail just 5-4, holding off Schwartz’s serve, but a Schwartz smash at match point clinched a huge court. Advantage NorthWood at 2-1.
“After that first set, I told them that (Goshen No. 1 doubles) are seniors and they want to beat you badly,” Schwartz said. “They can’t lose or their season is over. They were fired up, so we had to get there and be fired up about our play. John and Trajan each found that next gear and made some great shots. They had to get more aggressive and take it to them, and they did that in the last two sets.”
As the sun was setting on a gorgeous fall day in southwestern Elkhart County, Ben Vincent and Landon Holland were hoping to not fall apart. Both grabbed first set wins over Wes Beck and Carlos Lichty, respectively, Vincent’s in an impressive 6-0 mark. But Beck reversed course, shutting out Vincent in the second set, and the two waged war in the third set. Tied at 5-5 in the third set, the two played even again to 6-6, forcing the tiebreak. In a tremendous rally, Vincent outlasted the Goshen senior 8-6 in the tiebreak to shore up the team win.
Holland, who squared off with Lichty in the finals of the Northern Lakes Conference championships last weekend, didn’t let history repeat itself. A 7-6 (3) tiebreak in the first set went Holland’s way in what took over an hour to decide. In the second set, Holland again had to outlast Lichty in a nailbiting conclusion to pull out a 6-4 second set.
Holland, who was a No. 2 singles player for the Panthers a year ago, had his experience pay off in the tournament.
“Him staying patient is what got him the win today,” Schwartz said of Holland. “His patience today was very important. When he got into trouble in the first set when Carlos rallied, Landon calmed down and cleaned up the end of that set. That was huge, because now Carlos had to play from behind and Landon was able to take it to him.”
NorthWood (12-4) advances to the finals, where it will meet old pal Fairfield in the championship Friday afternoon. The Falcons (15-5) fended off bitter rival Jimtown (14-8), 4-1, in the other semi-final. Aaron Streit won four and love at No. 1 over Austin Pearison, Eric Gaby beat Bill Pawlak 4-6, 6-3, 7-6 (8-6) at No. 2, and Colin Hochstedler put out Sam Wort one and two at No. 3. The Falcon No. 1 doubles tandem of Tanner Nunemaker and Ben Toole rolled, one and love, against Nate Behrens and Tim Gardner. Jimtown’s Luke Flick and Preston Phillips posted a four and two win at No. 2 against Riley Behles and Isaac Inniger.