WARSAW – The Warsaw boys tennis team will look to add to the program’s sectional championship streak this week.

The host Tigers will open sectional play on Thursday versus Whitko as pairings for the state tournament series were drawn today by the host schools.

Warsaw, which has won four straight sectional titles and nine of the last 11, will once again be a prohibitive favorite in the five-team sectional field they play host to.

Coach Rick Orban’s Tigers, who lost to Culver Academy 5-0 in the regional semifinals a year ago, sit at 8-6. Warsaw did not face Whitko during the regular season. The Tigers only played one possible sectional foe in NLC opponent Wawasee, beating the Warriors 5-0 on Sept. 13 at Warsaw.

Warsaw, which finished second in the NLC Tournament which concluded on Saturday,  boasts a veteran group with five seniors among the seven players in their lineup.

Wawasee drew a bye at Warsaw and will play in a semifinal on Thursday versus the winner of the sectional opener Wednesday pitting Tippecanoe Valley versus Columbia City.

Triton will face John Glenn in the opener of the Bremen Sectional on Wednesday. Plymouth, which plays LaVille in a semifinal Thursday, is the prohibitive favorite at Bremen. The Pilgrims have won 19 straight sectional titles. Plymouth lost to Culver Academy 3-2 in the regional finals last year.

The winners of the Warsaw and Bremen sectionals advance to the Culver Academies Regional on Oct. 4. The Warsaw Sectional winner will face the Culver Academies Sectional champion and the Bremen Sectional winner will play the Peru Sectional winner in the semifinals. The regional title match is Oct. 5 with the winner moving on to the Culver Academies Semistate on Oct. 8 to play the winner of the Portage Regional. The Portage Regional will feature sectional champions from LaPorte, South Bend Clay, Penn and Portage.

Sectional Pairings

At Warsaw
Wednesday, Sept. 28: 4:15 p.m.: Columbia City vs. Tippecanoe Valley
Thursday, Sept. 29: 4:30 p.m.: Whitko vs. Warsaw
Thursday, Sept. 29: 4:30 p.m.: Wawasee vs. Columbia City-Tippecanoe Valley winner
Friday, Sept. 30: 4:30 p.m.: Championship

At Bremen
Wednesday, Sept. 28: 4:30 p.m.: Triton vs. John Glenn
Thursday, Sept. 29: 4:30 p.m.: Plymouth vs. LaVille
Thursday, Sept. 29: 4:30 p.m.: Bremen vs. Triton-Glenn winner
Friday, Sept. 30: 4:30 p.m.: Championship