WARSAW – Warsaw girls tennis coach Rick Orban prepares his team every year for the postseason.

That preparation goes into action this week.

The host Tigers will be huge favorites once again to start the postseason with a sectional title. Warsaw, which is shooting for a 17th straight sectional championship, opens play at home on Thursday in a semifinal matchup with Tippecanoe Valley.

Warsaw, along with Bremen and Goshen, will serve as sectional hosts for area teams. The sectional draw was conducted earlier today at each sectional host school.

The Tigers will head into the sectional with a 10-3 mark versus a very tough regular-season schedule. Warsaw is also loaded with experience back from last year’s team which not only won the sectional, but a regional title as well before losing to South Bend St. Joseph in the semistate.

Warsaw did not face Valley during the regular season, but did beat possible sectional foes Wawasee and Columbia City handily.

The Warsaw Sectional opens Wednesday with Whitko facing Columbia City.

Triton will face host Bremen in a semifinal matchup in the four-team field at Bremen. Plymouth, which has won 15 sectionals in a row, meets Glenn in the opener of the five-team field at Bremen. The Pilgrims, who lost 3-2 to Warsaw in the regional final a year ago, are coming off winning the Northern Lakes Conference Meet last week.

NorthWood, which has had a strong season, will face Bethany Christian Thursday in a semifinal match of the Goshen Sectional. The Panthers have won two sectional titles in program history with the last coming in 2009.

Fairfield is the three-time defending champion at Goshen. The Falcons face Jimtown in the opener Wednesday.

The Warsaw Sectional winner and the Bremen Sectional winner will advance to the Culver Academy Regional on May 23-24. The Warsaw winner will face the Culver Academy Sectional champion and the Bremen winner will play the winner of the Peru Sectional in semifinal action May 23.

The Goshen Sectional champion earns a spot in the Northridge Regional May 23-24. The Goshen winner faces the Northridge winner and the Angola Sectional winner meets the East Noble Sectional winner in semifinal play May 23.

Regional finals at both Culver Academy and Northridge are set for May 24. The Culver Academy winner then returns to the semistate at the Academy with the Northridge winner advancing to the Homestead Semistate. The one-match semistates are scheduled for Saturday, May 27.

Sectional Pairings

At Warsaw

Wednesday, May 17: 4:30 p.m.: Columbia City vs. Whitko
Thursday, May 18: 4:30 p.m.: Wawasee vs. Columbia City-Whitko winner
Thursday, May 18: 4:30 p.m.: Tippecanoe Valley vs. Warsaw
Friday, May 19: 4:30 p.m.: Championship

At Goshen (at Goshen Middle School)

Wednesday, May 17: 4:30 p.m.: Fairfield vs. Jimtown
Thursday, May 18: 4:30 p.m.: Goshen vs. Fairfield-Jimtown winner
Thursday, May 18: 4:30 p.m.: NorthWood vs. Bethany Christian
Friday, May 19: 4:30 p.m.: Championship

At Bremen (at Sunnyside Park)

Wednesday, May 17: 4:30 p.m.: Glenn vs. Plymouth
Thursday, May 18: 4:30 p.m.: LaVille vs. Glenn-Plymouth winner
Thursday, May 18: 4:30 p.m.: Bremen vs. Triton
Friday, May 19: 4:30 p.m.: Championship