Peri Britton of Warsaw’s one doubles team sends a winner home against Wawasee on Thursday. InkFreeNews photos by Mike Deak==

By Mike Deak
InkFreeNews

SYRACUSE – Slow and steady won the race.

Warsaw’s ability to make the second shot gave it extra points in a well-contested match at Wawasee Thursday evening, the Tigers groundstroking its way to a 4-1 team win.

Warsaw took advantage of a host of unforced Wawasee errors as well as a strong crosswind going west to east across the bow of the courts. But Warsaw’s ability to score off Wawasee’s serve or a developing volley gave the Tigers the edge.

Megan Mishler was a good example of putting shots away in her two and love win over Kaitlynn Jackson at No. 3. Mishler kept her shots low and out of the wind, and when Jackson left her attempts in the air, Mishler pounded plenty of winners to get off the court first.

Regan Brouwer used a similar approach in beating Casey Yankosky one and three. Both players did well to keep their shots low and in the middle of the court, but Brouwer made less unforced errors to get the court ‘W’.

Two dubs for the Tigers also made quick work of their opportunity, Anna Brehany and Kennedy Wiedeman shutting out Kenley Stewart and Allison Clark.

Wawasee’s Kiah Farrington had the team’s lone court win, breaking a Warsaw string of wins at the position.

Last off the court was the one dubs tandem of Marie Frazzetta and Peri Britton, who won a first set tiebreaker, 7-5, then kept the momentum in a 6-1 second set capper against Abby Morehead and Tate Cowan. Wawasee played defense well at the net in the first set, Cowan using a series of cross shots to extend the set. But a pair of long shots by the Warriors helped Warsaw take the set, and both Britton and Frazzetta made key points in the second as the remainder of the fanbase gathered outside the fencing.

“I think they are all doing well,” began Warsaw head coach Stacy Lind. “A lot of the schools are in the same place with their lineups and having younger kids out there. The kids are stepping up and taking care of what they need to take care of.”

While Wawasee had its struggles elsewhere, No. 1 singles went to Kiah Farrington in a 6-2, 6-3 win over Paige Zawadzky. The two waged several well-played points, but when it mattered in closing out games, Farrington’s forehand winners came more frequently. Farrington also broke a long drought in the Wawasee-Warsaw series, the first No. 1 singles player from Syracuse to beat a Warsaw opponent since 2013 when Katy Ashpole had the honor.

“I have full confidence that Kiah will dominate,” said Wawasee head coach Amanda Hare. “Her forehand and ability to pick out an opponent’s weakness and focus on it, a lot of girls don’t see that, but Kiah does that. She finds weaknesses and uses that to her advantage. Today she had some amazing putaways.”

The win for Warsaw comes in a very busy week where the Tigers played Monday, Tuesday, had last night rained out, played Thursday, and have a contest scheduled for tomorrow at Fort Wayne Concordia. Lind is happy to see the consistency starting to settle in for her club.

“I think they are doing great,” Lind said. “They are coming out here and wanting those wins. They are focused and fighting for every point.”

Wawasee is still seeking its first win in the Northern Lakes Conference, but Hare feels her team is very close to breaking through. Concord will head to Syracuse Friday to meet the Warriors.

“I think sometimes my girls get nervous and they don’t follow up on things,” Hare said. “I saw several times where my players would hit a great shot, then the next one was in the net or flying out of bounds. They get excited. I am like pretend that is your best friend across from you and have fun.”