Warsaw Netters Beat Rival WawaseeSYRACUSE – Though it took nearly to 2-1/2 hours to complete, the outcome of Tuesday evening’s Northern Lakes Conference boys tennis match between county rivals Warsaw and Wawasee was decided in little more than an hour.
The Tigers beat the host Warriors 5-0, winning four matches in straight sets, and rather quickly, to get enough points for the team victory.
The No. 1 doubles match was a different story, as it took the Warsaw duo of Bailey Buhrt and Spencer Britton three sets to defeat Brady Robinson and Dylan Staley.
The Warriors’ duo won the first set 7-6 (10-8) before Buhrt and Spencer rebounded with 6-3, 6-0 wins.
Outside of the No. 1 doubles match, the Tigers lost just nine games.
“We talked about focus and playing our game,” said Warsaw coach Rick Orban. We practiced (Monday) on very specific things, including the doubles teams. I’m not sure if we did any of those things.
“We knew we’d win, and you saw true focus on the first four courts that finished. They didn’t back off, they went for their shots, they did everything they should have done. But our No. 1 doubles team played not to lose, and that’s highly unusual for them.”
Orban said what his No. 1 doubles team needed to do was attack the net, put volleys away and not hit to the net player.
“We need to stay aggressive, and that first set we were just terrible at it,” said Orban. “We didn’t play our shots we normally hit, and we lost focus. After that first set, we had a little chat about what our tennis game is and I think they came out in the second and third sets and did better.”
In the first match to finish Warsaw’s Nolan Knight and Reuben Williams beat Evan Richey and Jake Cowan 6-0, 6-0.
“They played incredible tennis,” Orban said of Knight and Williams. “They played smart tennis. They played aggressive tennis. They had opportunities, and even when they didn’t have opportunities, they created opportunities. That’s what’s huge about tennis.”
In singles play, Colton Lind beat Wawasee’s Zach Leedy 6-0, 6-1 at No. 1, Warsaw’s Kyler Bartol was a 6-2, 6-1 winner over Graham Perek at No. 2, and the Tigers’ Caleb Williams defeated Jacob Krugman 6-2, 6-3 at No. 3.
“At No. 2 singles, Kyler played real solid,” said Orban. “At No. 3 singles, Caleb played real sold.
“Team-wise it was a solid performance. Any time you win 5-0 it’s solid, I don’t care who you’re playing. We just need to improve at No. 1 doubles. Colton, at No. 1 singles, had certain things he’s doing ... Kyler the same way at No. 2 singles.
“Overall, I’m happy with the way we played, we just need to improve on a few things, and we’ll work on that in practice.”
With the win, Warsaw improved to 6-4 overall and 4-1 in the NLC, while Wawasee fell to 3-10 and 0-5.
Both teams are in conference action again Thursday, with Warsaw hosting NorthWood and Wawasee playing at Elkhart Memorial.
