Warsaw Netters Eye Continued Success
Talent. Depth. Experience.
That’s what Warsaw girls tennis coach Rick Orban sees when he takes a look at his roster for the 2013 season.
“It could be a great season for us and I’m truly excited about it,” said Orban in a phone interview earlier this week while on a Spring Break vacation in Florida. “We’ve got a great group of kids and they really put in the time and the effort during the offseason to improve.”
The Tigers, who are scheduled to host Fort Wayne Canterbury in their season opener April 9, finished 11-7 in 2012. Warsaw, despite a slew of injuries, finished second in the Northern Lakes Conference and won the program’s 12th straight sectional championship before losing 4-1 to Culver Academy in the regional final.
Orban graduated just one senior, but it was a big loss. Four-year standout Sarah Hartle topped the Tiger lineup at No. 1 singles a year ago. Hartle, despite playing with an Achilles injury her senior season, finished a perfect 40-0 in NLC play during her outstanding prep career.
The strong singles lineup this season is set to include juniors Sarah Boyle, Jacqueline Sasso and Rachel Alexander. Boyle played No. 3 and Sasso No. 2 last year, while Alexander played JV.
Orban expects seniors Olivia Wallin and Marley Smith to pair at No. 1 doubles, while juniors Abbi Baum and Mallory Bartel have the inside trek at No. 2 doubles. Wallin played No. 1 doubles at the end of last season with Lindsay Sciarra, while Baum played at No. 2 with Taylor Moore.
“We’ve only been able to have three practices outdoors in the preseason due to the weather, so I’ll be changing some lineups early in the season.” Orban said. “The great thing is that the girls are pushing each other. They know I will be moving the lineup around early. We have 4-5 girls competing for spots at No. 2 doubles.
“Our singles lineup is going to be strong. All of them worked hard in the winter and improved. Our health is good right now and everyone is a lot stronger this year.
“The thing we need is just to get some playing time outdoors and get adapted to that. It’s more of a mental thing because we haven’t been able to get outside much at all so far.”
Orban has just three seniors, Wallin, Smith and Sciarra, on his roster of 35 players. The Tigers have 15 juniors, nine sophomores and eight freshmen listed on the roster.
The veteran coach, as always, is looking for postseason success.
“From Day 1, I drive how important the conference and the sectional is,” said Orban. “It’s fun for sure having the kind of talent we do. If we play up to our potential this season, I think we have a good shot at winning the regional.”
Youthful Warriors Look To Improve
It will be a learning season for the Wawasee girls tennis team this spring.
With just three major returnees and a lot of green underclassmen composing the remainder of the roster, the 2013 season should be one of progress in Syracuse.
First-year head coach Chris Winters has quite a challenge in front of her, with just three juniors and one senior exchange student fronting a remainder of sophomores and freshmen.
According to Winters, most of the roster needs a lot of work.
“There are four things we are focusing on – forehands, backhands, volleys and serving,” Winters said. “There are a lot of girls who need to get those things down. So we set goals with each of them. For me, it’s not always going to be wins and losses. We have to lay a foundation first and teach the skills they need to achieve those goals.”
Winters is hoping that junior Katy Ashpole can step forward and lead the program. A two-year varsity starter, Ashpole worked one singles last season and will likely carry the torch again this year. The lone senior, Esther Hermann, of course has no experience in American tennis coming to the states from Germany, but will likely land in the two singles position.
Junior Sam Prins and sophomore Jada Antonides also return with varsity experience.
The youthful Warriors did get to play one match prior to Spring Break. Wawasee opened the season with a 3-2 loss to Central Noble at home on March 28.
Hermann won at No. 2 singles, while Priscilla Par and Antonides teamed for a win at No. 2 doubles. Ashpole lost at No. 1 singles, while Prins dropped her match at No. 3 and Natalie Fritz and Molly Smith lost at No. 1 doubles.
Wawasee returns to action by hosting Lakeland April 8 in Syracuse.