Raiders Respond To Top Tigers
MIDDLEBURY – Warsaw girls tennis coach Rick Orban shuffled his playing cards Wednesday.
He was unable to come up with a winning hand in the end though.
Despite several changes in his lineup from the previous night, the Tigers came up on the short end of a 4-1 final to host Northridge in Northern Lakes Conference action.
Both teams were coming off losses Tuesday night in their NLC openers. Warsaw lost 3-2 at home to Plymouth, while the Raiders dropped a tough 3-2 decision at Goshen.
The hosts bounced back with the league win Wednesday night.
Northridge, which won conference, sectional and regional titles in posting a 14-2 record in 2013, improves to 5-1 overall and 1-1 in the NLC. Warsaw drops to 1-2 overall and 0-2 in league play.
The Raiders took a quick 2-0 lead with dominating wins at the doubles positions. The No. 1 team of seniors Courtney Clark and Emily Erekson topped senior Abbi Baum and freshman Athena Schlitt 6-0, 6-1. The No. 2 doubles duo of senior Alexis Graber and junior Mackenzie Martin stopped senior Anna Hall and junior Camille Kerlin 6-0, 6-1.
Northridge altered its doubles lineup from Tuesday, when its’ No. 1 doubles team of Clark and Martin won their first set 6-0 versus Goshen and then lost the final two sets 7-6, 7-6 for the final point.
The Tigers also changed doubles teams as Kerlin and Schlitt exchanged spots from Tuesday’s match versus Plymouth.
The Raiders clinched the win as junior Emily Hughes defeated senior Jacqueline Sasso 6-4, 6-1 at No. 1 singles. Sophomore Kylie Frauhiger closed the match with a 6-2, 6-4 win over senior Sarah Boyle at No. 2 singles.
Sasso and Boyle also flip flopped positions for the Tigers. Sasso had played No. 2 and Boyle No. 1 on Tuesday.
The highlight for the Tigers continued to be the play of Rachel Alexander. The smart and smooth senior southpaw delivered another win at No. 3 singles. Alexander beat sophomore Chase Kieper 6-2, 6-3.
“Rachel is just playing incredibly well right now,” said Orban. “She’s undefeated in our three duals. She’s confident and playing intelligent tennis. She’s playing great rally balls and going for it when she needs to. I couldn’t ask for anything more from her.”
“Jacqueline and Sarah are dead even for us. It’s not a matter of confidence for those two. They are the most experienced players we have and may be feeling the pressure. Jacqueline was up 4-1 in her first set and Sarah had the lead in her second set. Some matches you are just off and they just have to work their way through it.
“Northridge played mentally tougher than we did tonight. We just need to play smarter and longer points. We have to stay mentally strong. Northridge is solid. I’m not disappointed. I was Tuesday because I feel we should have beat Plymouth.
“Our doubles will just continue to get better. They’re inexperienced. We will continue to mix and match players until we find the right combinations that work.”
Northridge won the junior varsity action by a 4-2 count. Rosie Fleming won at No. 3 singles and Greer Smith and Jenn Katris won at No. 2 doubles for the Tigers.
Warsaw is right back in action Thursday. The Tigers will host Fairfield in a non-conference matchup.