Warsaw Tennis: Another Step Made In Benton
BENTON – They drove all that way, might as well play, right? Warsaw made the trip between rain squalls Thursday to Fairfield, and after rain halted play for about an hour, the two girls tennis teams got after it in a matchup of perennial powers. Warsaw would get the better of Fairfield in a 4-1 varsity result.
Play began a little after 6 p.m. at Fairfield after squeegees were pushed around trying to hustle off the standing water after an unhappy rain cloud let loose just before 5 p.m.’s start time. Once play got under way, Warsaw took off just as it likes to do.
First off the court was Alyssa Zellers at three singles, who won on an unfortunate forfeit by Fairfield’s Alexandra Swank who was bothered by an injured ankle through most of the match. The match ended after Zellers won the first game of the second set, leaving the score 6-0, 1-0.
The Tiger one doubles team of Colette Smith and Athena Schlitt looked like a well-oiled machine despite having only played five matches together this season. Smith’s smooth play from the baseline and Schlitt’s decisions near the net gave Warsaw another quick one, 6-2, 6-0 over Madison Colt and Kylie Miller.
“Our doubles teams the last couple years have been either really hot, or really, really cold,” said Warsaw head coach Rick Orban. “I think with our one doubles, you are seeing them play well together. The footwork, they are moving around very well, and the results are showing. This bodes very well for us. It’s still very young in the season, but I think we have a good thing going there.”
Morgan Mast soon claimed a win for the Falcons, battling a tremendous crosswind on the far court to take down Liza Lewis 6-1, 6-0.
Ella Knight, who was experimenting with some swing technique in her match against Atlanta Swank in the No. 2 match, took a little time to get the job done, but got it done just the same in a 6-2, 6-1 final to clinch the team win for the Tigers.
Wrapping up the night was the No. 2 doubles court, which had Warsaw’s pairing of Rachel Yeager and Rachel Boyle get a battle from Fairfield’s Kaylie Gaby and Madeline Gawthrop. Warsaw needed a tiebreaker to take the first set (8-2) to finish the 7-6 frame, then went to deuce three times, advantage out twice with the game tied at four before rallying to win the point and then the match 6-4.
“Ella has really come on this year, she has played extremely well,” Orban said. “At the beginning of the year I knew I would have four really good singles players and one would have to move. Liza and Alyssa both have played well and Ella has taken off in that two spot. Lette (Smith) has really worked well with Athena and we’ve got ourselves some real quality in those spots.”
Smith, who was the No. 2 singles player a season ago, made way for the call-up of the freshman Zellers.
Warsaw enjoyed a strong showing in the JV ranks, winning all six courts. Libby Jenkins, Amy Herendeen, Izzy Ray and Sophia Park all won singles matches, and the duos of Sophie Schlitt and Maddie Ray along with Jasmine Baker and Reagan Merchant took doubles courts.
Warsaw moves to 4-1 on the season and is in the midst of four duals in four days. Friday will mark the fourth day when Warsaw visits Fort Wayne Concordia, having already played Plymouth and Northridge ahead of Thursday’s visit to Fairfield.
“I think it’s very good for the girls to play a schedule like ours,” Orban said. “We play a very tough schedule up front and they get used to it. Like in swimming when they taper before the sectional, there’s not much difference with us in that regard. We go hard, then get to the conference season and we get a break once we finish the tournament. We usually don’t see that high of a caliber of team at the end of our schedule until the regional. I have found it helps our kids when we play a schedule like this. They get accustomed to it.”