NLC Tennis Tournament: Top Seeds Head To Finals
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Warsaw’s Taylor Shoaf hits a shot during No. 1 doubles play at the NLC Tennis Tournament on Wednesday (File photos by James Costello)
PLYMOUTH – Surprises were few and far between during the Northern Lakes Conference Girls Tennis Tournament Thursday night.
The Warsaw singles lineup was exceptional.
The doubles teams from both Concord and Plymouth were outstanding.
The second day of the three-day event saw the top seeds at all five positions win to advance to championship play Friday. Not only that, but the No. 2 seed at all five spots also earned a place in the finals.
The Tigers, who won the NLC regular season title at 7-0, will play for titles on all three singles courts.
Senior Liza Lewis defeated Cortni Cook of Plymouth 7-5, 6-1 in a semifinal to punch her ticket to the title match at No. 1 singles for Warsaw. Lewis will face senior Maya Klopfenstein of Concord in the title tilt. Klopfensten topped Reegan Miller of NorthWood 6-0, 6-2 in a semifinal.
Warsaw’s Ella Knight rolled past Gretchen Adams of NorthWood 6-1, 6-1 in a No. 2 singles semifinal. She will face junior Regan Landis of Concord in the title match. Senior Knight defeated Landis in three sets just last week to clinch Warsaw’s 3-2 win at Concord and keep the Tigers undefeated in league play.
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Rachel Boyle of the Tigers in action at No. 1 doubles.
Sophomore Alyssa Zellers showed her fortitude to get to the finals for Warsaw. The No. 3 singles player rallied to beat Sarah Hartman of Northridge 4-6, 6-4, 6-1. Zellers will face freshman Miranda German of Plymouth in the finals.
The trio of Lewis, Knight and Zellers led the way a year ago as Warsaw advanced to the semistate for the second straight season.
The Warsaw No. 1 doubles team of sophomore Taylor Shoaf and junior Rachel Boyle went 1-1 Thursday. The Elkhart Memorial duo of Hannan Hakim and Paula Almirall outlasted the Tigers 6-4, 2-6, 6-1 in a match that was halted Wednesday by the storms. Shoaf and Boyle then beat Peyton Kiehper and Brynne Gayler of Northridge 6-2, 4-6, 6-4 in the consolation bracket.
The Concord team of Kelsey O’Dell and Lauren Pollock rallied to beat juniors Reagan Merchant and Rachel Yeager of Warsaw 4-6, 6-4, 6-1 in a semifinal match at No. 2 doubles.
“It was almost what you expect,” said Warsaw coach Rick Orban of play across the board on Thursday. “Everyone played well. All of the teams and the players at the top spots.
“I had no problem at all with how any of our girls played. I liked what I saw from both of our doubles teams. I’m pleased with both of them and the improvement that they have shown.
“Our three singles players were rocks like they have been for us all season. Honestly, I expect them to go out and win Friday night. But the biggest thing for me in this tournament, as it is every year, is to see how our kids play. I want to see what we need to work on next week before the sectional.”
The Concord No. 1 doubles team of Keegan Thursby and Meaghan Godzisz earned a spot in the finals after rallying to top the NorthWood duo of seniors Kennedy Wiens and Betsy Nunemaker 4-6, 6-4, 6-2 in a semifinal. They will play the Plymouth team of McKenzie Scheetz and Leah Smith, the No. 1 seed, in the finals.
The Minutemen duo of O’Dell and Pollock will face the top-seeded Plymouth team of Mary Beatty and Audie Plothow in the title match at No. 2 doubles.
In other action Thursday, junior Kendra Doerr of Wawasee beat Anna Podgorski of Goshen 6-0, 6-2 in the consolation bracket at No. 1 singles. Victoria Oakes of Northridge topped sophomore Elizabeth Kleopfer of Wawasee 7-6 (7-3), 6-1 in a consolation bracket match at No. 2 singles play. Eva Morales of Memorial beat junior Lauren Mikel of NorthWood 4-6, 6-1, 6-3 and Madison Rittenhouse of Goshen topped sophomore Kennedy Church of Wawasee 6-1, 6-4 in consolation play at No. 3 singles.
The No. 1 doubles action also saw the Goshen team of Brooke Grewe and Kathryn Detwiler defeat the Wawasee pair of seniors Kabrea Rostochak and Courtney Larson 7-5, 6-3 in a consolation bracket matchup. The Plymouth team of Beatty and Plothow stopped the NorthWood duo of junior Riley Graber and sophomore Alex Jesse 6-3, 6-0 at No. 2 doubles to advance to the finals. The Northridge team of Carlee Schroeder and Kylee Bontrager beat sophomore Molly Jones and senior Brianne Haessig of Wawasee 7-6, 6-1 in consolation play at No. 2 doubles.
Concord finished 6-1 during the NLC regular-season slate for second place with Plymouth in third with a 5-2 league mark.
The NLC Tournament is set for its final day at Plymouth Friday.