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NORTH MANCHESTER – One down, season to go.

The Wawasee boys tennis team finally got things started on the right foot as they won their opening contest Monday night at Manchester. The Warriors took three courts to secure a 3-2 win over the host Squires. It was the first season-opening victory for Wawasee since 2010.

“It’s awesome,” said head coach Vince Rhodes about starting out with a win. “It just sets the tone for the whole season. You’ve got younger kids that have put the time in and you already see it paying off in the first match, that’s great.”

Wawasee rolled on the No. 2 and No. 3 singles courts thanks to solid play from Nate Perek and Cameron Brill. Neither of the juniors wasted time with their opponents with Perek treating Spencer Trick to a 6-0, 6-0 loss at No. 2 singles. Brill followed suit with a 6-0, 6-0 victory over Parker Wagner at three singles.

Due to the threat of some inclement weather, the match was postponed for a short while before resuming with contests on the other three courts. Manchester’s Max Karg downed a scrappy Nate Haines at No. 1 singles 6-1, 6-1 while the Squires took their second court at No. 1 doubles with Noah Cain and Matthew Pegg hanging on to a 6-2, 6-3 win over Cal Heinisch and Tim Conley.

Wawasee’s hopes of a victory rested on Evan Krueger and Dylan Staley at No. 2 doubles. The respective junior-sophomore duo did not mind the pressure a bit as they held on for a 6-3, 6-2 win over Heath Dierhs and Luke Donathan.

“They played real well together,” Rhodes said of his two doubles team. “They hit the ball and poached the net well. What really helped them was they got a lot of first serves in, that’s the key. It’s very seldom to ever see Evan double fault.

“Dylan played very well at the net. He’s never played double before. We had him lined up to play three singles this year but this worked out and he’s done a nice job fitting into this role. I think they’ll win a few matches for us this year.”

Wawasee (1-0) will travel to Lakeland Wednesday evening. The Warriors enjoyed a 3-2 victory over the Lakers in Syracuse last fall. There was no junior varsity contest held on Monday night.