FORT WAYNE – There’s no certainty that DeKalb’s dual-match winning streak will end this season.

But if it does, the safe bet to beat the Barons, who enter the season with a 63-match winning streak, head-to-head will be East Noble.

“If (sophomore) Katie Sharp plays well, they are going to be tough to beat,” DeKalb coach Rick Roark said of East Noble, which is ranked No. 6 in the preseason poll. “If she has a bad day, we might be able to beat them. They are going to be very good. They are our toughest competition. This will be the first time in the last six years that I would say they are favored.”

By no means are the seventh-ranked Barons, who are 86-2 in duals the last six years, way down after graduation losses. One player is missing from last year’s eighth-place finish at the state finals, which was DeKalb’s fifth straight appearance.

But that loss was a big one in No. 1 player Alison Konieczki, who is playing at Southern Indiana. Returning are seniors Allison Curtis and Allison Fox, junior Barbie Snyder and sophomore Kristin Konieczki.

DeKalb has had East Noble’s number over the past six years, just like against everybody else in the NHC and this part of the state.

“Ever since coach Roark took over, it has been pretty touch and go the whole time,” said East Noble’s Dick Bentz, a veteran coach of 27 years. “They have seemed to have gotten the better of us most of the time. This year, I think it is going to be closer.

“You have to say that DeKalb and East Noble are the two preseason favorites. I will play the underdog and say it has to be DeKalb just because they did beat us last year. They lost their No. 1 player, but their other four golfers they have coming back are very good. We have Katie Sharp, and they have four golfers that can beat her once in a while. They don’t have anybody that can beat her consistently, but that’s the difference. All four girls, on any given day, could beat her, and that’s what makes them a little bit better. They are a little more consistently up and down the lineup, but we are getting better.”

The regular-season matchup is Aug. 19 at Noble Hawk, the Knights’ home course and the site of the regional. It will be DeKalb’s second NHC match, and the first for East Noble.

“That is a 5-6 stroke advantage right there,” Roark said. “We are already six strokes down before we even tee off.”

East Noble, though, will challenge the Barons on the strength of a 13th-place finish at state and with its top five players from last season returning. Led by Sharp at No. 1 and seniors Anna Pasquali, Brittany Wyatt, Sadey Gamble and Conner Handshoe, the Knights should be strong contenders to the Barons’ crown.

The two teams will get a good look at one another this season, especially in the first eight days. They could meet six times in invitationals, the dual match and postseason. Three matchups will take place between Monday’s season-opening Homestead Invitational and Aug. 10.

“I don’t think either one of us will walk away winning all six,” Roark said. “It should be fun, though. It will be back and forth, depending what course we play. (Bentz) is a good coach, and they have some good kids. I am excited for him. If DeKalb would have been weak, he would have won a lot of (NHC) titles and regionals. He has to be happy with the players he has coming back.”

gjones@jg.net