FAIRVIEW - The previously-undefeated Warren boys tennis team traveled to Fairview on Saturday morning and dropped a 3-2 heartbreaker to the Tigers.
"There was some outstanding tennis played today," said Warren coach Jeff Bartsch, whose Dragons are 8-1 overall and 4-1 in Region 2. Fairview is in sole possession of first place in the region at 5-0 with the win.
In top singles, Warren standout Shane Burns played RJ Petrella and dropped his first match of the season in a hard-fought 3-6, 3-6 decision.
"Petrella is the 2010 D10 singles champ, and just returned to the team last Monday as he was a state finalist in swimming," said Warren assistant coach Norm Dziendziel. "Shane has a lot more weapons than he had at this time last year, and he will get another chance (against Petrella) next Friday in Warren."
In a match just 48 minutes long, Warren junior Matt Sandberg won third singles by a 6-0, 6-0 score.
"Matt was pumped up and was relentless in his demolition of Pete Sweny," said Dziendziel.
Fact Box
FAIRVIEW 3, WARREN 2
Singles: Petrella (F) def. Burns, 6-3, 6-3; Flores (F) def. Pellegrino, 6-4, 6-3; M. Sandberg (W) def. Sweny, 6-0, 6-0.
Doubles: Levin-Fiedler (F) def. N. Sandberg-Foley, 3-6, 6-2, 6-1; Boger-Tarpenning (W) def. Brinling-Tuttle, 6-4, 7-6.
Thomas Pellegrino dropped his first match in nine outings with a 4-6, 3-6 loss to Andres Flores.
"The Mexican exchange student just joined the team last Monday," said Bartsch.
With the score 2-1 Fairview after the singles events, the match was in the hands of the doubles specialists.
Nick Tarpenning and Liam Boger fought a back-and-forth battle with Jeremy Brinling and Tris Tuttle and the Dragons prevailed by a 6-4 7-6 (7-5) score. This win would notch the team score at 2-2.
The match came down to the top doubles teams.
Freshman Nate Sandberg and junior Grayson Foley took the first set by a 6-3 score with some good net play. Andrew Levin and Austin Fiedler of Fairview won the second set 6-2. The third set saw the Dragons falter on their serves, said Bartsch, enabling Fairview to win the doubles match - 6-1 in game three - and the team match by a 3-2 score.
"This is a painful loss," said Bartsch. "We had our opportunities, but we didn't take advantage of them. The good news is that we will play Fairview again this coming Friday in Warren."
The Dragons will travel to Edinboro on Tuesday to take on General McLane. On Wednesday, the Dragons will travel to Erie to play Mercyhurst Prep for the second time. On Friday, the Dragons will host Fairview at the Betts Courts.