Warren drops tennis match to McDowell
ERIE — While Warren’s girls tennis team dropped a 4-1 decision at McDowell on Saturday, the Dragons get McDowell at home on Tuesday in their preparation for the District 10 playoffs.
“This was a great competitive match, and was a nice test to get us ready for districts coming up,” said Warren coach Thomas Pellegrino.
Warren’s Iris Kiehl lost to Nabiah Bhatti 5-7, 0-6, at top singles.
“Iris played a great first set in this match, but Nabiah really flipped a switch in the second and was smacking winner after winner,” said Pellegrino.
Grace Carr lost to McDowell’s Lina Warrier 1-6, 1-6.
“This was a really tough match-up for Grace as Lina hits a very big ball and utilizes her corners well,” said Pellegrino. “Grace likes to come to the net and play aggressive, but it was hard to gain any momentum today as her opponent kept the ball deep the whole match.”
At third singles, Lucy Harrison defeated Courtney Leonard 6-1, 6-1, to give Warren its lone win.
“Lucy is progressing more and more every match,” said Pellegrino. “She utilized her forehand and was dictating the baseline rallies which was the difference-maker.”
At first doubles, Izzy Heacox and Kaelin Hatfield lost to Rosa Simon and Asheen Udgirl 1-6, 6-2, 2-6.
“Our girls started off slow today and put themselves in a hole early, getting down a set pretty quick,” said Pellegrino. “They responded well with some aggressive net play and great serving to pull out the second. The third set had each game go to deuce, but McDowell was able to take advantage of the big points. The girls will get a rematch against this pair next Tuesday at Betts.
Madalynn Perry and Sydnie Cochran lost to Ally McAdams and Belen Damcott 6-3, 6-7 (6-8), 8-10.
“Perry and Cochran took the first set with relative ease and even had a set point to close out the second set, but McDowell stepped up in the big moments, winning back-to-back tie-breakers to take the match,” said Pellegrino. “Since the match was already decided, the 10-point tie-breaker was played for a third.
“Ultimately, this was a great competitive match across the board, and is the push we need to prep for our semifinal match-up against Hickory later in October,” said Pellegrino. “McDowell comes to Warren on Tuesday, so the girls are already excited for a second chance to play them.”