“First off, what a great match,” said Warren coach Thomas Pellegrino. “The level of play from both teams was even better than last time with three of the five matches going to third sets.

“We knew Fairview was coming hungry for the win and we fought hard, but just fell a bit short today,” he said.

At first singles, Iris Kiehl lost to Vivian Liu 1-6, 1-6.

At second singles, Mary Gerace won her sixth-straight match by defeating Hannah Nichols 6-4, 6-4.

Mary Gerace looks for a winner during her sixth-straight win. Photo courtesy of Mark Evans

“Mary executed the game plan beautifully today,” said Pellegrino. “Last time these two played, she won in a three-hour, three-set thriller, but today she played aggressive and took control on the big game points.”

At third singles, Lucy Harrison lost to Mackenzie Jewell 6-2, 4-6, 1-6.

“Lucy got off to a great start but midway into set two Mackenzie found her strokes and just wasn’t missing,” said Pellegrino.

At first doubles, Izzy Heacox and Natasha Ferry defeated Delaney Gehrlein and Reagan Gehrlein, 6-1, 6-7 (4-7), 6-2.

“Our girls got a little passive in the second, but held complete control in the first and third sets leading to a nice win,” said Pellegrino.

At second doubles, the pair of Grace Carr and Alannah Garza lost to Allie Mahoney and Emico Monekata, 6-2, 6-7 (3-7), 6-7 (5-7).

“This was a roller-coaster ride of a match with both teams grabbing quick leads than the other always seeming to make a comeback,” said Pellegrino. “This was one that truthfully could have gone either way with a point here or there.

“Like I told the girls at the end of the day, you can’t win them all,” added Pellegrino. “We have been fortunate enough to be on the winning side of these tight 3-2 matches more often than not over the years, so it was bound to happen to us sooner or later. Hats off to a well-coached Fairview team. We’ll take this one on the cheek and have a short memory so we can focus on the D10 AA region matchup between Warren and Cathedral Prep at Betts Park (at 4 p.m. today). Prep has won the last seven D10 AA titles, so this is going to be a challenge, but the girls are going to lay it all on the line and give it everything they have to try and pull off the upset.”