ERIE — Warren’s boys tennis team traveled to Erie on Friday where they fell short of the District 10 3A team title in a 4-1 loss to McDowell.

“This was a great competitive tennis match as expected,” said Warren coach Thomas Pellegrino. “High-quality tennis across the board as both teams have deep rosters. We fell to them (3-2) early in the season and knew this would be a challenge, but we were really impressed with how the boys competed today and left it all on the court in hopes to pull off the upset.”

At first singles, Adam Strandburg took on D10 singles champion David Mikotowicz, falling 3-6, 2-6.

“Adam played great in this match, but David is the best player in 3A for a reason,” said Pellegrino. “He doesn’t give his opponents much to work with and broke Adam’s serve early in each set and didn’t let up. Adam ends his career as a four-year starter with over 60 wins.”

At second singles, Lucas Thrift fell to Gridley Wright, 3-6, 3-6.

“Lucas played better this time around than he did in April with almost every game going into deuce, but Wright was a bit more patient and consistent today, which was the difference maker.”

In third singles, Brody Alexander was defeated by Noah Hardesty, 2-6, 4-6.

“Noah possesses a big game with him benefitting immensely from indoor tennis,” said Pellegrino. “Brody fought hard in this one, though, and after dropping the first set almost came up with the comeback — grabbing a 4-3 lead and a break of serve in the second set, but was unable to hold on with Hardesty grabbing the final three games. Brody had one hell of a senior year and stepped up in the (No. 3) slot for us time and time again. All of those close 3-2 battles we won this season wouldn’t have been possible without him.”

At first doubles, Warren’s top pair of Jack Lynds and Ben Scott fell to Dan Idzik and Christian Neubert, 5-7, 2-6.

“The first set in this one was tight and was decided by one break of serve at 6-5,” said Pellegrino. “The match was close, but after dropping the first set, you could see the momentum shift in McDowell’s favor. Jack and Ben had a great season and ended their senior year with an impressive 15-3 record.”

Warren’s lone win of the day came from freshmen Jaxon Thrift and Gabe Dougherty as they took down McDowell’s Vinny Azzato and Ben Basile in three sets, 4-6, 6-2, 6-2.

“This was the highlight of the day,” said Pellegrino. “These two, playing in their first ever team finals, stepped up to the challenge. After they lost the first set, we made some adjustments and regardless of the other match scores, these two stayed focused, determined, and pulled off the comeback to get us on the board. The future looks very promising for Warren tennis with these two on the roster, expect to see them a lot over the next three years.”

Warren ends its season at 10-3 overall and as D10 runner up.

“Overall, I’m extremely proud of this team and what they accomplished this year,” said Pellegrino. “Moving up to 3A, we took on a challenging schedule and had some great wins over some tough opponents clawing our way back into the team finals for the second time in three years.

“We continue to be one of the top teams in D10 and, with a large freshmen and sophomore class, look to use this loss as motivation to get back to the finals again next year,” said the coach. “Due to the weather this spring, the boys missed out on four matches that we were unable to make up due to district events, so we look to cap things off this week with an inter-squad blue-and-white match.”