The Warren boys tennis team is primed for another successful year with head coach Thomas Pellegrino back back at the helm.

“We’ve graduated some great players over the last few seasons and have been fortunate to have 20-plus players a season, so the funnel keeps progressing and we are excited for the young core of underclassmen to step up this season,” Pellegrino said.

The Dragons hope to continue the winning successes of the program and have another winning season (they haven’t had a losing season since Jeff Bartsch started the program). They are looking to excel in various tournaments this spring, especially the annual Tri-County team tournament in April; try to make their way back to the District 10 team finals; and see if any singles or doubles pairs can make a run at the District 10 tournaments in May.

Pellegrino is hopeful that returning players Lucas Thrift, Jaxon Thrift and Gabe Dougherty will have a solid year, and is anticipating other players such as Karson Mcollough, Gaven Mealy, Bill Bennett, Tobiah Reinard, Josh Westover, Grant Newton and Luc Wilkins to keep improving and see some varsity time.

“The best part about this season is that we are two weeks in and we are still unsure of our lineup,” Pellegrino said. “For some, this may sound odd, but the boys keep pushing one another and the level of competition between the top kids has been great and provides us with a level of consistency throughout our lineup, giving us a deep lineup.”

On paper, the Dragons could have many wins and great matches, but there are various challenges they will face.

“The biggest challenge for us this season will be a new less-experienced lineup,” Pellegrino said. “We’ll see some new faces from the lineup we have had over the last couple years taking on some senior-heavy teams such as McDowell, Fairview and Harborcreek. With the schools (in the WCSD) combining, we are officially AAA for tennis, which not only moved our classification but also into Region 1, including all Erie schools and us. Generally, this is an extremely competitive region and wins don’t come easy.”

Last season the boys tennis ended with a 10-3 overall record and ended as District 10 runners-up to McDowell, losing the team match 1-4. McDowell is bringing back almost all starters and a senior-heavy lineup aiming to repeat. Pellegrino added, “We know it will be challenging, but our goal is to have a successful season and grab enough region wins to get us back into that D10 team finals and compete for the title again. With a young starting lineup, we aim to put in the work each practice, keep improving, with the objective to get back into that team final.”

Warren enters the season with a young, but promising, roster after graduating several key players over the past few years. Despite the turnover, the program continues to benefit from strong participation numbers of 20-plus players each season, creating a steady pipeline of talent. The team is excited for a core group of underclassmen to step into larger roles this spring.

“We graduated 10 seniors, but what excites me is the young group coming in. They’ve worked hard in the offseason and they’re eager for the opportunity. It’s a really hard-working group, and we think the future of the program is bright over the next three to four years. Warren’s goals remain consistent with the program’s tradition of success,” concluded Pellegrino.

Representing the Dragons this season are the following seniors: Lucas Thrift, Josh Westover, and Luc Wilkins. Juniors are Bill Bennett, Trey Carrington, Mateo Madril, Karson McCollough, Lincoln Olsen, Tobiah Reinard and Cory Ristau. Sophomores include Trent Alexander, Liam Bailey, Gabe Dougherty, Grant Newton, Jaxon Thrift and Leo Westover. The freshmen are Camden Archer, Justin Klenowski, Gaven Mealy, Levi Peterson and Bentley Sherry.