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ERIE -- The Warren girls tennis team wrapped up its season last Thursday at the District 10 Championships held at Westwood Racquet Club.
The Dragons had three doubles teams competing, with two advancing to the quarterfinals before falling to the Nos. 2 and 3 seeds in the tournament.
Warren's top team of Scotlynn Perry and Jade Stewart opened the tournament with an 8-5 victory over Erie High. The pair advanced to the quarterfinals, where they fell 8-3 to the tournament's third-seeded team from Taylor Allderdice.
The Dragons' second team of Olivia Romanosky and Carly Fitzsimmons faced Taylor Allderdice's second team in the opening round. Warren battled throughout the match but ultimately fell 8-4.
Warren's third team, consisting of Laelah Mueller and Laken Carroll, also picked up an opening-round victory. The pair, who played first doubles for the Dragons during the regular season, earned an 8-1 win over Taylor Allderdice's third team to advance to the quarterfinals.
Mueller and Carroll got off to a strong start against the tournament's second-seeded team from McDowell, jumping out to a quick 3-1 lead. However, McDowell's experience showed as the match progressed. The Trojans played the big points a little better and came through in several close deuce games to earn an 8-4 victory.
“McDowell is a good team, and they've been in those situations before. They did a better job of winning the big points, and that ended up being the difference, but we were really happy with how Laelah and Laken competed," Warren head coach Thomas Pellegrino said. "They're both still gaining experience, and to see them go out and compete with one of the top teams in the district was great."
Despite the quarterfinal losses, Pellegrino was pleased with the way all three teams competed to close out the season.
"We were able to get a couple of wins, and the girls played well," he said. "Anytime you can get that kind of experience against some of the better teams in the district, it's going to help you. That's what this tournament was about for us this year"
The tournament marked the end of a season that exceeded expectations for the Dragons. Warren entered the fall expecting to finish at the bottom of Region 2, with just a handful of wins as the goal. Instead, the team finished fourth in the region, ahead of both Mercyhurst Prep and Erie High.
Warren also finished with an 8-7 overall record, giving the program its fifth consecutive winning season.
"Coming into the season, we knew we had a tough road ahead. We were picked to finish last in the region, and with the teams on our schedule, we felt like getting a few wins would be a good starting point for this group," Pellegrino said. "The girls had other plans. They worked hard, kept getting better and finished 8-7. We couldn’t be happier with how they responded to the challenge and with a young roster the future looks bright for Dragon tennis."