The Talawanda boy’s tennis team dropped a close home match 3-2 to Eaton High School on April 26.

On the first singles court, Talawanda junior captain Milo Flaspohler (11-3 overall) dominated in the fastest match of the day, winning 6-1, 6-0.

Talawanda’s Ari Delvecchio battled Eaton’s Charles Kochensparger in one of the longest matches during second singles. Ultimately, Kochensparger pulled away at the end and beat Delvecchio 7-5, 6-4.

Despite the loss, the sophomore said he has grown through close matches.

“I was bad about it last season, but staying in the moment and not worrying about the next game, but the next point is really helpful,” Delvecchio said. “And having my family is really helpful.”

The Eagles secured the team win with victories in third singles and first doubles matches.

The match was squeezed into the schedule for some last- minute competitive play before the Greater Cincinnati Tennis Coach Association (GCTCA) tournament on April 27.

“Tennis is so mental, whether you’re up or you’re down or you just start daydreaming about the weekend, sometimes it’s just hard to stay tough,” head coach Nate Silberstein said. “ [Ari] will sometimes get down on himself, but he did not do that today which I am super happy about, he had a great match.”

Eagles head coach John Hitchcock said he anticipated a close contest against the Brave.

“We knew we were going to be evenly matched, so we just tried to play our best tennis,” Hitchcock said.

Talawanda remains at the top of the Southwest Ohio Conference (SWOC) standings at 2-0 and 6-9 overall. The Brave will now turn its focus to the SWOC postseason tournament at Northwest High School on May 2.