It hasn’t taken long to establish the Baldwinsville girls tennis team as the one side that could offer the most stringent challenge to Fayetteville-Manlius in the SCAC Metro division.

The test would come last Friday afternoon, with the Bees meeting the Hornets in the first of two regular-season encounters, the other one taking place on Oct. 1.

This edition was at F-M, and B’ville got as close as it has to toppling the Hornets from its long-held throne, the difference coming in four matches that went the distance, three of them that went against the Bees in a 5-2 defeat.

Both points for B’ville came from doubles matches. Reagan Doan and Ella Tromblee were dominant in a 6-0, 6-1 romp over Trisha Adavikolanu and Angela Iskander, while Meredith Perine and Blake Tripodi outlasted  Maya McKenzie and Camilla Wojtasiewicz in a 7-5, 3-6, 6-4 battle.

However, Breanna Murdock and Isabelle Thomas lost in straight sets to Natalie Hugo and Brooke Tester 6-0, 6-4, and after leading early, Audrey Benton and Hannah Gould saw F-M’s Alexis Ahn and Emma Zogg rally to prevail 4-6, 6-2, 6-2.

Up in singles, B’ville twice pushed the Hornets to a third set. Eva Smith dropped the opening set but made it to a third before falling to Samhitha Adavikolanu 6-2, 3-6, 6-4.

More painful was the first singles match where Brooke Tutor jumped ahead of Anna Manta, but could not sustain it, Manta getting the 2-6, 6-2, 6-2 decision as Paige Tromblee lost, 7-5, 6-0, to Phoebe Wang.

Before this, the Bees’ confidence was confirmed in last Tuesday’s tough match against Liverpool, who had just taken two points off F-M the day before, yet could not transfer that rare success into a victory here.

B’ville claimed two singles points and two doubles points in the 4-3 victory, with Tutor routing Gabby Underwood 6-0, 6-2 in first singles as Smith blanked Kelly Geiwitz 6-0, 6-0. Paige Tromblee took a 1-6, 6-0, 6-4 defeat to Angelica Underwood.

With the doubles teams of Benton-Gould and Doan-Ella Tromblee both losing in straight sets, the Bees needed both of the other points – and got them.

Perine and Tripodi  rolled past Megan Polhamus and Kaia Wallingford 6-0, 6-1, while Murdock and Thomas clinched B’ville’s team victory by topping Lea Prusinowski and Sarah Watkins 6-1, 6-3.