For the first time this season, the Fayetteville-Manlius girls tennis team showed a touch of vulnerability, surrendering a pair of points in last Monday’s match against Liverpool.

The Hornets still beat the Warriors 5-2, and a singles sweep keyed it. Anna Manta won 6-2, 6-2, over Diana Kozenyatko, with Phoebe Wang handling Gabby Underwood 6-4, 6-0 as Samhitha Adavikolanu beating Kelly Geiwitz 6-3, 6-0.

It was in doubles that Liverpool earned its points, with F-M’s Alexis Ahn and Emma Zogg falling to AngelicaUnderwood and Julia Schewe 7-5, 6-1.Trisha Adavikolanu and Angela Iskander could not hold on in a 2-6, 6-3, 6-3 loss to Olivia Magnarelli and Crystal Morgans.

Still, F-M gained points here, too, thanks to Maya McKenzie and Camilla Wojtasiewicz, who beat Megan Polhamus and Kala Wallingford 6-2, 6-0, while Natalie Hugo and Brooke Tester won, 6-2, 6-4, over Sheridan Bryerton and Lea Prusinowski.

Then the Hornets shut out Cicero-North Syracuse 7-0 a day later, with Iskander, in singles, pushed to three sets, but still beating Cambrie Hibbard 2-6, 6-3, 10-6, every other match won in straight sets.

This set up a first-place SCAC Metro division showdown against Baldwinsville on Friday afternoon. Just like Liverpool did, the Bees picked off points in doubles, but by claiming three points in three sets, F-M held on to win 5-2.

Twice in singles, the Hornets had to survive long battles, Manta struggled early, but roared back to beat B’ville’s Brooke Tutor 2-6, 6-2, 6-2, while Samhitha Adavikolanu was pushed to the wire in a 6-2, 3-6, 6-4 win over Eva Smith.Wang beat Paige Tromblee 7-5, 6-0.

Ahn and Zogg staged their own comeback in doubles, rallying past Audrey Benton and Hannah Gould 4-6, 6-2, 6-2, while Hugo and Tester got through a challenging first set before beating Breanna Murdock and Isabelle Thomas 6-4, 6-0.

East Syracuse Minoa turned back Syracuse West 4-3 last Monday, with straight-set doubles wins from the teams of Katie Schmidt-Megan Volz, Taylor Lynch-Lauren Postma and Sammy Baadani-Jade Burgen.

It helped ESM to get a forfeit in singles because, in two other matches, it lost in three sets. Alana Day had a 6-3, 6-7, 7-5 defeat to Carol Saovelo as Caitlin Abbott and Jessica Vollmer fell to Kyra Caraballo and Elizabeth Soe 7-5, 5-7, 6-4.

This made a 7-0 defeat to Auburn on Tuesday a bit easier to take, ESM unable to win a set in any of the seven matches, but it rebounded Wednesday to edge Central Square 4-3.

Lizzy Phillips and Alana Day each won straight-set singles matches. Schmidt and Volz prevailed in doubles, with Kylie Bachman and Amina Kasumovic getting ESM’s clinching point with a 6-3, 2-6, 10-7 decision over Arianna Smolnik and Karina Stewart.

In Friday’s 5-2 defeat to Cortland, ESM got both points from doubles. Schmidt and Volz worked past Pearl Hettich and Kayci Olson 6-1, 6-3, while Day and Postma prevailed, 6-4, 7-6, over Julia Guest and Sadie Urtz.

Manilus-Pebble Hill had a 5-2 defeat to Skaneateles last Monday, the points arriving when Parmees Fazeli, in first singles, blanked Kenna Ellis 6-0, 6-0, with EmmaGross and Eden Hildebrandt in doubles topping Sofia Capozza and Sophia Soderberg 6-4, 1-6, 10-5.

The Trojans got closer in Thursday’s match against Marcellus, only to fall to the Mustangs 4-3, the key match in third singles, where Ava Benedict was one game from victory, only to fall to Morgan Walsh 3-6, 7-6, 6-4.

MPH earned the other two singles points, Genevieve Morrow handling Colleen Marsh 6-3, 6-4 and Parmees Fazeli shutting out Danielle Copp 6-0, 6-0. In doubles, Amatees Fazeli and Caroline Mezzalingua beat Kathleen DeMarle and Elaina Mahoney 6-3, 6-2.