The Beaver Area High School boys' tennis team had its season end Monday with a 3-2 defeat to visiting Keystone Oaks in the first round of the WPIAL Class AA team tournament.

And while the Bobcats were disappointed with that loss, they weren't going to let it tarnish a successful season.

Replacing several starters from last season's team, Beaver shared the Section 2-AA championship with Riverside and Blackhawk, as all three teams split two regular-season matches with each of the others.

"Going into the season, if I would have known we'd finish tied for first place, I would have taken that," said Riley Baker, Beaver's coach for the past quarter-century. "I was pleased the way things turned out because I felt that even though we lost a couple matches, the fact is we did go 10-2 and we played on a competitive level with everyone."

"I'm happy with how the season went," junior Thom Anzio said. "I didn't think we'd do that well after we lost a lot of people from last year. We did a lot better than expectations."

Among the highlights of the season for the Bobcats was the performance of Anzio in the section singles tournament. Anzio, normally the team's third singles player who was entered into the draw only because senior Adam Brewer could not make it, defeated the top singles players from Blackhawk and Riverside, according to Baker, en route to a section runner-up performance.

Anzio lost only one match in team play during the regular season at third singles. With his performance at the section singles tournament, he qualified for the WPIAL Class AA singles tournament but lost, 10-0, in the first round.

"It was a good experience," Anzio said. "I never really played against people that good, so I got to see how the best players play."

That the team's third singles player could do so well at the section singles tournament said a lot about the Bobcats' depth. While lacking the true elite top talent, Beaver had a deep group of athletic players. Most of the team was multi-sport athletes, meaning they possess natural ability but did not have the year-round training pedigree that some of the other top players in the WPIAL have.

"We don't have any superstars, but my guys were all just pretty good," Baker said. "One, two and three are all pretty close ... I was very surprised in what Thom did. He's got a different type of game. He runs a lot of balls down and is very consistent.

"Overall, he's a pretty good competitor, all my guys are. Even though they might not be full-time tennis players, they're at lest very competitive."

Anzio also plays football for Beaver, and second singles player Brewer is a soccer player.

"Adam was a real good player for us," Anzio said. "He usually brought us a win, so we're going to miss him next year."

One of the best signs for the future of Beaver tennis is the fact its first singles player is a freshman, Phillip Williams.

"He strikes the ball pretty well," Baker said. "He just needs to get more experience in tough matches. He'll be a real good one."

Seniors Travis Loncar and Brenden Finn completed their second season as a doubles team, filling the first doubles spot in the lineup.

Junior Devin Tingree and sophomore Michael Deitrick emerged as the second doubles team during the second half of the season after winning the MAC tournament at that spot last month.

Sophomore Andrew Puhalla and junior Peter Cahill played in some matches and figure to be given first crack at the three open lineup spots vacated by the graduating seniors.

"We lose some players but we have four guys returning, and I do have some capable young players, too," Baker said. "I think we should have a good season next year."