ATTLEBORO -- Three former No. 1 singles players at Bishop Feehan High School, their careers spanning better than a decade, were on the tennis courts at Attleboro High School Wednesday in pursuit of the Attleboro Singles Tennis Tournament title and some relief from the heat.

Five-time champion Robbie Manchester, (Class of 1996), and Patrick McNally (Class of 2003) continued along their quest, but there was no relief for Matt Freeman (Class of 1991).

Manchester and McNally advanced to the quarterfinal round of competiton tonight at Attleboro High, while Todd Gilheeny strung up a pair of 6-4 set victories to conquer Freeman.

`` It's at least 10 degrees hotter there than here,'' said Manchester, the former Feehan great and former teaching pro at the Dennis VanDerMer School in Hilton Head, S.C., now holding down a similar post in sultry south Florida.

The heat and the humidity were just as oppressive as the opponents. `` That's how I like to play,'' said Attleboro High girls' tennis coach Emily Manion of the sweat and mental determination. `` This is good cardio (-vascular workout),'' she said after eliminating Bishop Feehan's Suzanne Barrett in a quarterfinal-round match.

Manion prevailed in a 6-3, 6-4 slugfest to advance to Friday's semifinal round of play.

`` These are favorable conditions for me because I like to outlast the person that I'm playing,'' she said.

Manchester doused his foe, Bob Perron, in taking a pair of 6-1 sets. It wasn't vintage Manchester, `` but the last five, six months I haven't been playing competitively at all -- I was teaching. I was really out of shape.''

Manchester broke Perron's service in the fourth game of the first set to take a 3-1 lead. Only the heat and unforced errors forced him to work up a sweat.

`` This is cool for me,'' said Manchester of the near-90 degree heat, comfortable in comparison to the 100-in-the-shade temperatures in his new hometown of Weston, Fla., just outside of Fort Lauderdale.