The air was cold, the strokes were rusty and it looked like the Pembroke Academy boys’ tennis team was going be facing a deficit heading into doubles during its season-opening match against Kennett on Wednesday.

But Jonathan Smith came from behind to win at No. 6 and even the score after singles, and the Spartans (1-0) rolled through doubles to claim a 6-3 victory against the Eagles (0-1).

“It was nice to get a win at home against a team we’re competitive with,” Pembroke Coach Chris Sporcic said. “We’re probably in the bottom half of the division, so it’s good to win against another team that’s in that group, too.”

The truth was it was simply nice to get in a match considering the conditions.

“The real MVP was the grounds crew,” Sporcic said. “They were out there with three leaf blowers getting the courts dry.”

Once things were dry and play started, Pembroke’s Rupesh Gurung was far from his best. But he still found a way to pull out a 9-7 decision at No. 1 against Kennett’s Willie Alber.

“It was the first match of the season and Rupesh sort of did just enough to get by,” Sporcic said.

Kennett took the next two matches on the ladder as Jack Thomson beat Cole Sporcic, 8-5, at No. 2, and Alex Nemeth pulled out 9-8 tiebreaker win against Lucas Bartlett at No. 3. The Spartans answered with an 8-4 win at No. 4 from Mazin Sayed, but the Eagles took a 3-2 team lead after No. 5 Colby Couture beat Mario Dakalovic, 8-4.

Kennett seemed poised to push its lead even further with Wilder Byrne holding a 4-2 edge against Smith at No. 6. But that’s when Byrne, who is new to the game, began unraveling and Smith, to his credit, stayed steady and came through with a pivotal 8-5 comeback victory.

“That definitely gave us some momentum,” Coach Sporcic said. “It was a turning point.”

Pembroke’s first doubles team of Gurung and Cole Sporcic team was already on the court when Smith won, and they had already begun reversing their own momentum. The pair cleaned up the mistakes they were making in singles and cruised to an 8-1 win.

The Spartans used Killian Drouse and his strong net game at No. 2 doubles with Bartlett and the two of them beat Nemeth and Nick Heysier, 9-7, in the match-clinching win.

“Both (Bartlett) and (Drouse) were very aggressive at net,” Coach Sporcic said. “I think they can be intimidating up there.”

Dakalovic and Smith completed the doubles sweep with an 8-5 win at No. 3 against Couture and Byrne.

BOYS’ TENNIS

Bow 9, Sanborn 0

Key players: Bow – Brayden Binder (8-1 win at No. 1 singles), Evan Alfano (8-4 win at No. 2), Mike Mullen (8-0 win at No. 3), Dillon D’Allesandro (8-1 win at No. 4), Caleb Olson (8-0 win at No. 5), Zach Mullen (8-0 win at No. 6)

Highlights/key moments: The Falcons opened the season with a sweep on the road. After winning in singles, Binder and Alfano teamed for an 8-1 win at No. 1 doubles. Mike Mullen and D’Allesandro won, 8-4, at No. 2 doubles, and Olson and Zach Mullen finished the doubles sweep with 8-0 win at No. 3.

Records: Bow 1-0; Sanborn 0-1