Bow and Pembroke did not come into their Division II girls’ tennis match Friday with experienced squads. The Falcons’ most-experienced players were only in their second year in the sport, and the Spartans were in a similar boat.
Despite both teams similar experience, their level of play on the court was miles apart. Bow swept Pembroke in doubles and singles in a 9-0 victory.
The closest singles match of the afternoon was between the No. 1 players. Bow’s Amy Gray had to climb her way back versus Pembroke’s Emma Parsons, who had Gray struggling with a powerful forehand. Things were even to start the match before Parsons was able to pull away to 5-3 lead. Gray was having trouble with her serve, and Parsons was able to deliver hard-hit returns that forced a few errors from the Falcon’s No. 1.
After going down, Gray made a decision: Her parents were no longer allowed to watch the match. And while the move was certainly unorthodox, it appeared to spark a comeback. Gray took control with slicing drop shots and tight-angle shots from close to the net. The end result was 8-5 win for the senior.
“She’s working on her serve,” said Bow coach Steve Langevin, who is in his first year with the Falcons. “We’ve been working on that practice a little it. She knows that her ground strokes are very solid. She’s a very steady player.
“She outlasts the opponent a lot, and she’s pretty good with her angles. So that’s kind of how she does well.”
The remaining five singles matches were blowouts. Bow No. 2 Josefine Jaques earned her first career win, 8-2. The match was longer than the final score suggests, with Pembroke’s Sarah Bennett hanging tough in many of the games.
“She (Jaques) is a brand-new player this year, but she’s pretty consistent. But so is her opponent, so that’s why they had so many long points,” siad Langevin.
Sudy Chakraborty cruised to an 8-0 victory in the No. 3 match, and Cailyn Benson took a victory in the No. 4 by default after the Spartans’ Abby Collins suffered an injury. Jaden Glace joined Chakraborty with a 8-0 sweep of her own at No. 5, and Grace Modzeleski was just a game shy of the sweep in taking No. 6, 8-1.
Doubles were, on the whole, closer affairs.
Langevin elected to switch some players around with a team win already secured. Maddie Kiniry and Katie McCabe won 8-0 at No. 3. Victoria Bennett and Rachel Pelletier had to go into extra games to take 9-7 victory at No. 2 over Autumn LaGrande and Rahni Murray. Gray and Jaques earned another win on the day by taking first doubles, 8-3.
The win took the Falcons to 2-0, while the Spartans open the season 0-1.
“The girls fought hard,” Pembroke coach David Goulet said. “However Bow had depth and was strong as usual.”
“A lot of inexperience, but they’re learning a lot of things and they’re listening and they’re really trying so it’s great,” said Langevin on the win.
Bow is back in action on Wednesday against Goffstown, while Pembroke will retake the court at home on Monday versus Windham.