Bow dropped five singles matches to Winnacunnet and had already mathematically lost its home opener, but the sunlight still beamed on the action of one court.
Sophomore Alexis Pelletier faced Winnacunnet senior Grace Bramhall in a tight match. Pelletier battled in long rallies and earned deuce after deuce to come back from a 6-5 deficit to win 9-7.
“The rallies, I just reminded myself, keep returning to the middle and try to hit your best,” Pelletier said. “Stay consistent versus trying to win every shot.”
The match was neck and neck the whole way as Bramhall broke serve first and stayed ahead from 3-2 to 6-5. After the rest of the matches ended, the pair remained.
Serves were sharp throughout, and each point was a long rally, with both sending drop shots, cross-court challenges and different looks to try to win.
It was a consistent day overall for the Falcons girls’ tennis team. They fell, 6-3, overall with two big doubles wins later in the day.
The No. 3 doubles pair of sophomores Kate Roberge and Piper Price was the first duo to win in a fairly even 8-6 contest.
The No. 1 doubles pair, sophomore Grace DeCosta and junior Sierra Scull, had both lost in singles in good appearances to start the season. No. 1 DeCosta had fallen 8-4 to Warrior senior Camryn Andrews, and No. 2 Scull lost 8-5 to Alexa Wilcox.
Junior No. 2 Sierra Scull fell in singles but got a win alongside Grace DeCosta in doubles to start the season off. Credit: CHIP GRIFFIN / Photos by Chip 
Bow No. 1 sophomore Grace DeCosta partnered well with Sierra Scull in the afternoon doubles to get a win on opening day. Credit: CHIP GRIFFIN / Photos by Chip
In doubles, they redeemed their losses and came back big. After going down 6-3, they stormed back, to win in three sets, 5-6, 7-6, and 8-6.
“I started getting in my head and then kind of let loose, I feel like that helped me a lot,” DeCosta said after.
They both said relaxing and taking deep breaths helped with the comeback. The first match of the season can always be a little off: serves don’t feel right, returns hit the net often, and shaking off some rust can take a few games.
“I definitely need to calm down in the matches, and not just slam it,” Scull added.
It was a good start in the eyes of head coach Steve Langevin, who saw a young team with no seniors battling for every point and staying consistent.
The team graduated four of its top six, and is basically a whole new team. To see the doubles perform with little experience was big.
“We were competitive with a team we’ve never beaten, and it was nice to see doubles; these are all new combinations,” he said.
The Falcons will face Kennett away on April 9 and Milford away on April 10 before returning home to host Kingswood on Monday, April 13.