A playoff atmosphere arrived one week early for two good Class I tennis teams – visiting Bow and host Pembroke Academy.

While the day’s end marked the season’s close for PA, Bow’s campaign begins anew.

The Falcons’ depth proved too much for the Spartans in a 6-3 victory in the regular-season finale on Friday, May 16. Both teams entered the contest knowing the winner would earn a postseason invitation.

Because of triumphant efforts from the visitors’ Nos. 3 through 6 singles players, as well as an emphasis by first-year head coach Todd Toler on doubles play, Bow improved to 10-4 and earned the No. 7 seed. The Falcons travel to 14-0 Portsmouth for a quarterfinal- round match on Thursday, May 22.

“My philosophy coming in this year was to focus on doubles,” said Toler. “We want to have the most fearsome doubles program in the state.”

The No. 1 doubles team, junior Andrew Vinnenberg, a cocaptain, and senior Jim Fellows, were handily beaten by PA’s top doubles team. However, freshman Kevin Phelps and senior Bobby Waddell, Bow’s other captain, won their doubles match, 8-3. And it was the No. 3 doubles team – junior Jon Maletesta and senior Jason Langevin – that clinched the match for the Falcons with a tidy 8-3 decision.

However, the biggest match of the day was arguably played at No. 3 singles.

Jack Mulvaney, a Bow senior, took a seemingly safe 6-3 lead, but the Spartans’ Rick Yeames battled back to knot the match at 7-7, then 8-8, forcing a tiebreaker. Mulvaney remained calm and determined, consistently keeping his ground strokes in play and winning, 7-5.

That match was a tiebreaker in more ways than one. It helped the Falcons to a 4-2 edge after singles play.

Earlier, Vinnenberg had dropped his No. 1 singles match to PA’s unbeaten Bobby Thomas, and Fellows lost at No. 2 to Pembroke’s Jake Plourde, 8-4.

But Phelps handled PA’s wily senior, Dan Bouchard, Waddell overpowered Luke Underwood, and junior James Miller defeated Bill Bouchard. All were 8-3 scores.

“Mark my words,” said Toler, speaking of the freshman, Phelps. “He’ll be one of the best players in the state soon.”

Toler teamed the energetic frosh with Waddell in part because of the senior’s calming influence on the youngster. But the coach also said the duo has chemistry built on electronic battles with countless Xbox foes.

“They’ve been playing singles their whole life,” said Toler of his players in general. “But there’s a real camaraderie that doubles play brings to the game.”