A losing record usually does not constitute a winning season. Try telling that to Pembroke Academy girls tennis coach Steve Langevin.

Last season, the Lady Spartans won three contests, the most in program history.

This year, they won three in a row at one point and finished with five victories.

“This is by far the most wins we’ve had,” said Langevin. “We’re getting a little better each year.”

Indeed, the team showed promise this season, and now Langevin is hoping that current success breeds more in the future. “This group of seniors started having never really played, and now they’re our (No.) 1, 2 and 3 (players),” said Langevin. “Now we have another good group of freshmen that never played either, but they’re picking the game up quickly.”

In fact, he said the current crop of ninth-graders is as aggressive as he’s seen in his six years at the helm.

“They really like the net, which is unusual because usually the less experienced kids are afraid of the net,” said Langevin. This year’s freshmen included Sarah Kelley, Christina Paradie, Shannon Yeaton, Becca Streeter, Briana Austin and Rebecca Mitchell.

While the future may be bright for his young squad, Langevin admitted the team must often focus on small victories; Pembroke Academy is not in an area of New Hampshire known for producing groomed tennis talent.

This year, for instance, PA beat Milford for the first time in program history – a 6-3 triumph on April 6 – and the Lady Spartans’ No. 1 singles player, Lindsay Tiddes, collected an 8- 4 record facing some of the top players in the state. She has a legitimate chance to reach the individual state tournament.

More important than wins and losses, however, is the way the athletes conduct themselves on the court, said Langevin.

In fact, the mentor said his squad has won the Class I sportsmanship award the last four seasons. “We have all really nice kids, and the seniors are great role models,” he said. “They show the younger kids how to act when they’re playing tennis, whether they win or they lose.

In addition to Tiddes, seniors Melissa Lussier and Melinda Blais, PA’s No. 2 and No. 3, respectively, set fine examples and played solid tennis this season, said the coach.

Others seeing playing time for Pembroke in 2008 included Lindsay Crete, Steph Allen, Sara McJuary, Megan Bobola, Kayla Reeves, and Jessica Genest.