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.

Pembroke’s players also knew this was the program’s last of 14 years under head coach Dave Doherty, who plans to retire after more than three decades as a guidance counselor.

The match started well for the hosts, who took a quick 2-0 lead behind the play of their top singles players, No. 1 Bobby Thomas and No. 2 Jake Plourde. Both are seniors, and they share the team captaincy with classmate Dan Bouchard.

Thomas, who has yet to lose a singles match this year and has, according to Doherty, the all-time record at the school for wins, and Plourde also won their No. 1 doubles match, 8-1.

But those were the team’s only points, though Doherty said he was pleased with the effort of each of his players.

Dan Bouchard, junior Luke Underwood and sophomore Bill Bouchard dropped their singles matches at No. 4, 5 and 6, respectively. The score was 8-3 in each.

But PA’s No. 3 singles player, Rick Yeames, nearly pulled off a remarkable comeback. The sophomore trailed Bow senior Jack Mulvaney, 6-3, before knotting the match, 7-7 and then 8-8, forcing a tiebreaker. Still, Yeames fell, 7-5, and the Spartans faced a 4-2 hole following singles play.

The Bouchard brothers at No. 2 and the team of Yeames/ Underwood at No. 3 also succumbed by 8-3 scores.

“These kids did well with everything they had to deal with,” said Doherty, citing one key injury and a grades-related issue that cost the team another veteran. “We came this close to making the tournament.”

The loss dropped Pembroke to 8-6, one game behind the eighth and final seed in the upcoming Class I tournament.

Still, the 2008 Spartans can boast of a convincing 7-2 victory over playoff-bound Lebanon, as well as four 9-0 wins. Also, Doherty said the 2009 team should return Tim Phair, a junior lost to an ankle injury during an early-season setback to unbeaten Portsmouth.

Pembroke will miss its senior tri-captains and, of course, Doherty, who led PA to a 10-win season in 2007 and just missed another playoff appearance in ’08.

“I’ve had 14 good years here,” said the coach, “and I’ve been fortunate to have worked with a lot of great kids.”