By Marc Thaler
Staff Writer

Since the co-captains of Pembroke Academy's girls tennis team are the only individuals with considerable varsity experience, the Spartans. definition of success in 2005 will likely have a different meaning.

PA senior co-captain Jessica Lorenzen is one of just two returning players to the Spartans tennis team in 2005. Against Monadnock on Wednesday, April 13, Lorenzen won her singles match in the No. 2 spot, 8-6, helping Pembroke to its first victory of the year. (Marc Thaler Photo)

Winning the Class I state championship, while a nice thought, isn't too likely. However, the '05 season does offer the majority of PA's players a chance to make smaller strides that are equally significant in the eyes of head coach Steve Langevin.

"With everybody after our top two, Meaghan Littlefield and Jessica Lorenzen, a lot of it is trying to get them experience," Langevin said. "I want them to not feel like they're out there losing points. I want them to have the confidence they can win points."

Coaching such a young team, Langevin wants the girls to recognize the importance of controlling the play of every point by moving the ball around the court.

"That shows you're in charge and not allowing the opponent to (dictate play)," Langevin said.

Hosting Monadnock on Wednesday, April 13, the Spartans tasted success for the first time in 2005. PA won five of its six singles matches en route to an impressive team triumph, 7-2.

Still, for all the individual wins the Spartans recorded, the most important lesson may very well have resulted from a loss.

Littlefield, PA's top-seeded player, lost her singles match, 8-3. But how she constantly conducts herself on the court - having to face the top talent from every school - is more valuable than any victory, Langevin said.

TOP TALENT - Meaghan Littlefield, a senior co-captain on Pembroke's 2005 tennis team, made the jump from No. 3 to her squad's top-seeded player. Facing other schools- top talents has been challenging for Littlefield, according to head coach Steve Langevin, but she's been a solid leader for an extremely young team. (Marc Thaler Photo)

"That says a lot to the team, that she's able to stay positive," the head coach said. "She always has to play against really polished players. That's really hard when you play as a No. 1 ... For her to have such good spirits all the time, that says a lot about her as a person."

While defeats can be frustrating, Littlefield said she realizes her biggest contribution is serving the role as an on-court teacher.

"It's hard with so many younger players," Littlefield said. "But it makes me feel good knowing that I'm helping (PA build for the future). They get to ask me a lot of questions and gain experience. And that gives me an opportunity to be a leader."

Likewise, Lorenzen's singles win also sent a message to the team.

Leading, 7-4, PA's No. 2 player needed to win one more game to close the door. Although she eventually won, 8-6, Lorenzen was forced to hold off a fierce comeback attempt.

"It's so easy to give up when (the opponent wins) a point or a game," Lorenzen said. "You have to stay focused - that's the most important thing. "It helps me (to focus) when I know people are looking up at me," she added. "Then I realize I'm not just playing for myself. I'm playing for my teammates."

Along with the PA co-captains, the '05 Spartans include juniors Bryanna Coviello, Samantha Fox, Jessica Horn, Sam Moore, Laura Shively and Tabitha Xavier; sophomores Christa Antosh, Rachel Boddie, Danielle Pelletier and Krys Krycki; and freshmen Melinda Blais, Haley Harper, Melissa Lussier and Lindsey Tiddes.

"There's a lot of parity on this team because so many of them are brand new," Langevin said. "I'm waiting to see who's going to take off.