A pair of comeback wins lifted the South Whidbey High School tennis team to its first victory of the season as the Falcons defeated Bear Creek 3-2 Monday, Sept. 17, at Marymoor Park in Redmond.

With the team score tied at 2, the third doubles team of Brent Batchelor and Sean Bratrude rallied from trailing 4-0 in the first set to win 7-6(7-4). They then added a second-set win of 6-2 to wrap up the match for South Whidbey.

“At our talk between sets they asked if the team score was tied and I confirmed it was,” coach Karyle Kramer said. “They looked at each other and said, ‘Let’s do this.’ They went out and took care of business.”

Another key match was first singles where Levi Buck bounced back from a 6-3 loss in the first set to squeak out wins in the next two. After taking the second set 7-5, Buck prevailed for a 13-11 win in the third.

“Levi…played smart, solid tennis,” Kramer said. “He adjusted his strategy in the second set and came back to split sets.”

Kramer said the third set “was probably the best play of the match for both players.”

For Buck, it was a “breakthrough match,” according to Kramer.

“He worked hard on his game this summer, fundamentals and technique,” she said. “Now he’s figuring out how to win matches against tough players. Great to see.”

The third critical team point came from Brent de Wolf and Joey Lane, who won first doubles 6-2, 7-6(4).

Max Rodriguez dropped the second singles match 6-2, 6-1; and Ranger Buck and Ian Maddox fell in second doubles 6-2, 6-2.

The Falcons (1-3) host University Prep at 3:30 p.m. Friday, Sept. 21.