Let’s face it — there is no love lost between the two premiere girl tennis players in the Northwest Conference.

In their first meeting since May, last year’s state champion Lindsey Newman wanted to maintain her supremacy on the court while Erica Bosman from Lynden was just as eager to take Newman down.

Game, set and match to South Whidbey’s Newman 6-2, 6-4 Thursday before a large and appreciative crowd of tennis fans.

Dialogue between the two before the match was the minimum required for politeness. After the first set, both withdrew to separate spaces like prizefighters headed to their corners. Not a word spoken, except to their coaches.

Last season, Newman beat Bosman at home, then lost to her in Lynden, setting the stage for a

2A shootout in Yakima. There, Newman triumphed over her Lynden High School nemesis 6-0, 7-5 to take the state title in tennis singles.

“Lindsey had a good win; she played hard but not well,” Falcon coach Tom Kramer said. “Partly it was due to very tough competition, but her shot selection was poor. Overall, I’d say she played too conservatively for my taste. She has some work to do.”

Newman agreed.

“In the first set, I was driving the ball in the deep corners like the coach wanted but then I got defensive,” she recalled. “In the second set, I just didn’t want to lose and I became scared of making a mistake.”

And Newman was surprised that after it was over, she and Bosman began working on a tentative thaw in their relationship.

“We started talking about potential players we might run into down the road,” Newman said. “So maybe we can be friends after all. Someday.”

No one was higher in his praise of Newman than Lynden coach Trey Ballard.

“It’s always fun to find someone as competitive as Lindsey,” Ballard said. “She’s everything you could ask for in a quality opponent at this level. She and Erica are the two best in our league and we were excited to come down here.”

South Whidbey won 4-3 as a team but it wasn’t easy.

For the Falcon singles players, Natalie Wheeler lost 6-7, 6-4, 4-6; Noelle Metz lost 6-2, 2-6, 4-6 and Maya Hough won 6-2, 6-2.

In doubles action, Victoria Comfort and Nicole Zalewski lost 5-7, 5-7; Jenn Gemkow and Shannon Craig won 6-1, 2-6, 7-6 and Katie Holt and Julia Iversen won 6-1, 6-0.

“Lynden is a good team, solid at all the positions,” Kramer said. “We played well at times, but again there were too many mental lapses, too many unforced errors. Natalie Wheeler played a fine match with much improved performance. She made good progress today.

“Maya played a solid game and showed improvement. Katie and Julia had a solid performance but needed to be much more aggressive. Jenn and Shannon had a good first set, a regrettable letdown in the second and then made a good comeback to secure the win for the team. Inconsistency plagued them, but they played a tough match and kept fighting.”

Kramer said the team has not achieved its mid-season form yet and with spring break next week, it will be delayed.

“Unfortunately, the toughest part of the schedule is ahead of us. It will be a very busy three weeks,” he said.

At 3:45 p.m. Monday, April 7 the girls welcome tennis powerhouse Mount Vernon to the high school courts.

Jeff VanDerford can be reached at 221-53000 or sports@southwhidbeyrecord.ccom.