Tennis season this year began for the Spartans with a miracle.

They won their first match, 7-4 against Bishop Blanchet, but that was not the phenomenon that got folks talking.

The rain held.

Now, that may seem more like a bit of good luck than a marvel, but consider the following:

Just prior to the start of the season’s first match earlier this month, Kim Anderson — wife of beloved tennis coach and Bainbridge High School teacher Mike Anderson, who died tragically in a drowning accident last year — addressed the team. Gathered on the court, the students and coaches observed a moment of silence for Anderson, after which his wife implored them to play hard and to have fun this year.

She also assured them that the seemingly impending rain would hold, that is, if Mike had anything to do with it.

It did.

But even that is not the most miraculous part of the Spartan season opener story.

When she reported the results of the first match to Metro League officials, BHS varsity tennis Head Coach Jennifer Shorr, who took over the program after Anderson’s passing, said that they were shocked that BHS and Blanchet were able to complete the entire match and were not rained out.

Every other match in the league was, she said.

The good fortune continued for the Spartans in their second match of the season, Thursday, March 19 against the O’Dea/Holy Names combo team, where they earned a decisive 8-3 victory.

The doubles contests were a mixed bag for Bainbridge during that match.

BHS was bested in both Girls No. 1 and No. 2 Doubles, but came back to claim wins in both Boys No. 1 and No. 2. Jeromy Lipshutz and Alec Chan secured the first win 6-3, 6-0, and Mason Ogden and Maxwell Brown dominated in the second, 6-0, 6-0.

Bainbridge duo Tommy Zech and Quinn Dassel also won the Mixed Doubles match (7-6, 5-7, 10-8).

The visitors claimed a win in only one of the singles events, Girls Singles No. 1, and the Spartans sailed through successfully.

Ellie Van Slyke won Girls Singles No. 2 (7-5, 6-3), and Tara Nikomborirak was ruled the winner of Girls Singles No. 3, which was called early (6-2, 1-2) so that the visitors could catch the ferry home.

Bainbridge won all three of the Boys Singles matches.

Ben Devries secured No. 1, 6-0, 6-2; Holt Ogden unanimously swept No. 2, 6-0, 6-0; and Kevin Nikomborirak likewise dominated No. 3, 6-1, 6-1.

The win advanced the team’s unblemished early season record.

Shorr said that the season’s early success was indicative of the high quality program she inherited.

“We’re having a blast,” she said of the season thus far. “It’s really fun and the team’s coming together really well. I feel like we got our team unity going and we’re just trying to work out adapting to two different facilities.”

The secondary Spartan tennis venue being the courts at Wing Point Country Club while half of the high school courts remained closed for repairs has proven a tactical difficulty Shorr explained, forcing the team to split up players and coaches as well as fan support, though it has, judging by the scores so far, apparently not affected the team’s playing.

“I’m texting back-and-forth with the other coach,” she laughed, checking her phone again for the latest results.

Shorr was uniquely qualified to take over the high school program as she is not only an experienced player and coach, but also already knew most of the student athletes on the team.

Shorr is a certified United States Professional Tennis Association coach with more than 30 years of experience and has worked as a coach at the Bainbridge Athletic Club for more than four years, as well.

“Most of these kids, I’ve worked with when they were littler, younger kids,” Shorr said. “I’ve known them and their families, and the opportunity to go from being their private coach to being their high school coach was a good one and a good step for me.”

Though she said she had been very welcomed by the team and parents and was settling into her first season nicely, Shorr did say that the responsibilities she now holds are quite different from those of a private coach. Whereas before her primary goals were form and player development, she explained, now she is able to actually bring young players into the competitive arena and help them learn to make decisions and tactical choices in real time.

“It’s kind of this unique format to high school and college sports where coaches actually can help them to learn what’s going on on the court — helping them manage their emotions and work strategically — is unique and is not normally allowed in regular USTA tournament competition coaching,” Shorr said.

“So this kind of format is wonderful for a coach because you can really watch and see, maybe have an effect and help them grow as players and learn how to make adjustments during the match.”

The team’s student leadership, the team captains who have been assisting so well in the transition of coaches, are Raya Deussen, Ben Devries and Holt Ogden, Shorr said.

“Both Ben and Holt are super mature, good, disciplined, coach’s players,” she said. “Raya’s handling the girls’ side with equal aplomb, and I think they make it a lot of fun. They’re doing some team building opportunities, some charity work on behalf of the team.”

Working with the assistant coaches and team captains, Shorr said she hoped to maintain the standard of success the squad has come to be known for as well as put her own stamp on the program’s structure.

“I think previously it was more managing the team and making sure they get to the events and that everybody’s accounted for, but I’m trying to do things a little bit more organized in that [the players] feel like they’re working on developing their game and breaking the season into four separate sections — so they kind of have the preseason, the first half of the season, the second half of the season and the postseason — and feel like they’re distinct frames of time and that we’re going to focus on certain things.

“The things we’re learning early on we hope to polish and by the second half of the season we should be dialed in and playing our best tennis,” Shorr added, saying her main areas of focus initially had been on-court coaching, stroke analysis and individual player assessments.