Alvirne's Ashton Meuse has his eyes on the ball during his No. 2 singles match in the Broncos' 5-4 win Thursday over BG in Nashua. (Telegraph photo by TOM KING)

NASHUA – Sometimes it’s just not fair.

Every time they head into a match this spring, the Alvirne High School boys tennis team already has a decided advantage.

The Broncos have been able to count on three wins right away with junior brothers Peyton and Ashton Meuse atop the singles ladder and playing at No.1 doubles.

They haven’t let Alvirne coach Mike Coulter down yet, including Thursday’s second straight 5-4 win over host Bishop Guertin that improved the Broncos to 7-1.

Must be nice, right?

“The Meuse brothers definitely put us in good position at one and two, and they’re a powerhouse in doubles as well,” Coulter said. “But we’re filled with athletes all the way down to the bottom of the ladder.

“We’re tough all the way down, through six and even down through eight. We just come to compete. These guys come out there, give it their all … It’s been a fun season so far.”

Proof of Coulter’s theory is the fact that Monday’s close win over the Cards was decided by the No. 2 doubles team of Charlie Thomas and Tom Bondaruk. They provided a crucial win yesterday, 8-4 over BG’s No. 2 team of Tommy Lubin/Gavin Bombara. That gave the Broncos a 4-3 after the teams split singles, and the Meuse brothers got the clincher this time with an 8-2 win over the BG team of Pranav Marwaha/Dean Liakos.

“You’ve got to make sure you get at least close so you put a little doubt in your mind,” Guertin coach Tom Lizotte, his team now 3-4, said of the impact the Meuse brothers have. “But they get psyched out. They know who they’re playing, and they’re excellent players.”

Guertin was down 3-0 after Peyton Meuse downed Marwaha 8-6 in a hard fought match at No. 1, then Ashton Meuse’s 8-1 win over BG’s Tommy Lubin at No. 2 and Bondaruk’s 8-2 win vs. Ryan Wallat at No. 3.

But Guertin fought back, with wins at Nos. 4, 5 and 6: Bombara beat Thomas 8-6, Rizvan Bhattarai downed Jon Rudy 8-3 and Ryan Stack bested Broady Burke 8-1.

But then Thomas and Bondaruk did it again, up 4-1, then 4-3, but then pulling away taking four of the next five games.

Thomas is a soccer and basketball kid while Bondaruk played soccer. Athletes.

“They’re very consistent, and they’ll compete with the best of them,” Coulter said. “The footwork is unbelievable, and the positioning, putting yourself in the right place on the court, that’s half the battle. They just execute.”

The match of the day, though, was Peyton Meuse vs. Marwaha at No. 1 singles. Marwaha had a 6-5 lead before he had problems with his serve and that opened the door for Meuse, who had been visibly frustrated up until then.

“Nav showed us a great match, he’s consistent and his strokes are phenomenal,” Coulter said. “It was good to see a challenge for Peyton. He faced a little bit of adversity, but he did rise above it. Those guys really battled.”

“It’s the unforced errors that kill him all the time,” Lizotte said of Marwaha, who is going to play next year at Wentworth Institute of Technology. “He has the skills, a lot of talent, great strokes. He just needs to be a little more conservative.”

Guertin, which got a win to finish at No. 3 doubles when Wallat/Bhattari downed Rudy/Burke 8-2, started the season off strong with wins over Merrimack and Pinkerton (two), but since dropped a pair each to Nashua South and the Broncos.

“We started playing some tougher opponents,” Lizotte said. “It (the quick start) gives you a great launching pad, but then you start facing stronger teams…”

The Broncos, yes, are strong, and they’ll find out just how strong today when they host Hanover. But when there’s a Meuse or two, there’s a way.

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