Bishop Guertin's Will Moynihan hits a return during the Cards' tough 8-1 loss at the hands of Nashua South on Thursday at South. (Telegraph photo by TOM KING)

NASHUA – The Nashua High School South and Bishop Guertin boys tennis teams are in different places, but hoping to get to the same place.

Panthers coach Dave Santerre loves where his team finally is. Cards coach Tom Lizotte had been happy where his team was, and hopes it can get back there.

Confused? Let’s explain: The Panthers started the season 0-2, facing the iron Bedford and Hanover, but Thursday not only won their second straight match, but handed the Cards their first loss, 8-1. Guertin (4-1) had started the season like a house on fire with four straight wins, but was as cold as the temperature yesterday.

It doesn’t get any easier for BG in the short term, as they face Bedford on Monday and the Meuse brothers and Alvirne next Wednesday.

“Now we’re at a different tier,” Lizotte said. “This tells us you need to be a lot more consistent, stop making unforced errors, and probably just improve on our serves and be competitive.

“We haven’t been really tested, and now we are. Now we’re in a different tier and it proves to these guys they need to work.”

And on the other end, the Panthers are finally who Santerre thought they were.

“We’re playing with a full (team),” he said. “We had kids out. This is the team we thought was going to be in the first match of the season.”

South settled things in just over an hour, winning five of six singles. Abhinav Avvaru downed Dean Liakos 8-5 at No. 1, while Santiago Somorrostro returned after being out to down BG’s Gavin Bombara, 8-1, at No. 2. Atul Phadke beat Ryan Wallat, 8-1, and Ahkil Kammila cruised by Aditya Prasad, 8-2.

The teams split the final two singles, with BG getting its lone win of the day as Sean Cairns defeated Shubh Dubey 8-5 at No. 5. South’s No. 6, Kaushik Tadipathri, beat BG’s Will Moynihan, 8-2.

The match clinched, South still went on to sweep doubles. Avvaru and Somorrostro downed Liakos Bombara, 8-1, while Phadke/Kammila topped Wallat Prasad 8-0 and Dubey Tadipathri defeated Cairns/Moynihan, 8-4.

So now it’s time for the next step for both.

“You can’t just walk through these matches,” Lizotte said. “You’ve got to fight for them, you’ve got to have some skills and be consistent. That’s it.”

That’s what Santerre is expecting. He’ll know more when the Panthers visit current unbeaten Derryfield on Monday.

“I think the last two (matches) are a big boost,” he said. “Watch us take off from here. I think we’re going places.”

It’d be fun for local tennis of both South and BG can get to that same place at the same time.