Souhegan's Callie Perrin focuses on a backhand return during the Sabers' 5-4 Divison II quarterfinal win over Portsmouth Friday in Amherst. (Telegraph photo by TOM KING)

AMHERST – They looked to their left, and saw their No. 3 doubles team down . They looked to their right, and saw the same with No. 1.

Then Souhegan High School girls tennis No. 2 doubles partners Caroline Drum and Tylee Jancar just looked at each other during Friday’s Division II quarterfinal joust with Portsmouth with the thought, “Oh no, not again.”

They remembered how last year’s semifinals at the Camp Judaea courts came down to a tiebreaker vs. eventual Division II champ Alvirne, and they fell in a tiebreaker in the deciding match. No,no, this was not going to happen in the post season again, and they rallied from a 3-1 deficit to win their match 8-4 and send the No. 3 Sabers to a 5-4 win over the No. 6 Clippers. Souhegan (14-1) now moves on to Tuesday’s semis vs. No. 2 Winnacunnet in Hampton. The Warriors were the only team to beat the Sabers this season.

“I was thinking, ‘If we don’t win this, there’s a good chance we’re not going to make it to Tuesday,” Drum said. “So I just calmed down, just get the ball in. … and not go for anything too aggressive.”

“We were just talking about that (loss to Alvirne) after we won,” Jancar said. “That helped us realize we had to know how to play in the moment, and not think too far ahead.”

The Sabers were rolling, with singles wins at the top four spots of the ladder: No. 1 Callie Perrin (8-2), No. 2 Drum (8-1), No. 3 Tylee Jancar (8-5) and No. 4 Mishka Tower, 8-4.

They ran into a couple of bumps in the road when Keelin Lewellyn fell to Clara Daw 8-6 at No. 6, but still had a chance to clinch things before doubles when Tess Jancar rallied from being down 7-6 to lead 8-7 and serve for the win. She got the first point in that game then lost the next four to send things to a tiebreaker, which Portsmouth’s Elyse White won, 7-2 for the 9-8 triumph.

It was 4-2, and Portsmouth (11-5) had life. And the Clippers, who lost 6-3 to Souhegan very early in the season, were in the lead in all three doubles looking to pull out a monumental comeback.

Instead, Drum and Tylee Jancar said enough was enough.

“Those two have been playing together for a long time,” Sabers coach Bo Dean said. “They had a little downfall last year in the semifinals, so they really wanted this today. Caroline Drum, the sophomore, said ‘OK, we’re going to start to play real tennis here.’ … They came through, they did.”

And that made it tough on the Portsmouth No. 2 doubles team of Mia Edwards/Avery Porter.

“It did,” Portsmouth coach Wendy Poutre said. “Souhegan is a very tough out up and down. They have great depth, very strong at the top as well. It’s tough, we were close, but they just outhit us today. Good for them, they’re a strong team, a nice team.

“Caroline’s serves was very tough, that was putting us on defense, that’s what garnered those two games in a row, and they kind of rolled with the momentum.”

Good thing, because the Clippers No. 1 tandem of Sophie Jundi/Caylie Cook outlasted the Sabers’ Tower/Perrin 8-6, and Lewellyn/Megan Sinner fell to White/Daw, 8-4.

“Portsmouth came to play today, like I knew they would,” Dean said. “Our goal is to try to get back to at least where we were last year – and win. I’d like to get to the finals.”

The Sabers lost to the Warriors 6-3 back on April 21, but were missing two players in the middle of the ladder – that was the start of school vacation. But it was the Alvirne loss last year that played a role in Friday’s win.

“That loss,” Drum said, “taught us so much.”

They’re hoping to avoid another hard lesson on Tuesday.

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