The laughs never last long.

That’s because Seabury Academy’s Ashley Woolsey and Gabrielle Dillon don’t take too kindly to them – even in a boys’ tennis world.

“It’s definitely different, because they go out there like we’re a joke,” Dillon said. “That makes us angry. Hitting it hard at them, they realize we’re not a joke.”

K.C. (Mo.) Barstow’s Alen McLaurian and Ryan Kimports sure weren’t laughing after their No. 3 doubles match against the female duo.

With the score knotted at 4, Woolsey and Dillon earned an 8-6 victory to give the Seahawks the overall team victory.

First-year coach Kirsty Elliot made sure to keep the tie score under wraps, encouraging the girls without adding any extra pressure.

It turned out to be a beneficial strategy.

“If we had known,” Woolsey said, “we probably would have freaked out.”

The pair has compiled an impressive record of 4-1 against all-male counterparts this season. Still, it hasn’t been all glory for the girls, who occasionally have to deal with sore losers.

“When one of the teams lost, they threw the balls at us – they started hitting the balls straight at us,” Woolsey said. “We try to be good sportswomen.”

Woolsey and Dillon also have other motivation – their boyfriends make up another doubles team. Just last weekend the ladies had bragging rights, finishing second in a tournament where their significant others took third.

Dillon said she also enjoyed seeing the facial expression of her opponents’ faces when they realized they might not win.

“It’s the funniest look,” Dillon said. “We always get weird looks when the guys lose games to us.”

Brooke Sutherland now knows all about it. Only a sophomore, Sutherland moved all the way into the No. 1 singles spot for Seabury. Facing the best Barstow player, Sutherland battled her way to an 8-4 victory over Mark Kulick, receiving hugs from family afterwards.

“It’s really fun, especially since it’s a boys’ team, and I’m a girl playing on it,” Sutherland said. “It’s really fun to just be playing number-one singles and to be winning.”

Scotty King (No. 5), Aaron Chung (No. 6) and the team of King and Simon Thompson (No. 2 doubles) picked up the other victories for Seabury.