MISHAWAKA — Penn coach Eric Bowers acknowledges that for at least a while this boys tennis season he could be juggling his lineup as much as some people juggle, well, tennis balls.

The question, though, might be, is it even possible for Bowers to field a bad lineup?

“I told the guys before the week started that we’re gonna have three different lineups for our first three matches,” Bowers said after the Kingsmen scored a 4-1 win over visiting Elkhart in Tuesday’s Northern Indiana Conference opener.

“I think we have some versatile players, and I think we have a lot of enthusiastic players at the top of our JV, some guys who have worked hard, guys that would probably be playing varsity at most schools,” Bowers said, “so I want to reward them for their work when I can, see how they do against (varsity players).”

For all the already-made changes and the potential ones, the faces at No. 1 and No. 2 singles Tuesday remained who they’ve long been, with Kingsmen seniors Chris Chen at 1 and Evan Knapp at 2 notching 6-1, 6-2 and 6-3, 6-4 wins, respectively.

Conversely, both doubles were tweaked from the pairings used in Monday’s season-opening 5-0 win over Plymouth, while senior Quinn Lippert, entrenched at 1 doubles a year ago, won for a second straight evening at 3 singles, this time 6-3, 6-3.

Handling 1 dubs for a second consecutive outing, but this time with a new partner in junior Teagan Wickey, was senior Noah Sytsma, who was a 21-match winner a year ago while manning 3 singles.

“Those guys are neck and neck,” Bowers said of Lippert and Sytsma. “Both will be the stronger player when they’re at doubles. They might (have position preferences), but I think both have the attitude that ‘we will do what’s best for the team.’ Noah’s embraced the change. He wouldn’t complain, and it’s a reason the team chose him as a captain, and while (he and Wickey) didn’t get the win today, they fought hard.”

Indeed, that was the one spot where the Lions did prevail, as senior Noah Dibley and sophomore Cam Miller earned a 6-3, 7-5 victory.

Dibley and Miller trailed 5-4 in the second set before surging at the end.

“When they win the first set and are down in the second, sometimes players kind of give up that second set,” Elkhart coach Austin Ward said, “but to see them fight back and win that and win in straights is a big deal.”

Also a big deal to the coach was how the Lions posted more competitive second sets than first sets at three of the four spots they did lose, while holding firm at the other one.

“I thought the first sets we came out maybe a little bit nervous,” Ward said, “but I felt like the second sets, we kind of found our footing better and competed really, really well. No. 1 (singles) maybe wasn’t quite as competitive as the others, but Brady (Kelly) was playing a kid who’s won NIC MVP two years in a row, and he competed his tail off.”

Chen, coming off a 21-4 season at No. 1 and second-team all-state honors, secured Penn’s first point, while Lippert tallied the second.

The clincher came from juniors Ben Stambaugh and Jacob Kyle by way of their 6-1, 7-5 win at No. 2 doubles.

Capping a spirited tussle at 2 singles, Knapp made it 4-0 with his win over Elkhart senior Ben Miller, their two sets taking 2 hours, 14 minutes.

“That was a grind, that was a battle,” Ward said. “I think we found something with Ben strategy-wise in the second set, so if there’s a next time, we’ll maybe start a little differently.”

“They’re both very athletic players,” Bowers said. “They both hit big shots and they’re both emotional. (Miller) had Evan a little bit on the ropes in that second set, but Evan showed something coming back for five straight games (after trailing the set 4-1).”

As emotional as that match was, as Bowers termed it, it still wasn’t the most emotional by some measures. It was on another court that a line judge was requested, and another still that included at least three disputes regarding the score.

“This was our first tough test of the year, but it’s not gonna be our last,” Ward said. “We wanna be able to see Penn in the state tournament, and hopefully have a better result.”

The Lions and Kingsmen each continue NIC play Thursday night, with Elkhart hosting Marian and Penn welcoming New Prairie.

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PENN 4, ELKHART 1

SINGLES: Chris Chen (P) def. Brady Kelly 6-1, 6-2. Evan Knapp (P) def. Ben Miller 6-3, 6-4. Quinn Lippert (P) def. Logan Kelly 6-3, 6-3.

DOUBLES: Noah Dibley/Cam Miller (E) def. Noah Sytsma/Teagan Wickey 6-3, 7-5. Ben Stambaugh/Jacob Kyle (P) def. Hayden Holdeman/Jackson Mitchell 6-1, 7-5.

Records: Penn 2-0 (1-0 NIC), Elkhart 1-1 (0-1 NIC).

JV score: Penn 9, Elkhart 2.