Marshfield’s Zaq Jones returns a ball against North Bend’s Duy Tang during their match Monday at the William J. Sweet Memorial Tennis Center. World Photo by Lou Sennick.

North Bend senior Cody Ferguson was dominant just like he’s been throughout his high school tennis career when the Bulldogs and Marshfield got together for the first of their two annual tennis Civil War matches on Monday.

But in a switch from the past, most of the rest of the day at the William J. Sweet Memorial Tennis Center belonged to the Pirates.

Marshfield beat the Bulldogs 6-2 in a match that showed how far the Pirate program has come in the past few seasons.

Brandon Benson, who teamed with Brogan Trull for an easy win at No. 1 doubles, has seen it all come together.

“My freshman year, we had one senior and one junior and one sophomore who hadn’t played and seven freshmen,” he said, adding as a footnote that the Pirates didn’t win any matches all season.

“We’ve gone from the joke of the league to a serious competitor,” Benson said. “It’s been nice.”

Last year, the teams ended both Civil War matches in 4-4 ties, with the Bulldogs winning the singles matches and the Pirates taking the doubles contests. Monday’s win was the first for Marshfield over North Bend for any of the current players.

Benson said it’s been a long time coming for the seniors.

Five of those seven freshmen — Benson, Zaq Jones, Josh Bott, Jeff Stephens and Matt Barnes — are still together on the team. They’ve combined with several players who graduated from the Boys & Girls Club of Southwestern Oregon’s junior tennis program to give the Pirates a formidable lineup.

“We’re pretty good,” said Marshfield sophomore Jon Massie, the son of coach Paula Massie and a former junior tennis standout. “We’re pretty deep.”

That depth was on display Monday.

Ferguson beat Massie 6-1, 6-0, but after that the going was rough for the Bulldogs, who had just one other singles victory.

And North Bend coach Dustin Hood said his own team has improved this year.

“Our singles play is going to be solid this year,” Hood said, adding that the team’s depth is a little weak early this season after three of the team’s top five players last year graduated.

“We had some holes to fill,” Hood said.

In addition to Ferguson, the state champion as a freshman and state runner-up as a sophomore, Kory Isley has been off to a strong start as North Bend’s No. 2 singles player.

“Kory is the king of the three-setter,” Hood said, even before Isley beat Marshfield’s Markus Boesl 2-6, 6-2, 6-2 on Monday. “He’s a great kid.”

But that’s a common trait on a North Bend roster that has 10 seniors.

“A lot of kids have improved since last year,” said Ferguson. “We have a good group. Bus rides are fun.”

Hood said his team is getting better, but the Pirates have a special group.

“I think Marshfield might be able to push Churchill for the (Midwestern League) title,” he said.

Paula Massie is looking forward to seeing how the Pirates match up with the Lancers. They play today or Wednesday in Eugene, depending on the weather.

“I am excited,” she said.

The Pirates are unbeaten in six  matches and have topped three schools they lost to last year — Grants Pass, Roseburg and Ashland.

“I have a great team,” Massie said. “I have a lot of boys who have worked hard.”

Massie has tinkered with the lineup this year, including moving Benson from singles — his traditional spot — to doubles.

“I’m really hoping that Brandon and Brogan Trull will be able to go to state this year,” she said, adding she has the same hope for the Pirates’ No. 2 doubles team of David Perrin and Jamey Moriarty, two more former junior program players. Perrin has been on teams that lost in the district quarterfinals the past two years.

Benson gradually has accepted the change to doubles with Trull.

“It’s kind of nice,” he said. “We’re both good friends and we play well together, too.”

They had a strong match Monday, beating Michael Kahler and Zach Reichenberger 6-0, 6-2.

“We played pretty well,” Benson said. “We were aggressive. I was serving pretty well and Brogan was volleying well. It worked good.”

The No. 1 doubles match finished about the same time that Ferguson completed his win over Jon Massie.

Even though he won by a comfortable margin over a quality foe, Ferguson wasn’t thrilled with his performance.

“I could be a lot better,” he said. “I need more confidence in my forehand.”

Ferguson also has been working through hip pain, but said he’ll be fine.

Massie, meanwhile, was disappointed he didn’t keep the match closer in his first loss of the season. But he knew he was facing a superior opponent.

“Cody’s good,” he said.

The other two singles matches went to Marshfield. Jones beat Duy Tang 5-7, 6-2, 6-3; while David Stys topped Nathan Kahler 6-0, 6-0.

In doubles, Perrin and Moriarty topped Alan Landrum and Evan Ames, 6-1, 6-0; Bott and Stephens beat Chris Cipolla and Jeramy Dubisar, 6-0, 6-1; and Brealan Mosieur and Andre VanRooyen topped Travis Bernardini and Kris Karavanich, 6-2, 6-1.