BEDFORD, N.H. — At least they chowed down at Chipotle before leaving southern New Hampshire.

That was the Hanover High girls tennis team’s consolation Tuesday after falling to Bedford, 5-4, in the NHIAA Division I semifinals at Bedford High School. The narrow loss was softened somewhat when the team bus made a pit stop at the Mexican fast food restaurant before rumbling down the on-ramp to Interstate 293 North.

“Bedford has been strong forever, but I’m incredibly proud of my team,” said 12th-year Hanover coach Liz Murray, who has coached five of her seven seniors for four years. “They’ve all grown up together.”

Hanover’s high point came when No. 4 singles player Ally Lee rallied for a 9-7 victory over Anna Diaz. With the other singles matches concluded and the event’s attendees crowded at her court, the senior delivered a crucial point that allowed the Bears to enter doubles play tied at 3-3.

“Ally’s probably one of the most consistent players on the team,” Murray said of a senior who’s headed to the Rhode Island School of Design to study architecture.

“She brings reliability, and even though she sometimes makes us nervous when she falls behind, she seems to be slow and steady in coming back. That’s what she did today.”

Doubles competition wasn’t kind to the visitors, however. The Bulldogs’ top pairing of Diaz and Lucy Novak easily dispatched Hanover’s Sophia Costa and Campbell White, 8-2, and their No. 3 team of Giada Bruno and Anna Johnson pinned an 8-3 defeat on Maggie Feng and Josie Dennis.

The No. 2 doubles match was played to its conclusion despite the overall match having been decided. Lee and Julia Lawe won, 8-6, over Kaylee Raff and Elyse Flynn.

Murray praised Lawe for her 8-3 singles victory against Flynn at the No. 3 slot. An ice hockey player who’s headed to Hamilton (N.Y.) College in the fall, the senior had a hand in two of her team’s points.

“Julia and Ally are really dynamic and glue us together as a team,” said the coach, whose team lost to Bedford, 7-2, in April. “They work really well off of each other. They’ve been friends and have played tennis together since they were little, and their communication is incredible to watch out on the court.”

White, headed to Boston’s Northeastern University in a few months, earned Hanover (13-4) a singles point at the No. 2 position, taking down Raff, 8-6.

The Bears, who moved up from Division II in for the 2017 season, last reached a state final that spring. Their last title came in 2016, a third consecutive crown at the lower level. Their most recent visit to the Division I semifinals was in 2023. Murray said she expects Hanover to continue to play in Division I for the foreseeable future.

Bedford, with an enrollment of roughly 1,400 compared to Hanover’s 680, was last year’s Division I runner-up and won five titles in six years between 2015-21. The Bulldogs enjoy a six-court tennis complex on campus.

Tris Wykes can be reached at ctwykes@aol.com.