THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, April 19, 1996 TAG: 9604170140
SECTION: CHESAPEAKE CLIPPER PAGE: 23 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Sports
SOURCE: BY PAUL WHITE, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 78 lines
Having already beaten prime contenders Western Branch and Churchland within its first three matches, the easy thing to say is Great Bridge has a lock on the Southeastern District boys tennis title.
That is, unless you're Wildcats coach Mike Steele.
``You might say that, but you won't hear me saying we've got this thing wrapped up,'' said Steele, whose Wildcats improved to 5-0 Tuesday with a victory over Oscar Smith.
Of course, few coaches are willing to boast prematurely, especially for public consumption. Then again, Steele's reluctance to admit what appears to be obvious is also based on two injuries that have hit the Wildcats in the midst of a four-matches-in-four-days swing.
Top player David Bristow sat out Monday's match with Oscar Smith and Tuesday's match against Oscar Smith with a virus. Of much more concern, however, is the status of Wil Godwin, a top-six player who underwent a bone scan Tuesday in an attempt to determine the source of his chronic lower back pain.
``It's been bothering him for the last six months,'' Steele said. ``It's gotten to the point where everyone's a little concerned.''
Injuries appear to be the only obstacle in the path of a Wildcats charge to the district title. In a year when Western Branch is down and Churchland regrouping, Great Bridge is featuring one of its most athletic and balanced editions in years. Nine players can rotate into the top six with no significant dropoff.
Even Steele has been surprised by the depth. Going into the season, the coach knew little about freshman Chip Howard and nothing about sophomore Chris Adkins. Adkins is now the team's No. 2 player, with Howard settled in at No. 3.
WHAT ABOUT US?: All this talk about the district race being pretty much wrapped up is bound to tick off the folks at Indian River, who quietly compiled a 2-0 league mark heading into the week. Technically, that left the Braves one-half-game behind Great Bridge and ahead of Western Branch and Churchland.
The Braves still have to play all three teams, however. Those matches will provide the definitive answer regarding Indian River's legitimacy as a contender.
BAD DRAW: The Southeastern District champion may win bragging rights in Chesapeake and Portsmouth, but the team will get no breaks in the Eastern Region tournament. The Southeastern champion would most likely meet Cox in the regional semifinals. Cox is generally regarded as the most powerful team in the region.
The Southeastern champion would open against the Peninsula District runner-up, with the Southeastern runner-up facing the Peninsula champion. An early look at how the district races shape up:
Beach: Cox appears to be the champion, although they still must face Tallwood Tuesday. Three days ago, the Lions blanked Kempsville, 9-0.
Eastern: Maury, which won its 50th straight match against regional opponents Tuesday against Booker T. Washington, looks set as the champion. Lake Taylor is the likely runner-up.
Peninsula: The season is just getting underway. Lafayette was the pre-season favorite, with as many as four other teams contending for second.
OLD TIMES SAKE: Franklin coach Michael Carter used to play in junior tournaments run by Churchland coach Steve Liles when Carter attended Churchland Junior High. So when Liles found out Carter now runs the program, he put the Broncos on his schedule. The Broncos responded by blasting the Truckers, 9-0.
``They just plain kicked our butts,'' Liles said.
Seems Carter may have the best public school team in Hampton Roads this side of Cox.
``I think they'd win our district,'' Liles said. ``I think they're better than Great Bridge.'' by CNB