The Virginian-Pilot
                             THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT 
              Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: Friday, April 26, 1996                 TAG: 9604240155
SECTION: PORTSMOUTH CURRENTS      PAGE: 19   EDITION: FINAL 
SOURCE: BY PAUL WHITE, STAFF WRITER 
                                             LENGTH: Medium:   70 lines

FRANKLIN IMPRESSES COACH TRUCKERS' STEVE LILES SAYS ``THEY'RE BETTER THAN GREAT BRIDGE.''

Churchland coach Steve Liles tosses another name in the hat when the voting for the area's best high school tennis team comes up.

Franklin.

Franklin coach Michael Carter used to play in junior tournaments run by Liles when Carter attended Churchland Middle School.

So when Liles found out Carter now runs the Franklin 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.

According to Liles, 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.''

COACH QUIET: Having already beaten prime contenders Western Branch and Churchland, 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 with a Tuesday victory over Oscar Smith. Great Bridge is 6-0 overall.

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 hit the Wildcats in the midst of a four-matches-in-four-days swing.

Top player David Bristow sat out one match with a virus. Of much more concern, however, is the status of Wil Godwin, a top-six player who underwent a bone scan last week 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.

BAD DRAW: The Southeastern District champion may win bragging rights in Portsmouth and Chesapeake, 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 other district races shape up:

Beach: Cox appears to be the champion, although it still had to face Tallwood Tuesday. Three days earlier, 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. The Commodores are 5-0 in the Eastern, 7-0 overall. Lake Taylor is 4-1, 5-1.

Peninsula: The season is just getting underway. Lafayette was the pre-season favorite, with as many as four other teams contending for second. by CNB