After a slow start that included losses to both Rowland Hall and St. Joseph's, Ken Wade, the head coach of the girls tennis team at Waterford, is hanging his hat on the adage that "all's well that ends well."

Despite losing only three players to graduation, the Ravens have not been able to rediscover the rhythm that they rode all the way to a second-place finish in last year's state tournament.

"We've lost some close matches this year," says Wade. "St. Joseph's beat us 3-2, but all three of those matches were really close."

In spite of his team's pedestrian record, Wade remains optimistic about his team's chances at both region and state. The season may be wrapping up, but Wade is quick to point out that it is far from over.

"Even though we had kind of a rough start this season, our goals haven't changed," he says. "We still want to win region and compete for state."

Both of those goals, while attainable, will be a tall order for the Ravens. Waterford will face reigning state champion Rowland Hall twice in the next week, once at tomorrow at region, and once at state.

The two teams have already met once this season, a match that the Griffins won 4-1. Wade, however, insists that the match was closer than the score would initially indicate.

"We lost 4-1, but three of those matches were really close," he says. "I don't think that match was a good indication of how well we can play."

If the Ravens hope to stage a coup in either region or state, they will need Tina Haroutunian to be a force at first singles. Haroutunian, a junior, has enjoyed moderate success at the number one spot since moving up from second singles at the beginning of the season.

Another of Wade's key players will be senior Larissa Beck, who has looked good all year at second singles. Beck, who played third singles in 2005, robbed Rowland Hall of its clean sweep at state in by clinching the title at the No. 3 spot.

"Larissa was our only state champion last year, and she won state as part of the second doubles team the year before that," says Wade. "She's also the only senior on our team."

One of the reasons that Larissa moved up to second singles was to make room for her younger sister on the varsity roster. Kimberly Beck, a freshman, took over the number three spot, and has performed admirably in spite of her youth. "We're a young team right now," says Wade. "We just need a little more experience and we'll be fine."

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E-mail: tquinn@desnews.com