Rowland Hall again fully loaded

Most people in Tim Sleeper's position don't spend much time worrying. Sleeper, the coach of the girls' tennis team at Rowland Hall, brought back his entire team after coming within one match of sweeping the state tournament in 2005.

Furthermore, Rowland Hall won four of the five positions at last week's region tournament. The Griffins finished light years ahead of second-place finishers Waterford and St. Joseph's, the two schools most likely to challenge them for the state title.

But Sleeper, either out of modesty or legitimate concern, isn't nearly as self-assured as most coaches in his situation would be.

"We won four of the positions, but three of those finals could have easily gone the other way," Sleeper explained. "We weren't as dominant as you might think."

Rowland Hall's competition might be foolish to read too much into Sleeper's reluctance to claim the status of heavy favorite for his team. Sleeper has confidence in his players, but he also knows a thing or two about counting those unhatched eggs.

"Anything can happen at state," he said. "The other teams in 2A have some very talented players. You can't take anything for granted."

Look for both Larissa and Kimberly Beck of Waterford to challenge Rowland Hall's superiority; Larissa was the Raven's lone state champion last fall and Kimberly plays at third singles, a position that has no clear favorite at this point.

Rowland Hall counters that bid for supremacy with its phenomenal first doubles team. The tandem of Sophie Ashton and Abby Bossart took first in 2005, and by now it's a foregone conclusion that any challengers will have to go through those two for a shot at the title.

At this point in the season, Sleeper is tired of all the speculation surrounding his team and its quest to repeat as state champions. He's ready to play some tennis.

"We're really excited to get out there," Sleeper said. "We're going to be rockin' and rollin'. And hopefully we can win one more title while we're out there."

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E-mail: tquinn@desnews.com