The chess match has begun in Los Padres League tennis.

With three teams 7 Cabrillo, St. Joseph and Santa Ynez 7 bunched within one match of each other at 7-1 or 6-2 at the end of the first half of play last Thursday.

Cabrillo, Santa Ynez and St. Joseph all opened the second half with impressive victories Tuesday.

At Cabrillo, the league-leading Conquistadores (7-1) opened the second half of league play with an easy 18-0 victory over Pioneeer Valley.

Lisa Schutz swept perfectly 6-0, 6-0, and 6-0 and Ellen Monkemeier did nearly the same 6-0, 6-0, 6-3.

Reserve Leslie Morgan played singles and won both sets 6-3 and 6-3. Summer Miller won 6-2.

Elysha McLain and Madalyn Doudna won 6-2, 6-0, 6-0, Lauren Vance and Heide Havlicek 6-1, 6-0, 6-1 and Lindsey Johnson and Ashley Brady 6-1, 6-1, 6-1.

&#8221We did what we had to do,B said coach Dan Troup.

The Conqs host Santa Maria on Thursday.

Following the Saints match, the Conqs face three monster matches on the road against St. Joseph with whom they share the league lead, Morro Bay which upset St. Joseph in the first round, and defending champ Santa Ynez.

Troup hinted he may have changes in mind to further strengthen his doubles teams for the second half but declined to elaborate.

&#8221I/ll let you see on Thursday,B he chuckled.

The three time defending champion Santa Ynez Pirates breezed past the Lompoc Braves 7 who won just two singles sets 7 during Tuesday/s 16-2 loss at Santa Ynez High.

The Pirates are now 6-2, lurking just one game behind the leaders, Cabrillo and St. Joseph.

Lompoc is 1-7.

Santa Ynez coach Larry Popkin used his ace Subi Sundaram for only one set which she won 6-0, but sub Hannah Vellekamp did just as well winning 6-2 and 6-3.

Sara Schroeder swept in singles for the Bucs as did all three singles teams.

That included a revamped third team now composed of Allyson Voorhis and former singles player Laura Reynolds as Popkin searches for a lineup which can overtake the Conqs and Knights in the second half.

Reynolds/Voorhis registered wins by 6-3, 6-1 and 6-1, just a single game less than the 6-1, 6-1, 6-1 compiled by No. 1 team Lauren Henno and Nicole Masnada.

When Cabrillo nipped Santa Ynez in the first round, the Conquistadores swept against the Pirates/ No. 3 team.

Lompoc/s Jani Carmona defeated Reynolds/ replacement at No. 3 singles Jesse Levine 6-3 and Courtney Stumpo won by the same score over Levine for Lompoc/s only points.

&#8221Courtney Stumpo is improving,B emphasized Lompoc coach Loretta Jensen.

The Braves host St. Joseph on Thursday. A scheduled match against San Luis Obispo on Monday was canceled.

Meanwhile, Sophia Eszes and Ane McPike swept three singles matches each as the St. Joseph Knights (7-1, 10-1) racked up a win to start the second half of the league season.

St. Joseph remained in a first-place tie with Cabrillo. The tight LPL race didn/t get any looser. With Santa Ynez and Morro Bay both winning 7 each moved to 6-2 in the LPL.

Eszes dropped one game at number one singles. McPike lost none at number three. Courtney Jaeckels and Laura Freitas, St. Joseph/s No. 1 doubles team, swept 6-3, 6-1, 7-5. Jenna Okerblom went 6-0, 6-0 in two singles sets for St. Joseph.

Maty Martinez and Victoria Regalado earned two doubles points for the Saints (2-6, 3-7).

LPL water polo

Cabrillo 19, Nipomo 7

At Nipomo, the visiting Conquistadores remembered who it was who beat them in two of three games last summer7 the Titans.

&#8221I think that was the worst thing they could have done,B said Cabrillo coach Joel Jory. &#8221It definitely woke the guys up.B

The Conqs charged out to an 11-2 halftime lead and glided to the finish line from there.

Byron Mikowicz led the scoring with five goals. He also dished five assists, and drew three ejections. Joey Gullicksen and Ethan Hadley contributed four goals each, Nick Darling and Wes Hain added two apiece, and Daniel McNutt netted one.

Mikowicz also led in the assist category with five, McNutt had three, and Hain two.

Mikowicz and Darling drew three ejections apiece and Hadley added two.

Goalie Sam Ouimet recorded 10 blocks.

&#8221The guys have just improved a ton,B said Jory, who pointed principally to his defense.

&#8221Even the goals they got came on a rebound after a good defensive play and a ball that bounced off two of our hands. Their seven goals don/t tell the story.B

Jory/s starting lineup accounted for 26 steals.

Mikowicz totalled eight, Gullicksen six, Darling five, McNutt four, and Oiumet three.

Andrew Rippel led the Titans with three scores.

Cabrillo, now 3-0 in league play, 10-9 overall, hosts San Marcos in a non-league encounter Thursday.

&#8221It/ll get us back up to speed for Santa Ynez,B said Jory.

The LPL games of the year are always the Cabrillo-Santa Ynez matches. The first one takes place next Tuesday.

Nipomo won the JV game 11-8.

LPL volleyball

Nipomo 3, Cabrillo 0

The Nipomo High School volleyball team went undefeated in league play last season with a 12-0 record en route to its first-ever Los Padres League championship.

The Titans are well on their way to a second consecutive league crown this season. The only question remaining is whether or not they will earn it with another unbeaten league mark.

Based on Nipomo/s 25-9, 25-17, 25-14 home victory over Cabrillo on Tuesday, it would seem as if that/s certainly a strong possibility.

But that/s not what/s on the Titans/ mind right now. They have bigger things in mind.

&#8221There/s really no pressure,B said outside hitter Erika Pirotte, who led the team in kills with 10, along with Sarah Clark. &#8221We/ve got goals that we/re striving to achieve, like any other team. We/d love to (go undefeated) again, but it/d be nicer to do well in (the playoffs).B

Nipomo (11-0-1, 7-0) coach Jeff Reynolds said that he/s organizing practices with the CIF playoffs in mind.

&#8221It/s always in the back of our minds,B Reynolds said. &#8221I was pleased with our ability to run a faster-paced offense tonight, which we/re doing for the future. It was business-like tonight. We were completely confident.B

The only time the match got tight was the second game, when the Conquistadors cut an eight-point lead to three at 20-17. But in typical Nipomo fashion, the Titans answered with five straight points, including a Becca Bader kill to end it.

Andrea Ragan had 40 assists and seven digs for Nipomo.

Jessica Kennedy led Cabrillo with seven kills and 28 digs.

&#8221We came out flat tonight,B said Conqs coach Michelle Poquette. &#8221Nipomo/s a good team, a good hitting team. They/re going to do well. I/m glad (the league) is getting rid of them next year.B

Cabrillo/s Jessica Shekell racked up 22 digs and three kills.

Even in defeat however Slavens found solace in the play of reserve Stefanie Salandanan.

Now 3-4, 4-7 overall, the Conqs begin the second round on Thursday at Pioneer Valley.

Cabrillo/s JV and freshman teams both lost in two games.

Morro Bay 3, Lompoc 1

At Morro Bay, the visiting Braves won their third game of the season but lost the match 3-1. Game scores were 25-13, 23-25, 25-16 and 25-20.

Lompoc is now 0-7 in league play.

&#8221The second game was a nice one,B said Brave coach Don Savella. &#8221We came from behind. We were 6-7 points behind and we crept up. We capitalized on serving very effectively.B

The server at the key moment was Wendy Yang who delivered three aces to help make up the ground.

Sabrina Chill led Lompoc with five kills and Megan Michel added four. Tiffany Larsen and Katelyn Lynch led in digs with six. Robin Kaminsky-Rosauer and Yang notched four aces while Laura Schelvis dished up six assists.

&#8221The team showed a lot of character in that second game in terms of perseverance,B said Savella.

The Braves host Santa Ynez Thursday.

The Lompoc freshman team forced three games before losing.

Sports writer John McReynolds can be reached at 736-2313, Ext. 106, or jmcreynolds@lompocrecord.com. Sports writers Kenny Cress and Doug Flanagan contributed to this report.

October 12, 2005