Five worthy teams. Three, possibly four, playoff spots.

That/s the situation in the most intriguing race on the Central Coast high school scene 7 the Los Padres League girls tennis race.

The first of two LPL rounds ends today. Usually by this time there is a clear front-runner 7 and it typically has been three-time defending league champion Santa Ynez.

That/s not true this time. Going into matches today, Cabrillo and St. Joseph are tied for first place at 5-1 in league matches. Santa Ynez and Morro Bay are both 4-2. Nipomo is a solid dark horse at 3-3.

The LPL has a big presence in the CIF Southern Section Division V rankings. St. Joseph is rated second. Cabrillo is ranked fourth, and Santa Ynez is rated fifth.

Cabrillo is at Nipomo today at 3:30 p.m. in the only match in which any of the top five oppose each other.

The Titans almost beat St. Joseph. Nipomo tied the Knights 9-9, but St. Joseph prevailed thanks to total games won. The Knights won the final three sets of the day to force a tie, and a games count.

Santa Ynez coach Larry Popkin has been at the school 45 years. He has coached in the tennis program for 28. And, "I/ve never seen anything like this," he said.

"I predicted this would happen, with some teams knocking off other (top) teams. I think it/s wonderful for the league. There is some very good coaching going on in the league, with the new people who have taken over some of the programs and the (former) coaches who left things set up so this could happen."

Some of the newer coaches in the league include first-year St. Joseph coach Ken Noe, Dan Troup who is in his second year at Cabrillo and Rosemarie Will of Nipomo.

Will has been at Nipomo since the school/s inception. However, the school/s inception was only three years ago.

"At the coaches meeting before the season started, everyone was sort of looking around the table at one another trying to figure out what each other had," said Noe.

"It has taken awhile to shake itself out but the way it has shaken out is the top teams in the league are pretty balanced."

St. Joseph/s lone loss was to Morro Bay at home Tuesday. Cabrillo defeated Santa Ynez after losing to St. Joseph. Morro Bay defeated Nipomo and lost to Santa Ynez and Cabrillo. Santa Ynez scored a solid win over Nipomo.

The contenders/ singles and doubles depth has been a huge factor in the tightness of the race.

Three-time defending LPL singles champion Subi Sundaram of Santa Ynez hasn/t come close to losing a set in league matches. But there are plenty of other singles players this year who have shown they can play near the top of the league.

Those include Ellen Monkemeier and Lisa Schutz of Cabrillo; Sophia Eszes, Jenna Okerblom and Ane McPike of St. Joseph; Sara Schroeder of Santa Ynez; Alisa Royer and Chelsea Dauer of Morro Bay; and Elizabeth Will of Nipomo.

"Ellen and Lisa have been interchangeable at No. 1 for us," said Troup. "Lauren Vance was going to be interchangeable with the others, but she had a shoulder injury and we put her at No. 2 doubles with Heidi Havlicek.

"Those two have really done well. Lauren/s first match was the St. Joseph one, and she could only play two sets there." The Knights won 11-7.

McPike, a freshman, is number three on the Knights/ singles ladder, but she has been St. Joseph/s most productive singles player.

"They put her at number three, but I think she/s their strongest player," said Troup.

McPike isn/t the only youngster who/s having a big year. Santa Ynez/s top doubles team consists of freshman Erica Schroeder and sophomore Claire Hemming.

"That has really been a pleasant surprise," said Popkin.

Courtney Jaeckels and Lauren Freitas have had a solid season at number one doubles for St. Joseph. Donalee Jones and Kacie Guggia helped the Knights beat Santa Ynez by sweeping their three sets. Whitney Brooks and Katie McPike, at No. 3, have given the Knights some timely points.

Diana Melero and Gwen Tindula have been particularly strong at No. 1 doubles for Nipomo. Chloe Redman and Kaitlin Kolb have been a tough No. 1 doubles combo for Morro Bay.

Cabrillo/s top doubles team of Elysha McLain and Madalyn Doudna have given the Conquistadores a lot of points this year.

As for the race for the top, "To be honest, I thought it would be real tight," said Troup.

"Going in, I knew Santa Ynez would be tough 7 they always are. But I knew St. Joseph would be improved. Morro Bay has experience 7 they were young last year, but they got everybody back."

Noe said, "It/s high school tennis, so it/s not the end of the world win, lose or draw. But we/re going for our first league championship since, I believe, 1999. The girls are primed to get it. We/re right where we need to be right now."

As for round two in the LPL season, "I/m looking forward to it," Popkin said.

Sports writer Kenny Cress can be reached at 739-2237 or be e-mail at kcress@santamariatimes.com

October 6, 2005