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Grizz boys the team to beat By Joe Zavala Ashland Daily Tidings At the top, looking down and hating every minute of it. At least that's sort of how Ashland High boys tennis coach Dick Streng describes his feelings heading into the Southern Oregon Conference district meet. Streng leads a Grizzly squad loaded with talent and primed for an SOC district title. In other words, they're the team to beat. Ashland High sophomore Evan Schleining hammers a backhand during practice Tuesday in preparation for this week's Southern Oregon Conference district boys tennis tournament. Ashland Daily Tidings/DENISE BARATTA "I don't like the favorite, but probably, yeah," Streng said, when asked during Tuesday's practice if his team is the consensus No. 1, "which is a bad thing for me. I always like to go underneath, slide in." Like it or not, Streng's Grizzlies will be the odds on favorite to win their second SOC title in four years when the tourney kicks off Thursday at the North Medford High courts. Ashland dominated league play during the regular season, crushing each of its conference opponents en route to a perfect 14-0 dual meet record. The Grizzlies have the top-rated doubles team in the conference and one of the top teams in the state in Ari Zaslow and Evan Schleining. They have a No. 2 doubles team - Tyler Coke and Kevin Spears - that's capable of beating any other SOC team's No. 1. And they have Michael James, their top singles player who's yet another threat to go the distance. Ashland's postseason potential was confirmed, if not heightened, during Tuesday's district coaches meeting, during which the league determined tourney seeds. As expected, Zaslow and Schleining are the top-rated doubles tandem, while Coke and Schleining were named the third seed. And in a surprise vote that speaks to the respect SOC coaches have for Ashland, Ross Mather and Andres Fuertes, who make up Ashland's No. 3 doubles team, garnered the No. 4 seed. James is the Grizzlies' lone singles seed, snagging the No. 2 position right behind North Medford's defending champ Tyler Wilson. Streng says winning districts would add to a legacy. "The seniors now came in as freshman and they won," Streng said, "so it would be neat if they did it again so they began and ended their careers at Ashland High School with being district champions." According to Streng, the Grizzlies' ultimate goal this week is to advance at least seven players to the Class 4A state meet. Only district semifinalists earn state berths, which means in order for Ashland to meet its goal it will probably need to advance three doubles teams to the semis. The first three rounds of each bracket will be played out Thursday and the semifinals and finals matches are scheduled for Saturday. "If we make it through Thursday, then we're good," Streng said, "but we have to have a lot of luck." Zaslow and Schleining each advanced to state last season, but not together. Zaslow played No. 1 singles and represented Ashland well, taking fourth at districts. Schleining, meanwhile, teamed up with Spears to take second in districts. Both Zaslow and Schleining are confident they'll win an SOC title. "Pretty high expectations," Zaslow said. "I think we're going to do well, hopefully win state. I think we'll definitely win districts. � (We're) definitely working a lot better and learning more strategy, thinking better on the court, playing smarter tennis." Zaslow and Schleining have had their way in league play this season and think they have a shot at bringing home a state title. They're 12-1 on the season, with their only loss coming in a third-set tie-breaker to the brothers Austin and Rian Rifkin of West Linn. Zaslow likes a rematch with the Rifkin brothers, who could end up with the No. 1 seed at state. "I don't think we'll lose to those guys again," Zaslow said. Coke and Spears have also played well together, and hope to meet their teammates in the finals. Also representing Ashland in the district tourney doubles bracket is the duo of Miles Rooklyn and Alain Parades. In the singles tourney, James, Jer-wei Chang, Jonathan Willing and Corey Lescher will join James in representing Ashland. LINKS: DAILY TIDINGS: Main | News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Opinion | Columnists | AP News | Subscribe | Archives | Weather | Classifieds | Contact Us | Privacy REVELS: Main | Calendar | Dining | Movies | T.V. OTHER: Road Cams Copyright 2003 Ashland Daily Tidings 541.482.3456. 1661 Siskiyou Blvd., Ashland, OR 97520. Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. - Advertisers -