How deep it goes

It doesn't matter much to Eden Prairie boys' tennis coach Dean Rudrud that his team -- the defending Class 2A state champion -- recently lost decisively to Wayzata.

In Rudrud's eyes, the path to a state championship is a crooked one, to be navigated with deliberation and planning. Bumps will occur and early-season losses are nothing to worry about, particularly when they come within the Lake Conference, the state's most merciless league.

"Well, the conference is smaller, but there are no bad teams," Rudrud said. "We might lose a match or two, but our focus is on peaking for the section [playoffs] and the state tournament."

With the addition of Eden Prairie to a league that already featured tennis-mad schools Edina, Wayzata, Hopkins and Minnetonka, all five teams in the Lake Conference are justifiably among the top 10 in the state.

Here's how tough the league has become: Edina, a team synonymous with tennis excellence that is in a rebuilding phase, conceivably could finish last in the league standings. That would be akin to the New York Yankees being eliminated from a pennant race by Independence Day.

"It's certainly different," Edina coach Gary Aasen said. "We've got no one on this team who has played in a state tournament or a region final. We're not underskilled. We just don't have the experience right now."

Right now, the Lake Conference is all about depth. Coaches agree that there is no dominant singles player but the level of play throughout each lineup is as good as it has been in years.

With so much parity, the key in the Lake is not so much who plays whom, but rather when. In a short season, timing can be critical.

"It's like Bud Grant used to say," Rudrud said. "It doesn't matter who you play but when you play them. Health plays a big part."

Rudrud knows firsthand. His top singles player, Scott Elsass, has missed much of the season because of a shoulder problem. He has been rehabbing extensively and, Rudrud thinks, should be ready to play soon.

"He might play one match at the Edina Invitational," Rudrud said, referring to Saturday's highly anticipated tournament, which will feature most of the top teams in the state. "But it depends on how he's feeling. We want him healthy going into the state [tournament]."

Health issues have also been a bugaboo for Wayzata. No. 2 singles player Scott Venossi is serving underhanded due to shoulder problems. As a result, sophomore Dustin Britton has moved into the Trojans' No. 1 singles role.

"Every team in this league has talent," Prondzinski said. "We don't have a great players, but we have a lot of good players. We might be an underdog at No. 1 singles, but we are a major favorite at No. 3 doubles."

And the depth is ubiquitous. There are no weak positions in league play.

Hopkins -- which is being coached this spring by a familiar name, Royals boys' basketball coach Ken Novak, while longtime coach Ali Barnett takes a year off for maternity leave -- and Minnetonka are stronger up and down their lineup than in years past.

And while Edina suffered a huge loss when junior Erik Nordahl, a Class 2A singles finalist last year, gave up high school tennis in an attempt to improve his national stature, the Hornets have some pieces to build around with underclassmen Tyler Kuck, Kavir Kumar and Max Olson making up the bulk of their singles lineup.