When it comes to Orcutt Academy senior triplets Sean, Luke and Matthew Fina playing on his squad, Orcutt Academy boys tennis team coach Art Lopez has one lament.
"My only regret is that I didn't get them when they were freshmen and sophomores," said Lopez. "They're great kids, a pleasure to coach."
Lopez said, "They were in cross country and track their freshman and sophomore years," then gravitated to tennis.
Sean Fina said that he and his brothers are identical triplets.
Lopez and the Finas spoke during the break between singles and doubles matches in Orcutt Academy's Mountain League match against Arroyo Grande at Hancock College this week.
Orcutt Academy won 7-2. Luke and Matthew Fina won their singles matches then teamed for a 6-1, 6-1 doubles win. Sean lost his singles match but teamed with Ari Sherman for a 6-4, 6-4 win in the No. 1 doubles match.
Last year marked the first year of competitive tennis for the Fina triplets, and Luke and Matthew won the Ocean League championship.
"The chemistry was there from the start, so really there was never an adjustment to playing doubles together, " said Matthew Fina.
"The great part about playing doubles is you don't have to worry about your partner messing up," said Luke Fina. "There's no pressure," unlike in singles where the spotlight is always on a solo singles player.
When it comes to the pair's strategy, "I'm usually on the baseline and (Luke) is at the net," said Matthew Fina.
Lopez said with a chuckle, "I tell those two that they're responsible for us being moved to the Mountain League." This year marks the first year for the Spartans in the Mountain League, which is considered to be a higher league than the Ocean League.
Orcutt Academy and the other Central Coast Athletic Association (CCAA) schools compete in either the Mountain or Ocean League in all sports, except for the Orcutt Academy eight-man football team.
Though last year marked the triplets' first in competitive tennis, they have a lot of experience when it comes to playing tennis.
"We've been playing for eight years, off and on," said Sean Fina. "We'd play King of the Court, one of the few types of tennis you can play with three players.
"One of us would play against the other one, then the guy who had been on the sidelines would come in and play against the winner, we'd keep track of who won the most matches and whoever ended up winning the most was the winner," for the day.
Sean Fina said, "We'd just play until we decided we were done," for the day.
Matthew Fina said, "We'd play King of the Court on the Sunrise Courts in Santa Maria."
Luke Fina said, "We worked out with coach Patrick Ortiz."
Matthew Fina chuckled and said, "He's the king of the tennis world in Santa Maria."
"He's trained a lot of the players in the Santa Maria Valley," said Sean Fina.
When the triplets began playing competitive tennis for the first time, "It felt very normal," Sean said.
"The odd thing at first was playing with each other instead of against each other," said Matthew.
Luke and Matthew Fina were 2-2 in their doubles matches this season before winning Monday. "It's been tougher competition this year, but it's going OK," Luke said.
Yes, Sean Fina said, the triplets usually wear similar clothes. "We have similar tastes when it comes to clothing styles," Sean said with a chuckle.
"Our teachers can usually tell us apart."
Kenny Cress is a sports reporter for the Santa Maria Times, covering local sports in northern Santa Barbara County. You can send information or story ideas to him by emailing it to KCress@SantaMariaTimes.com.
