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Steamboat Springs — Alexis and Valerie Lezin have a distinct advantage when it comes to playing tennis.

Sure, the two each have special, individual skills.

"I bring my forehand and my serve, she brings her volleys and backhands," Alexis said. But as the Steamboat Springs High School girls tennis team approaches the end of its season - looking for a fourth straight regional title and a top-three finish at state - the Sailors' No. 3 doubles team has a combination not many other teams can offer.

The unbending relationship, camaraderie and playful banter between the two - mostly by Valerie, a sophomore, who teases Alexis, a senior - make them a legitimate threat to medal at the state tournament, May 9 and 10 in Pueblo.

"That's one reason we wanted to be partners," Valerie said. "We wanted to finish it off together, and we wanted to medal at state together."

Strangely, it wasn't always like this. The two sisters, who also played together last year, said there were times when troubles would seep onto the court.

It was never more evident than at last year's state championship, when after several losing points, the two sisters would jaw, blame each other and get on each other's nerves. Just like two sisters battling for something at home, they said.

"Last year was our first year together, and that was pretty bad," Alexis said. "But this year, not so much. We've been working really hard at it. If something goes wrong, we stop and say, 'All right, we can do this.'"

The bickering and sisterly arguments on the court now are in the past. After starting the season with different partners at different positions, the two found that playing with a sibling - especially as close as these two are - wasn't just a good thing.

It was a great thing.

"We got to experience the different players, and we decided that we liked playing together," said Valerie, the self-proclaimed spokeswoman of the two. "We wanted to finish off playing together."

So far, so good

The two sisters have been one of the most consistent doubles teams for Steamboat this year. They won the Western Slope Tournament - a top tournament in Colorado - and have lost only two matches in 2008.

Both those matches came at the Mullen Tournament, a quasi-state tournament that brought the who's who of tennis teams from around the state.

One of those losses came to Cheyenne Mountain's No. 3 doubles team, a team most expect to bring home a state title.

After dropping the first set, 6-4, the sisters came back and won the next set, 6-1. Weather then moved in, blanketing any momentum the Lezins had with a couple inches of fresh snow. But the next day, the two pushed Cheyenne Mountain to the limit, falling in the fifth set, 7-5.

Matches like that make the sisters legitimate contenders at the state tournament.

And with Alexis soon off to California to attend photography school, the two are relishing their last few tournaments together. If that includes a deep run into the state tournament, both said, they'd be happy. If not? No big deal. They've been able to experience something not many siblings have.

"I hope her next two years of high school tennis will be successful, because I'm going to be gone," Alexis said. "It's going to be hard leaving the team, but it will be more hard leaving her."

- To reach Luke Graham, call 871-4229

or e-mail lgraham@steamboatpilot.com