BOYS TENNIS: Conference champs will be crowned Saturday

Before they merge in next weekend's sectional to determine who goes to state and who stays home, prep boys tennis teams will decide championships in conference tournaments.

The Southwestern Conference will fill courts in Alton and Godfrey today and Saturday, while the Mississippi Valley plays in Godfrey today and Troy on Saturday, and the South Central meets at Principia College in Elsah on Saturday.

And while Edwardsville and Triad look to extend long reigns in the SWC and MVC, respectively, East Alton-Wood River is out to claim its first SCC championship after years looking up at Marquette, Greenville and Hillsboro.

But with a format that includes just one draw for singles and one for doubles -- with each team getting two entries in each bracket -- the Oilers' edge may be diminished with players prevented from competing in both doubles and singles as they do in the regular season.

EA-WR is unbeaten against SCC foes, though the conference title will be decided solely by Saturday's outcome. Action at Prin begins at 9 a.m.

"It's going to be a tossup this year," Parmentier said. "Since you can't double back, it's going to be wide open."

Raymond Burns and Sharma Kumar fill the Nos. 1-2 singles slots for the Oilers, while also posting an 18-0 record in doubles play.

The dilemma for Parmentier is deciding whether he goes for the points Kumar and Burns can produce separately in singles or place them as a heavy favorite in doubles and let Nos. 3-4 players Kyle Hanner and John Ramsey step up against the league's top tier players in singles. Hanner and Ramsey are 18-0 at No. 2 doubles.

"What do you do?" Parmentier said. "I would think we have a great shot of winning it. . . . But it's been a great season, no matter what happens Saturday. These boys have really turned this program around and it's been fun."

EA-WR finished 17-1, with its lone dual loss being a 5-4 verdict against Alton.

The Valley will play its doubles bracket at 11 a.m. today at Lewis and Clark Community College's Andy Simpson Tennis Complex, with singles shifting to Triad High School at 9 a.m. Saturday.

Triad is seeking its eighth straight MVC title after claiming 50 of a possible 54 points in the conference tourney the past two seasons. Mascoutah was runner-up in each of those tourneys and again is expected to be the Knights' chief rival, despite the Indians falling to Triad 8-1 in a regular-season dual.

CM hits the tourney with a lineup headed by Kyle Scherff, Kyle Stickler and Comron Moradi. Jersey (5-11) is led by seniors Greg Harding and Ryan Mandrell as Nos. 1-2 singles, respectively.

Alton plays host to the SWC Tournament, with doubles play starting at 1 p.m. today at Moore Park's Raymond Simpson Tennis Center and Alton High. The singles draw begins at 8:30 a.m. Saturday at Moore Park, AHS and, perhaps, LCCC depending on court availability.

Edwardsville (16-2) has won seven consecutive SWC championships and enters as the favorite after beating Belleville West 7-2 on Tuesday to finish its league schedule at 7-0. The conference champion is determined by a formula assigning equal weight to regular season and tournament play.

The Tigers graduated their top five players from a team that had a 24-0 dual record and placed fourth in the state tournament. But with sophomore Jordan Leskera, a state qualifier in singles as a freshman, topping the lineup, Edwardsville continues to flourish under coach Dave Lipe, who has a 188-36 dual record in 14 seasons with the Tigers..

Leskera, Mark Sturley, Kyle Watson, Michael Lynch and Kirk Schlueter posted singles victories against the Maroons, while Kyle Hicks teamed with Sturley to win No. 1 doubles and J.T. Lynch joined Michael Lynch to win at No. 3. It was West's first dual defeat after an 11-0 start.

"I think Edwardsville has done a remarkable job of separating themselves from the other elite teams in conference, even though they lost so much from last year," Alton coach Jesse Macias said. "It is a real testament to the program Lipe has built at Edwardsville."

Macias expects West and Belleville East to be the primary threats to Edwardsville by day's end Saturday. And while the Redbirds are not expected to a contender for the title, they have targeted a top-half finish in the eight-team tourney as their goal.

Alton is 11-9, including a 3-4 mark in the SWC. Junior Eric Kleinschnittger is the Redbirds' top player, but he must compete in a No. 1 singles draw Macias calls "an absolutely stacked flight" headed by East's Drew Feder.

"He has been our most consistent player this year, but it is tough going up against the other team's best every night," Macias said of Kleinschnittger, a state qualifier in singles as a sophomore. "He will come out prepared and I am sure that he will do his best, but there are no slouches at No. 1."

Jake Lindsey, Zack Funk, Mike Estes, Andrew Beiser and Tommy Jackson complete the lineup the Redbirds are likely to send out today and Saturday.

"We play in a great conference," Macias said, "and I expect to see outstanding tennis from every program."