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EDWARDSVILLE – Edwardsville managed to get by Belleville East to claim the Southwestern Conference girls tennis championship by two points at the Edwardsville Tennis Center Saturday morning and afternoon.
The Tigers had 67 points to the Lancers' 65, with O'Fallon finishing third with 55.5 points; Belleville West was fourth with 45.5 points, followed by Alton (37), Collinsville (24), Granite City (21) and East St. Louis (9) following Saturday's singles play; the Tigers had held the lead after doubles play on Friday.
In the first singles flight, Edwardsville's Natalie Karibian dropped a 6-0, 6-1 decision to Belleville East's Chloe McIssac in the final, while Alton's Abby Fischer finished fourth in the flight, falling to O'Fallon's Miley Brunner 6-0, 6-2 in the third-place match and Granite City's Kourtney Singleton finished sixth after a 6-0, 6-1 loss to the Maroons' Kaitlyn Fielder in the fifth-place match.
In No. 2 singles, the Tigers' Grace Desse reached the final against the Lancers' Isabel Burwitz, but Saturday afternoon's rain prevented the final from being completed, while Alton's Hannah Macias finished fifth with a 6-0, 6-2 win over Collinsville's Karalyn Mitchell and the Warriors' Olivia Brinker took seventh with a 6-0, 6-0 win over the Flyers' Valerie Bownes.
At No. 3 singles, EHS' Mady Schrieber got the final against the Lancers' Julie Skaer, but the match was not completed, with both teams splitting the points; Alton's Maddie Saenz took fifth with a 6-0, 6-0 win over the Kahoks' Lexi Ludgate and the Warriors' Emma Van Buskirk finished seventh.
The fourth singles flight saw Edwardsville's Abby Cimarolli defeat the Panthers' Abbey Burnside 6-2, 6-3 for the championship, while the Redbirds' Nikki Lowe took fifth with a 6-2, 6-1 win over Collinsville's Lindsey Taylor; Granite's Kayla Bridick finished seventh in the flight.
In the fifth flight, the Tigers' Chloe Trimpe emerged as the winner with a 6-0, 6-7, 10-8 victory over the Lancers' Maddy Hamilton, with the Redbirds' Cali Giertz taking fifth over Collinsville's Allison Moore 6-1, 6-2 and the Warriors' Sarah Schnefke finishing seventh.
The No. 6 flight saw the Tigers' Annie McGinnis take third with a 7-6, 6-1 win over West's Delaney Foster, while Alton's Mackenzie Giertz was fifth with a 3-6, 6-3, 10-8 win over the Warriors' Jaeden Black.
Edwardsville head girls tennis coach Dave Lipe said this has been one of the most exciting conference seasons he can remember for boys or girls.
“It was one of the closest conference tournaments we have had,” he said. “It was thrilling to win. Belleville East and O’Fallon posed some tough competition for us today and all year. We feel very proud to have pulled this off today; it came down to the wire.”
“Natalie and Mady’s singles matches Saturday were really important,” Lipe continued. “The whole team deserves a lot of credit. All the matches were important. The girls have been amazing all year.”
Edwardsville will host the IHSA Class 2A sectional tournament Oct. 14, with the state tournament in the Chicago suburb of Buffalo Grove Oct. 19-21.
Brent Feeney also contributed to this story.
