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Sophomore Jeremiah Simms lays some Wiesbaden thunder on Mannheim during the Warriors’ season-opening 26-25 victory Sept. 13.

Sophomore Jeremiah Simms lays some Wiesbaden thunder on Mannheim during the Warriors’ season-opening 26-25 victory Sept. 13. (Courtesy photo/Gregg Frassman)

Sophomore Jeremiah Simms lays some Wiesbaden thunder on Mannheim during the Warriors’ season-opening 26-25 victory Sept. 13.

Sophomore Jeremiah Simms lays some Wiesbaden thunder on Mannheim during the Warriors’ season-opening 26-25 victory Sept. 13. (Courtesy photo/Gregg Frassman)

Junior Marcus Williams unleashes some Wiesbaden lightning Oct. 27 in Stuttgart during the Warriors’ 35-7 victory over Patch.

Junior Marcus Williams unleashes some Wiesbaden lightning Oct. 27 in Stuttgart during the Warriors’ 35-7 victory over Patch. (Courtesy photo/Gregg Frassman)

WIESBADEN-NORDENSTADT, Germany — Unless the seeding committee is delusional, look for Heidelberg and Ramstein to split the 2008 individual high school titles in this year’s European tennis championships.

Nick Garcia of Heidelberg, Lindsey Jones of Ramstein, Clay Marquardt and Brian Kelley of Ramstein and Andrea Wheatcroft and Nikki Ecenrode of Heidelberg have been seeded No. 1 for the event, which begins at 8 a.m. Thursday through Saturday at several sites around this Wiesbaden suburb.

Championships are scheduled for the Vitis indoor tennis center here Saturday morning.

The most successful of the veteran No. 1 seeds, Garcia will be chasing his third consecutive European title.

And there’s little reason to think he won’t be successful. He’s won every match he’s played this year at love.

Garcia is undoubtedly the event’s most formidable player, but the love-season is slightly deceptive this year because of the regional schedule the school system adopted.

In many cases, powerhouse teams, such as Ramstein and Heidelberg, haven’t faced each other this season.

"It would have been nice to have played him (Garcia) during the season," No. 2 seed Sean Stokstad of Ramstein said, "to see how much better he is this year."

Had such a match occurred, Stokstad, like Garcia a German club player, would have had a baseline with which to compare the 2007 Garcia to the 2008 edition. Stokstad was the only player to test Garcia in 2007, falling in the championship match 6-4, 6-2.

"It’s kind of fun to play him," Stokstad said Tuesday of facing Garcia.

"You know you can just go out and play your best and not worry about winning or losing."

Losing hasn’t been much of a problem for Ramstein, particularly the boys, who are 54-1 this season, according to coach Debra Mol.

Surprisingly, that’s a source of worry for Mol as she readies her team for a run at the D-I team title.

"My only concern," she said Tuesday, "is the weak season we played. I’d like to meet ISB, Heidelberg and Patch at a neutral site during the season to get good competition and feel out where everybody is."

Where Ramstein’s Jones is is where she’s been the past three years — in the hunt for a title.

Jones placed third in doubles as a freshman, second in doubles in 2006, and defeated Heidelberg’s Chelsea Cotter, seeded No. 2 this season, for third place in singles last year.

"It’s a big transition, after going through the regular season without playing some of the top-notch players," Jones said of Europeans.

Ramstein team captain Kelley said there were no transition pains this season for the Royals’ top-seeded boys doubles team.

He replaced the graduated Ric Radvany as Marquardt’s partner in Marquardt’s quest for a second consecutive European doubles title.

"Clay and I have been playing together for two years," he said, adding that such familiarity doesn’t detract from the excitement of Europeans."We’re really hyped up," he said.

Team champions will be named in all four divisions after the individual winners are crowned.

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