Sellmeyer Looking Forward to State Meet

Mehlville tennis coach Bill Ebert would love to give Jeremy Sellmeyer some advice about the dynamics of the state tournament.

However, the experience will be a new one not only for the Panthers senior, but also for his coach.

"I have coached here 14 years and never had a player, boy or girl, qualify for the state meet," Ebert said. "I am excited about going myself and even more excited for Jeremy. We are going to enjoy it together. Right now he is one of the top 16 players in the state."

Sellmeyer qualified for the state meet with a dominating 6-0, 6-1 win over Cameron Tracschel of St. Louis University High in the sectional tournament.

"I guess I was able to rise to the occasion," Sellmeyer said. "It is the best tennis I have played all year."

Sellmeyer just hopes to play that well again this weekend and see where that puts him among the top players in the state.

The individual portion of the state tournament will be played Friday and Saturday at the Cooper Tennis Complex in Springfield. It is a facility that includes 16 outdoor courts, a stadium court where the World Team Tennis Lazers play and also a dozen indoor courts (the team portion of the state tournament, which is entirely separate from the individual, is played at Cooper on Thursday and includes St. Louis area teams Parkway Central, Lafayette, Clayton and Westminster Christian Academy).

"It is both daunting and very exciting," Sellmeyer said. "I am really looking forward to going down."

Sellmeyer will find himself competing against experienced, year-round players who compete in the Missouri Valley such as Paul Nahon of Springfield Glendale and Michael Davis of Parkway Central. But there should also be some players with a similar tennis background as Sellmeyer. Much of a player's success at state depends on the luck of the draw.

"I just want to play the best I can and see how well I can compete against the really good players in the state," Sellmeyer said.