Lincoln East winning its forth consecutive Class A tennis championship was a foregone conclusion Friday long before Spartans senior Mark Jones walked off the court. But if there was any tension in this tournament, it was in his No. 1 singles match against Millard South's Ryan Floth. Jones, the unbeaten top seed, required three sets and a 12-point tiebreaker to hold off Floth and punctuate what Spartans Coach Jeff Hoham called the most satisfying of the championships. "That young man deserved this more than anybody I've coached," said Hoham in his fifth season at Lincoln East.

"This is my proudest moment in coaching. If he hadn't won, this championship wouldn't have felt the same." Because of cold weather Tournament Director Ron Garofolo moved Friday's semifinal, final and consolation matches from Dewey Park to the Hanscom Tennis Center's indoor courts. The Spartans' margin of victory, 54-38 over runner-up Millard South, was the greatest in a state tournament since Lincoln Southeast's 52-38 win over Omaha Westside I 1979. "This is the most dominating team in East High tennis history, no doubt about it," Hoham said.

Lincoln East which won 14 to 16 state matches, also picked up a title from its No. 2 double team of Matt Roth and Jeremy Sand. They defeated Kearney's Kyle McCormick and Jason Boyd 6-3, 7-6(7-5). Millard South's Ryan Fuhrer won the No. 2 singles championship with a 6-1, victory over the Spartans' Sam Nelson. In the No. 1 doubles final, Omaha Westside's Aaron and Trystan Crook posted a 2-6, 6-3, 6-4 win over the previously unbeaten Lincoln East duo of Scott Tricker and Chad VanHorn. "What's most important is this was a team state championship," Hoham said. "I'm extremely proud of the effort of my No. 1 doubles. That match could have gone either way. And Roth and Sand, don't forget them."

Jones, runner-up in No. 1 singles last year to the graduated David Skid of Millard North, hit a lull in the third set of his 6-4, 3-6, 7-6(7-5) victory. After he double-faulted to end the 12th game, he caught a second wind and held off the second-seed Floth in the tiebreaker to earn his third win of the season against the Millard South senior. "I was thinking I was tired and wanted to get off the court," Jones said, "and then the more the match goes on, it keeps coming back to you, thinking about how this is my last year. I had to do it here." Jones, 28-0, said he was forced to change his game plan against Floth. "The way I've played him in the past, I just try to stay consistent with him," Jones said. "When you get a short ball, you've got to return it into his backhand. Today he was stepping around it and drilling the forehand by me. He pinned me to the baseline more than I would have liked to have been." Jones fell behind 4-1 in the second set but fought back to within 4-3. Floth won the next two games, the last when Jones failed to hold to hold serve, to even the match. Jones broke Floth's serve in the 11th game of the third set to go up 6-5. But in the 12th game, Floth broke Jones to force the tiebreaker, scoring the final point when Jones double-faulted. Jones, aided by a couple of booming serves, won three of the final four points in the tiebreaker to finish the 2-hour, 20-minute match.

Results:

No. 1 Singles
Final- Mark Jones, Lincoln East, def. Ryan Floth, Millard South, 6-4, 3-6, 7-6 (7-5). Consolation- Andy Urias, Om. Central, def. Adam Walsh, Lincoln Southeast, 12-7. Semifinals- Jones, Lincoln East, def. Walsh, Lincoln Southeast, 6-2, 6-0. Floth, Millard South, def. Urias, Om. Central, 3-6, 6-1, 6-1.

No. 2 Singles
Final- Ryan Fuhrer, Millard South, def. Sam Nelson, Lincoln East, 6-1, 6-1. Consolation- Chris Freeman, Lincoln Southeast, def. Andy Glock, Miallard North, 12-5. Semifinals- Fuhrer, Miallard South, def. Glock, Millard North, 6-1, 6-3. Nelson, Lincoln East, def. Freeman, Lincoln Southeast, 6-1, 6-2.

No. 1 Doubles
Final- Aaron Crook-Trystan Crook, Om. Westside, def. Scott Tricker-Chad Van Horn, Lincoln East, 2-6, 6-3, 6-4. Consolation- Zach Schnoor-Andy Vosik, Kearney, def. Chris Vincent-Dennis Dozon, Norfolk, 12-7. Semifinals- Tricker-Van Horn, Lincoln East, def. Schnoor-Vosik, Kearney, 6-3, 6-1. Crook-Crook, Westside, def. Vincent-Dozon, Norfolk, 7-5, 6-2.