New conference? No problem for St. Dom’s.

The Saints’ girls’ tennis squad will begin this year’s MPA team tennis tournament as the top seed in its region.

“I don’t know if we’ve ever been the top seed, at least not in a long time,” St. Dom’s coach Pam Kay said.

The Saints did win a Class C state championship the first year it was contested, in 1995.

St. Dom’s, in its first year in the Mountain Valley Conference, raced out to a perfect 12-0 record this year, earning the top seed in the Western Class C tourney, ahead of No. 2 Winthrop. The Ramblers play in the MVC’s northern division, and did not play the Saints this season. They also finished 12-0.

“It’s going to be great to see them in the (MVC) title game,” Kay said. “It’s going to be a good test before we start the playoffs. I know they have some really good players.”

The Saints and Ramblers will meet in the MVC title match Wednesday, with the playoffs set to begin Thursday.

The Saints’ road to the state final in Western C is paved with a host of fellow MVC schools, along with a couple of teams from their old stomping grounds in the Western Maine Conference.

No. 8 Boothbay will be the first team out of the gate for St. Dom’s, followed by the winner of a showdown between Hall-Dale and Waynflete.

Winthrop, meanwhile, will battle Jay in Round 1, and will see the winner of North Yarmouth Academy/Mt. Abram in the conference semifinal round.

Not unfamiliar to area tennis fans will be the fact that Lewiston will again begin the playoffs as the top seed in the East in both the boys’ and girls’ tournaments.

The Blue Devils, fresh off another pair of 12-0 seasons, will wait until Friday to begin defense of their state crowns. The boys will host the winner of the 4-5 matchup between Bangor and Brewer, while the girls will see the winner of Bangor/Hampden.

“If we get by Bangor or Brewer, I really think it would be hard to get by Brunswick a third time,” Lewiston boys’ coach Ron Chicoine said. “And overall, the overwhelming favorite is Windham, no matter who comes out of the East, even if it’s us. They’ve been solid all year long, they’ve got almost everyone returning from last year, and all three of their singles players made it to the round of 16 at the singles tournament, while all of our guys lost in the round of 32.

“I’m not saying that we’re going to get there, because I know we’re not the same team we were, but if we do, we’ll definitely be the underdog.”

As for the Lewiston girls, coach Anita Murphy said Tuesday that her squad is also prepared for a tough road.

“I think the teams, overall, are a lot closer this year,” Murphy said. “We’re going to have to work a lot harder.”

By earning the No. 2 seed in Western B, the Oak Hill girls avoid seeing top-ranked and favored Falmouth until the Western final, should both teams advance that far. The Raiders and Maranacook Black Bears are 2-3 in that region, and with a win in the first round would meet each other in a conference semifinal.

Another perfect campaign, this one from the Monmouth boys’ squad, earned for the Mustangs the second seed in the Western C boys’ tourney. They will open the playoffs with a home match against Dirigo, and then face the winner of the 3-6 matchup between Hall-Dale and St. Dom’s. On the other side, dominating Waynflete awaits the winner of the 4-5 matchup between Madison and Winthrop.

Mountain Valley earned the No. 4 seed in Western B and will host No. 5 Cape Elizabeth in the first round, while Lisbon squeaked in at No. 7 and will take on No. 2 Lincoln Academy.

Mt. Blue was the last Eastern A team into the field, earning a date with No. 3 Brunswick.