Mayo, Lourdes romp in first round of respective state girls tennis tournaments
Oct. 24—MINNEAPOLIS — Rochester's two entrants in the respective Class 2A and 1A girls tennis tournaments made it look easy in Tuesday's quarterfinals.
No. 1-ranked and seeded Mayo blitzed unseeded Bemidji 7-0 in the Class 2A tournament at the University of Minnesota's Baseline Tennis Center. Lourdes, No. 1-ranked and seeded in the Class 1A event at Reed-Sweatt Tennis Center, beat unseeded Luverne 7-0 in its first-round dual.
Mayo won all seven of its matches in straight sets. Next up for the unbeaten Spartans (24-0) will be a semifinal dual at 8 a.m. Wednesday against No. 5 Maple Grove. The semifinal winners play in the 4 p.m. state championship.
The bottom half of the Class 2A bracket includes No. 2 seed Edina and No. 3 Minnetonka.
Mayo, which has reached the state tournament 26 of the last 27 years, is favored to win its first state girls tennis championship.
Defending Class 1A state champion Lourdes had just as easy of a time in its first-round dual at Reed-Sweatt Tennis Center. The Eagles' closest match was still won in straight sets, Molly Suino and Katherine Sieve winning 6-4, 6-2 at No. 1 doubles.
Lourdes next faces No. 4 seed St. James at 8 a.m. Wednesday. In the bottom half of the bracket is No. 2 seed Blake, which is regarded by many as an equal or more to Lourdes. The championship is at 4 p.m. Wednesday.
Lourdes upset Breck 4-3 in last year's state championship, giving it its first state title since 2010.
The Eagles are at state for the 29th straight year.
Class 2A girls state tennis tournament pairings.
Class 1A girls state tennis tournament pairings.
—At the U of M's Baseline Tennis Center
Mayo 7, Bemidji 0
Singles: Claire Loftus (M) def. Lila Collins 6-0, 6-0; Aoife Loftus (M) def. Lacy Busch 6-0, 6-0; Malea Diehn (M) def. Kamryn Kraemer 6-0, 6-2; Ana Medina (M) def. Brooke Mulholland 6-0, 6-0. Doubles: Nandini Iyer/Audrey Aney (M) def. Ericah Folden/Claire Erdal 6-2, 6-2; Keely Ryder/Bergen Jacob (M) def. Lydia Omberg/Brooklyn Dietz 6-0, 6-2; Charlotte Colby/Diane Meunier (M) def. Lauren Kline/Lydia Olson 6-1, 6-2.
—At Reed-Sweatt Tennis Center
Lourdes 7, Luverne 0
Singles: Caroline Daly (L) def. Augusta Papik 6-2, 6-0; Elyse Palen (L) def. Sarah Stegenga 6-0, 6-1; Erin Witter (L) def. Morgan Hadler 6-0, 6-0; Taylor Elliott (L) def. Addyson Mann 6-0, 6-1. Doubles: Molly Suino/Katherine Sieve (L) def. Cassi Chesley/Roselynn Hartshorn 6-4, 6-2; Taylor Seelhammer/Ellie Leise (L) def. Emma Nath/Corynn Oye 6-1, 6-0; Kaydra Quimby/Ashley Wagester (L) def. Rayann Remme/Katia Jarchow 6-2, 6-0.
