Rochester Mayo finished off a three-peat as state champions — first two at the Class 2A level — Wednesday evening with a 5-2 win against Minnetonka to complete a perfect season at 23-0.
Rochester Mayo’s boast two of the top-five singles players in the state in juniors, Malea Diehn (No. 1 singles) and Aoife Loftus (No. 2 singles). The duo led the way in an all-encompassing triumph for the Spartans at the Baseline Tennis Center in Minneapolis.
Diehn and Loftus won their first sets 6-1 against Skippers senior Tessa Trivedi and junior Bella Starkman, respectively.
Loftus polished off a commanding 6-1, 6-0 win to hand the Spartans the first match of the first-ever Class 3A state championship. Diehn followed in Loftus’ footsteps, knocking off Trivedi in straight sets and only allowing one point overall. A strong 2-0 Rochester Mayo lead after two completed matches as the Spartans searched for their third consecutive state title.
Moments later, Minnetonka made it 2-1 as junior Sofia Jalil and senior Lucy Prondzinski (No. 2 doubles) topped Mayo’s pairing of junior Isla Huebner and eighth grader Emily Loftus 6-2, 6-2.
Minnetonka’s No. 1 doubles pairing of senior Martina Francisco and junior Ariya Hook, and No. 2 doubles grouping of junior Sofia Jalil and senior Lucy Prondzinski nabbed the first sets of their matches.
Mayo snatched an all-important first set in No. 4 singles, 6-4, via junior Eliana Elder. The Skippers won the No. 4 singles spot in the lineup in the regular-season matchup in which they were the only team that won three individual matches during a meeting with Mayo this season.
Elder took Set 2 6-1, which clinched the match against seventh grader Emily Leviton, a victory that gave Mayo a glimpse of their third crown in three years.
The match that clinched the title for the Spartans came from freshmen Eden Bendel and Annabelle Camp (No. 3 doubles). The pairing defeated Tonka seniors Alisa Ivanov and Allison Britzius, 6-3, 6-2 to give Mayo a 4-1 lead.
The Spartans were not done racking up victories as senior Ana Medina (No. 3 singles) would go on to beat Skippers’ sophomore Alyssa Ren.
Francisco and Hook defeated Mayo sophomore Grace Pickering and junior Ella Brinkman in three sets, ending the state championship.
Mayo’s 5-2 conquest clinched their third crown in as many years as the Spartans’ dynasty continued to make its mark in the history books.
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