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Mayo, Lourdes girls tennis teams have lofty ambitions

Pat Ruff, Post-Bulletin, Rochester, Minn.
·4 min read

Aug. 22—Head coach: Kris Allen. Assistant: Melissa Coleman.

Last season: 12-5 overall. Lost 4-3 to Lakeville South in the Section 1AA semifinals. The doubles combination of Paige Sargent/Julia Baber finished second in the state individual tournament.

Top returners: Jr. Sarah Yilma (all-Big Nine in doubles); Jr. Sarah Nevenheim (all-Big Nine in doubles); Jr. Reetu Gurung; Jr. Kaitlin Osburn; So. Naomi Nevenheim.

Outlook: Century has a new head coach, Kris Allen. Allen was a longtime assistant to Josh Heiden, who stepped down at the end of last season. The Panthers have a strong junior class, but no seniors. Star senior Paige Sargent has elected to play on the Century boys team this spring. Leading the juniors are Sarah Yilma, Sarah Nevenheim and Reetu Gurung. There are also some young players who will provide a boost in freshman Tea McEachern and seventh-grader Zoe Zhang. "While we may be lacking in experience, we have a solid base of consistent hitters and girls who are excited to be out on the court," Allen said.

Co-head coaches: Elizabeth Fink, Jane Peloquin-Fink.

Last season: 5-5 Big Nine, 6-6 overall.

Top returners: Sr. Ginny Haul (No. 1 singles); Sr. Sarah Mullenbach (No. 1 doubles); Stacie Mullenbach (No. 1 doubles); So. Aubrey Ackman (No. 2 or 3 singles); Jr. Hailey Villar (No. 2 or 3 singles, No. 2 doubles); Sr. Anna Sun (No. 3 singles, No. 2 doubles).

Outlook: John Marshall has a nice blend of upper- and underclassmen playing this season. The Rockets showed that they had some skill in doubles last year and hope to show that off again this season. JM also has a get-along bunch. "We will continue to focus on a team-first mentality, while achieving both team and individual performance goals," JM co-head coach Elizabeth Fink said. "At the end of the day, our players' goals are to evaluate if they've left everything on the court, focused on controllable aspects and determine areas for improvement."

Head coach: Jeff Demary. Assistant: Avanish Misra.

Last season: 21-3 overall and finished fourth at state. Lost 5-2 to Mounds View in the third-place match. Singles player Claire Loftus lost in the state individual quarterfinals.

Top returners: So. Claire Loftus (Section 1AA champion, lost in state quarterfinals); 8th-grader Aoife Loftus (No. 2 singles); Sr. Jorden Ruskell (No. 1 doubles); So. Keely Ryder (singles or No. 1 doubles); Fr. Ana Christina Medina (singles, Lourdes transfer)

Outlook: The Spartans are young but also incredibly talented and driven. Sisters Claire Loftus (sophomore) and Aoife Loftus (eighth-grader) give Mayo two of the top 15 players in the state. Claire is likely a top-five player. Mayo extends far beyond those two, however, which is what makes it so good. The Spartans have six players who will contend for one of the four singles spots and their doubles are also loaded. Mayo graduated just one player from last year's team, which was ranked as high as No. 2 in the state. "This may be the deepest team Mayo has ever had with 15 players vying for varsity spots," Mayo coach Jeff Demaray said. "The challenge will be who ends up earning the last varsity doubles position."

Head coach: Ben Maes. Assistant: Joe Boyer.

Last season: 17-5 overall and finished fifth at state. Beat Pine City 5-2 in fifth-place match. Ryann Witter was third in singles at the state individual tournament. Doubles team of Taylor Elliott/Elyse Palen was second at state; doubles team of Caroline Daly/Erin Witter was sixth.

Top returners: Sr., Ryann Witter (No. 1 singles, 3rd place state individual singles); Jr. Caroline Daly (No. 2 singles); Jr. Erin Witter (No. 3 singles); Jr. Elyse Palen (No. 1 doubles, 2nd place state individual doubles); Jr. Taylor Elliott (No. 1 doubles, 2nd place state individual doubles).

Outlook: The Eagles are among the favorites to capture the Class A state team championship this season. They lost 5-2 a year ago to eventual champion Blake in the first round of the state team tournament. Lourdes is loaded with seasoned players, including No. 1 singles player Ryann Witter. The senior will be among the top five players in state Class A this season. Lourdes' concentration is on doubles. It will focus on them with Ben Maes as its head coach. Maes replaces David Pettengill, who stepped down at the completion of last season. Maes has been the head Century boys team coach. "If we can get better at doubles we greatly improve our chances at state," Maes said. "We should win our section and are one of the favorites to win state as a team."

— compiled by Pat Ruff —pruff@postbulletin.com