Mayo, Lourdes primed for what's next: state tennis tournament

Jun. 5—ROCHESTER — No, Mayo is not favored to win its first Class AA boys state tennis title since 2011.

That distinction belongs to No. 1 seed and unbeaten Wayzata, a team that beat Mayo 4-3 earlier this season.

But do the No. 2-seeded Spartans feel like they have a real chance to finish as state champions for the first time in 12 years? Yes, they sure do.

Mayo has a lot in place. That includes having the No. 5-ranked player in the state on its side, freshman Tej Bhagra. It also includes having a bunch of players with one or zero losses this season, No. 4 singles player Ian Li and the No. 3 doubles team of Zach Thomas and Daniel Meunier in that spotless group.

But maybe most important of all when it comes to this 19-1 Mayo outfit is its experience. The Spartans returned nine of their top 10 players from last year's fourth-place state tournament team.

So, when it shows up at the University of Minnesota's Baseline Tennis Center to play Eagan at noon Tuesday in the first round of the tournament, there will be no shock and awe. Mayo coach Jeff Demaray is sure of that.

"We have a veteran team," Demaray said. "We know what to expect. So we should come out of the gates quickly."

The Spartans enter the state meet in a favorable position. That has to do with Blake having slipped past a slightly injured Edina team in its section final. Edina was ranked No. 2 in the state and seemed like a tough matchup for No. 3-ranked Mayo had the two eventually met in Wednesday morning's state semifinals.

It was Edina's heavy hitting singles lineup that had Demaray nervous. But now, if Mayo is fortunate enough to take care of business against Eagan, it would next likely play Blake. The Bears are seeded third in the state tournament, Mayo second.

Still, Demaray knows that there will be nothing easy about that dual either, if it comes to fruition.

"I think we match up better with Blake than Edina, but Blake has a great team, too," Demaray said. "But our focus has to be on whoever we are playing first. We want to really prepare for (Eagan)."

Mayo has been playing its best tennis late in the year. In the Section 1AA semifinals it routed Owatonna 7-0, then beat No. 10-ranked Lakeville North by the same shutout score.

The Spartans are in a groove and feeling solid behind an experienced team led by seniors such as Phil Wisniewski, Ben Erickson, Caleb Neisen and Thomas. Rarely has Demaray felt more confident about a group than this one.

"We are strong at all (seven) spots and every one of them has a heck of a record," Demaray said. "Plus, I really like the way we are playing right now. We're peaking at the right time."

This would seem to be a first, Lourdes entering the Class A state boys tennis tournament with as many losses as wins.

The Eagles, ranked third in Class A and state bound for the 16th straight year, are 10-10 overall.

So, what happened?

Well, the schedule was difficult, the Eagles were trying to get things figured out after graduating six crucial seniors a year ago, and it took awhile. Lumps were taken as they lost a bunch of duals by the smallest of margins.

But now, two months into the season and after lots of listening and learning from their coach, Steve Tacl, they're acting and playing like a typical Lourdes bunch, a large compliment considering this is a 16-year state tournament run the Eagles are on.

Never did that evolution show more than May 23 when it beat Schaeffer Academy 4-3 in the Section 1A final. This was the same Schaeffer team that had taken Lourdes down 4-3 earlier in the season.

"Against Schaeffer this time, it was more that we sort of embraced the big moments," Tacl said. "For the most part, when we got down in sets against them this last time, we battled back. We just had a lot of positions where we did a good job of not worrying about the score and performed well."

Tacl is banking on his team taking the same approach when it begins state tournament play at 8 a.m.Tuesday, taking on No. 8-ranked Thief River Falls at Reed-Sweatt Family Tennis Center in Minneapolis.

A win there would land Lourdes in Wednesday's 8 a.m. semifinals against the winner of No. 4-ranked Rock Ridge (Virginia) and No. 7-ranked St. Peter. Waiting on the other side of the bracket is the tournament's obvious favorite, No. 1-ranked and defending state champion St. Paul Academy.

Tacl is simply hoping Lourdes can keep its recent momentum and get past Thief River Falls. For that to happen, Lourdes will have to resemble the Eagles team that played Schaeffer last, not first.

Tacl believes the most recent version of his Eagles is here to stay.

CLASS AA

—At University of Minnesota's Baseline Tennis Center

Tuesday's first-round pairings: No. 1 Wayzata vs. unseeded Becker, 8 a.m.; No. 4 Mahtomedi vs. No. 5 Eden Prairie, 10 a.m.; No. 2 Mayo vs. unseeded Eagan, noon; No. 3 Blake vs. unseed Elk River, 2 p.m.

Tuesday's consolation semifinals: Wayzata/Becker loser vs. Mahtomedi/Eden Prairie loser, 4 p.m.; Mayo/Eagan loser vs. Blake/Elk River loser, 6 p.m.

Wednesday's semifinals: Wayzata/Becker winner vs. Mahtomedi/Eden Prairie winner, 4 a.m.; Mayo/Eagan winner vs. Blake/Elk River winner, 10 a.m.

Wednesday's conclusions: Fifth place: Consolation semifinal winners, noon. Third place: Semifinal losers, 2 p.m. Championship: Semifinals winners: 4 p.m.

CLASS A

—At Reed-Sweatt Family Tennis Center

Tuesday's first-round pairings: Lourdes vs. Thief River Falls, 8 a.m.; St. Peter vs. Rock Ridge (Virginia), 10 a.m.; St. Paul Academy vs. Breck, noon; Benson/KMS vs. Foley, 2 p.m.

Tuesday's consolation semifinals: Lourdes/Thief River Falls loser vs. St. Peter/Rock Ridge loser, 4 p.m.; SPA/Breck loser vs. Benson/KMS/Foley loser, 6 p.m.

Wednesday's semifinals: Lourdes/Thief River Falls winner vs. St. Peter/Rock Ridge winner, 8 a.m.; SPA/Breck winner vs. Benson/KMS/Foley winner, 10 a.m.

Wednesday's conclusion: Fifth place: Consolation semifinal winners, noon. Third place: Semifinal losers, 2 p.m. Championship: Semifinals winners: 4 p.m.