Rochester Mayo's Claire Loftus wins Class 2A singles state championship

Having spent the early part of the week leading Rochester Mayo to its first Class 2A team championship, followed by two days of competing at a high level for the individual singles title, Claire Loftus was tired.

She decided that if she was going to win a state title, she needed to be a little more assertive.

Switching from her usual controlled style, Loftus went on the attack to complete a 7-5, 6-0 victory over Eagan's Cassandra Li for the Class 2A singles championship Friday at the Baseline Tennis Center.

Li, ranked first in the state, and Loftus, ranked second, took turns leading the first set, and Loftus took it by winning the final two games.

But she wasn't going to go through that again.

"I was definitely feeling a little bit more tired so I kind of switched my game plan," said Loftus, who finished the season 27-1. "I told myself I have to play to win and finish the points quicker just to conserve energy."

Loftus swept through the second set and took her second championship of the week. Li admitted she lost a little of her focus when she lost the first set. She finished 29-1.

"I just lost my confidence and got a little impatient in the second set," she said. "I just didn't really believe in myself as much in the second set, and I probably should have told myself that I got it, I can keep going."

Mayo completed a sweep of the Class 2A championships when the team of Malea Diehn and Keely Ryder rallied from a first-set loss to win the doubles championship. They defeated Keira Kelly and Addie Bowlby of Lakeville North 4-6, 6-3, 6-4.

Breck senior Isabelle Einess completed a close-to-perfect state tournament by defeating Leah Maddock of Osakis 6-0, 6-0 in the singles final.

It was the second consecutive Class 1A state title for Einess, who has not lost a match for two years. She did not lose a game during the Class 1A tournament, and she is 49-0 over the past two seasons.

"It's kind of crazy. My dad told me I only lost 23 total games all season," said Einess, who will play college tennis at Seton Hall in New Jersey. "It's hard to comprehend. It just kind of happened from going out and playing hard."

She credited her state tournament success to her preparation.

"The most important part didn't happen in the state tournament. It was all the practice time on the court and in the weight room," Einess said. "My dad always says to not worry about goals. Putting in the day-to-day work will lead you where you want to be."

Blake's tandem of Fatemeh Vang and Nana Vang won the doubles championship, beating Chloe Alley and Greta Johnson of Minnehaha Academy 6-0, 6-2 in the finals.