Meet Edina's Matthew Fullerton, the Metro Boys Tennis Player of the Year

The 2023 season for Edina tennis player Matthew Fullerton was expected to be reviewed in two parts: high hopes for another state championship and the very real possibility of a memorable showdown in the state final.

It didn't quite live up to expectations.

A crafty senior with quick reflexes, Fullerton won the Class 2A singles championship for the second straight season, satisfying the "high hopes" part of the equation and making him the Star Tribune Metro Boys Tennis Player of the Year.

It was the High Noon-style showdown that didn't materialize.

Fullerton and Wayzata's Collin Beduhn, a 6-7 force of nature with a 130-plus-mph serve, were clearly the two best singles players in the state. Soon to be a college teammate of Beduhn at Wisconsin, Fullerton had defeated his close friend in the Class 2A final in 2022. Beduhn had gained a small measure of retribution with a tight victory in a regular-season match in April.

Another epic final was shaping up when the unthinkable happened. Beduhn, undefeated and ranked No. 1 in the state, was upset in the quarterfinals by Mahtomedi's Sam Rathmanner, ending the chance for a rematch.

Fullerton defeated Edina teammate Nolan Ranger 2-6, 6-3, 3-1 in the final when Ranger, committed to Penn State for college, was forced to retire after injuring his back.

Fullerton acknowledged that the state tournament didn't go as he had mapped it out, but he was nevertheless satisfied with his senior season.

He chooses to celebrate what did happen rather than what did not.

"Finishing out my final match against one of my best friends and my teammate could not have been a better situation," Fullerton said. "Even though he couldn't finish the third set out, it was still a win for the school to have two Hornets competing in the final."