Minnehaha Academy’s Chloe Alley captures Class 1A girls tennis state singles title; Maple River duo win 1A doubles title

Minnehaha Academy girls’ tennis coach Jose Williamson described 15-year-old sophomore Chloe Alley as “one of the most cerebral players” and someone who is “really stoic” on the court.

But Alley had one tell. She smiled at her friends sitting courtside Friday at the Reed-Sweatt Family Tennis Center in Minneapolis.

“When I saw them, I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, my friends showed up,’” Alley said. “A nice surprise.”

Alley’s friends witnessed the top-seeded sophomore’s 6-0, 6-3 victory over No. 2 seed Blake sophomore Fatemeh Vang to secure the Class 1A girls’ state singles championship. The match was a state tournament rematch, of sorts, from last year when Vang and her older sister, Nana Vang, defeated Alley and Greta Johnson for the 1A doubles title.

With Friday’s title match, Alley defeated Vang for the third time this season, beating her in conference play, the Section 4 final (6-2, 6-4) and now state final. Alley used her shot selection and powerful groundstrokes to take control of the championship match early, cruising to the first set while surrendering only eight points to Vang in those first six games.

“All the shots I wanted to hit, almost all of them were going exactly where I wanted them to,” Alley said. “I was playing pretty good and how I wanted to play.”

But Alley’s unforced errors count rose in the second set. Vang broke Alley’s serve twice and got as close as 3-4 in the second set before Alley closed it out with a break and a hold, ending with a clean winner on match point.

Both players said they had nerves to start the match, and Vang credited her opponent for keeping her cool. She also noted how much Alley had improved over the past year.

“I also think I wasn’t as focused as I should’ve been,” Vang said. “I was just going for way too much, and then she just played her game.”

Williamson was also impressed with Alley’s composure in the match, but the coach still reminded his player at a second-set changeover to stay focused, after she excitedly told him her friends were there watching.

“They’ll be celebrating you when we win. Please, stay focused,’” Williamson told Alley. “So, I had to remind her of what her goal was and not get distracted with the fans.”

A pair of unseeded doubles teams from Maple River met in the Class 1A doubles championship. Macy Sohre and Kelsey Jaeger defeated teammates Ally Mersman and Madison Ward 6-4, 6-4.