Minnetonka rises again to the moment, wins girls' Class 2A team tennis title

For so many members of the Minnetonka girls' tennis team, going out on top — state champions for the second year in a row — felt like the only way to finish the season.

The Skippers, the undisputed No. 1 team in Class 2A all season, made it official Wednesday when they beat Rochester Mayo 6-1 in the finals of the state tournament at Baseline Tennis Center.

"We definitely had to live up to a standard," senior Sarah Shahbaz said. "But that's good. It's nice to be known for how good you are."

Shahbaz, the 2021 Class 2A singles champion, paired with fellow senior Meghan Jurgens in the team finals. They made short work of their opponent, winning 6-0, 6-2.

The reason for Minnetonka's dominance is obvious: its roster is high quality top to bottom. Rarely did Skippers coach Brent Lundell play the same lineup two weeks in a row during the regular season. That simply made the team better, Jurgens said.

"Our depth really increased this year," she said. "It's great we get to spread our talent across singles and doubles. It's shown across all our matches."

Mayo, the tournament's No. 2 seed, did not make things easy. The Spartans were one of the few teams all season to play Minnetonka tough. Minnetonka won 4-3 and 5-2 in two regular-season meetings.

It was much the same in Wednesday's finals. Minnetonka built a 3-1 lead, but the remaining three matches were all tightly contested. The outcome was finally determined when junior Karina Elvestrom won a second-set tiebreaker 11-9 at No. 2 singles.

The entire Minnetonka team raced over to congratulate Elvestrom, including No. 1 singles player Kelsey Phillips, who was still mired in a tight battle with Mayo's Claire Loftus.

"I saw everybody run over to Karina, and I wanted to be a part of it," said Phillips, who a few minutes later put the finishing touches on her match, a 6-4, 6-4 victory. "I know Claire really well, and I knew she wouldn't mind."

Phillips, the top-seeded singles player in the upcoming individual tournament, is one of a handful on the team who weathered the hardship of not getting to play for a state championship in 2020 because of COVID-19 as well as the death of beloved coach Dave Stearns in 2020.

She said that finishing her high school career as a two-time state champion after playing exhibition doubles as an eighth-grader was emotional.

"I think eighth-grade me would have been proud," she said. "And Dave would have been really proud of me. I always think about that. During the season, after I played a really good match or fought really hard, I'd just think Dave would be super proud."

Minnetonka finished the season 23-0.

Class 1A

Rochester Lourdes took a big bite out of Breck's bread and butter en route to a 4-3 victory for the Class 1A team championship.

Breck has counted on doubles this season. Lourdes moved its No. 1-singles player, Ryann Witter, to the top spot in doubles. It paid off when Witter and Ellie Leise rallied from a first-set loss to beat Breck captains Petra Lyon and Witt Mehbod 1-6, 6-2, 6-4. That match broke a 3-3 tie and sent the Eagles to their first team championship since 2010.

Breck coach Katie Wessman had said her team wasn't built like the dominant group that won the team championship in 2021.

"We're a team that wins 4-3, 5-2," she said after the semifinals. "We're not a 7-0 team like last year. We're doubles-strong."

Breck ended the season 10-6. Rochester Lourdes finished 19-3.