While the defending Class 2A champion Spartans are the large-school tournament favorites, one long-time tourney regular will not be making another appearance.

By Jim Paulsen

The Minnesota Star Tribune

October 21, 2024 at 10:45PM

Claire Loftus of Rochester Mayo is the state’s No. 1-ranked singles player and 2023 single state champion. (Rich Tsong-Taatarii, Star Tribune/The Minnesota Star Tribune)

For the second year in a row, the Minnesota girls tennis state tournament, which begins Tuesday and extends through Friday, will have a strong Rochester flavor — with one notable exception.

Rochester Mayo, the No. 1 seed in the team tournament, is once again the team favorite in Class 2A. The defending champion Spartans are undefeated (21-0) in dual meets and earned the No. 1-seed in the team competition happening Tuesday and Wednesday at the Baseline Tennis Center on the campus of the University of Minnesota.

Edina is seeded No. 2 in Class 2A while Mounds View is the No. 3 seed.

Rochester Mayo’s success is tied directly, as it often is in team tennis, to its deep and talented roster. They boast the best 1-2 singles punch in state tennis in senior Claire Loftus, the state’s No. 1-ranked singles player and 2023 singles state champion, and her younger sister, sophomore Aoife, the state’s No. 2-ranked singles player.

Claire Loftus defeated Aoife Loftus 6-1, 6-1 in the Section 1, 2A individual finals.

While losing to her older sister has become common through the years, Aoife admitted that playing Claire so often has forced her to improve.

“We play against each other in practice every day,” Aoife told the Rochester Post Bulletin. “She knows my game really well. It makes things really challenging.”

Two other Mayo players will seek additional state tournament hardware.

The doubles team of senior Keely Ryder and sophomore Malea Diehn, the 2023 2A doubles champions, cruised to a pair of straight-set victories in the Section 1, 2A semifinals and finals. The duo is seeded No. 1.

While all results in the Class 2A tournament seem destined to go through Rochester Mayo, the Class 1A tournament is missing a very familiar name.

Rochester Lourdes, a 14-time 1A team champion, followed a difficult regular season with a loss in the Section 1 playoffs, eliminating them from the postseason. This will be the first time in 30 years that Lourdes didn’t qualify for the Class 1A team tournament.

Waseca won the Section 1 title. The Blue Jays will meet defending champion and No. 1-seed Blake in Tuesday’s quarterfinals. Crookston is the No. 2-seed and Litchfield is No. 3

The 1A tournament takes place at the Reed-Sweatt Family Tennis Center in south Minneapolis.