More than anything, setting lofty goals — and then reaching them — has always been the trait that defines Rochester Mayo’s Claire Loftus.
All-Minnesota Girls Tennis Player of the Year: Rochester Mayo’s Claire Loftus
The senior, who will play collegiately at Johns Hopkins University, led her team to a second consecutive team state title in Class 2A while earning the 2A individual singles state championship.
The Minnesota Star Tribune
December 12, 2024 at 12:00PM
The senior tennis player this fall concluded her high school career as a five-time state champion having captured two Class 2A singles titles, back-to-back team championships, and a doubles state title with her younger sister Aoife in 2022.
Loftus’ success on the court stems from a combination of natural athletic gifts and her cerebral approach to tennis — and life in general. She has unparalleled anticipation and the stamina to replicate her moves with limitless redundancy.
She also knows when to rely on her cognitive skills instead of her physical ones.
Case in point, her Class 2A singles final against Elk River senior Ava Nelson in November. After securing a 4-0 lead in the first set, Loftus saw a power-hitting Nelson roar back to win the set 7-5.
“She was able to find some rhythm, get some momentum from her fans, and was able to rally back. Definitely unexpected,” Loftus said after the match. “She was very aggressive and was not really missing. So made it definitely really tough for me to win points.”
Loftus knew she had to regain momentum in the second set. Her counter-punching style wasn’t going to work. She thought through the problem. “I knew I had to be the first one to attack each point. Just scrapping, playing defense the entire time wasn’t gonna work,” Loftus said. “So I actively thought about being more aggressive and making the first move on each point.”
It worked. She rallied to take the second set, 7-5. Loftus clinched the title when Nelson was forced to retire in the third set after trailing 2-0 and suffering severe cramps in her thigh.
A multiple state champion, speculation about her college plans took center stage after winning. As is her style, she waited to announce those plans more than a week after the state tournament concluded.
Loftus decided on Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Md. Her parents are doctors at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, and her mother is a Johns Hopkins graduate. Loftus had opportunities to play college tennis at a Division I school (Johns Hopkins competes at the Division III level), but playing at the highest level of tennis in college simply didn’t align with her long-term goal of becoming a doctor.
For Loftus, an academic superstar in the classroom, the selection of an elite medical school like Johns Hopkins was a no-brainer. She isn’t ready to abandon tennis quite yet, but committing to a DI program while preparing for the rigors of medical school didn’t mesh.
“Ten years from now, I see myself graduated from Johns Hopkins University, working in the medical field, and probably playing in an adult tennis league,” she said.
This season, the sophomore set the state record in the 50- and 100-yard freestyles with times of 22.38 and 49.20 seconds, respectively, in the Class 1A state meet.
