Mahtomedi, Wayzata, Blake and Rochester Mayo set up Class 2A boys tennis semifinals

Mahtomedi senior co-captain Jack Allaben admitted the Zephyrs felt the usual nerves before Wednesday’s start to the Class 2A boys tennis state tournament at Baseline Tennis Center, but mostly, he said, they were bursting with anticipation.

“We were a little nervous, but more than anything we were excited,” Allaben said. “We were confident. Everyone had the mind-set that we can beat anyone.”

Mahtomedi’s 5-2 victory over No. 5 seed Eagan did nothing to dissuade that belief. The No. 4-seeded Zephyrs won exactly as expected, sweeping the singles, considered their strength.

“We win with singles,” Allaben said.

Zephyrs coach Aaron Freer said his team was confident coming into the tournament, having lost just twice this season. Who did the Zephyrs lose to? Wayzata and Rochester Mayo, the Nos. 1 and 2 seeds in the 2A field. Wayzata will be Mahtomedi’s opponent in Wednesday morning’s semifinals.

“We match up well with Wayzata,” Freer said. “It’s all about matchups.”

Wayzata showed off the talent that helped it earn top billing, sweeping Elk River 7-0 in the first quarterfinal of the day. The Trojans singles lineup lost just seven games in four matches. Interestingly, five of those losses were by Wayzata’s No. 1 singles player, Aaron Beduhn, who defeated Elk River’s Aaron Zoubek 6-4, 6-1.

Wayzata rolled through doubles as well, winning all three matches in straight sets. The Trojans’ No. 2 doubles team of eighth-grader Ethan Turunen and seventh-grader Tommy Prondzinski kept their perfect season alive with a 6-0, 6-1 victory. Together, they are 17-0.

The other side of the 2A bracket

Rochester Mayo defeated Eden Prairie 4-3 to advance to Wednesday’s semifinals to play No. 3 seed Blake.

Mayo’s girls won their first Class 2A team championship last fall. Was there support from the girls team to make it a season sweep of state championships for Mayo?

“No, not really. They haven’t said anything,” sophomore Tej Bhagra said. He paused and grinned, then said: “It would be cool, though.”

Rochester Mayo’s boys won Class 2A state titles in 2007 and 2011.

No. 3 seed Blake made a statement with its dominance of Becker, sweeping the final Class 2A quarterfinal 7-0.

No. 1 singles player Kai Chen, a senior, said the wait for the day’s last quarterfinal played right into Blake’s plans.

“I actually prefer to play an afternoon schedule. You don’t have to deal with all of the early morning stuff,” said Chen, who won his match 6-2, 6-0. “I think most of the team feels the same way.”

Chen said he wasn’t worried that Blake doesn’t have as high a profile as other teams in the field. He prefers flying under the radar.

“We’re confident we can beat anyone here, but we never expect to win,” he said. “But we won’t back down from anyone.”

Eyes on the challenge

An interested party watched Sam Rathmanner’s 6-0, 6-0 victory at No. 1 singles for Mahtomedi.

While the rest of his team was gathering and heading down the stairs at Baseline Tennis Center in preparation for a quarterfinal match against Eden Prairie, Bhagra was slowly putting on his shoes. Bhagra, the No. 1-ranked singles player in the state and the top seed in the Class 2A singles field, was distracted watching Mahtomedi senior Sam Rathmanner put the finishing touches on his 6-0, 6-0 singles victory over Owen Heidtke of Eagan.

Rathmanner has been ranked No. 2 at singles in Class 2A all season and is considered Bhagra’s biggest singles rival.

Bhagra is well aware that opponents have him in their sights. After he defeated Eden Prairie’s Zayden Chou 6-1, 6-0 Tuesday to run his record to 23-0 this season, it’s clear Bhagra is comfortable with his lofty status.

“I know I have a target on my back, but it doesn’t really affect me,” Bhagra said. “It gets a little feisty and there are some bad calls sometimes, but I just play through them.”

Does he enjoy the attention?

“Sometimes,” he responded with a smile, “it’s kind of fun.”

Class 1A quarterfinals

Top-ranked and top-seeded St. Paul Academy was even more dominant than its Class 2A counterparts, crushing unseeded Minnewaska Area 7-0, dropping just four games across seven matches.

Rock Ridge, a two-year-old high school created by merging of Eveleth-Gilbert and Virginia high schools, pulled off the first victory of the day by a lower-seeded team. The Wolverines, seeded No. 5 in Class 1A, swept the doubles and got a victory at No. 4 singles to clinch a victory over No. 4 seed Winona Cotter. St. Paul Academy and Rock Ridge will meet in a Wednesday semifinal.

Breck took its first step toward a 10th state championship with a 5-2 victory over Foley. The Mustangs picked up singles victories from eighth-grader Dylan Warn, senior Patrick Green, ninth-grader Enzo Petto and sophomore Rocco Zoya and enhanced the team victory with one by the No. 1 doubles team of Enrico Petto and Ben O’Brien.

Mound-Westonka made short work of Montevideo, rolling to a 7-0 victory and advancing to a Wednesday semifinal against Breck.

. . .

Brackets

Class 1A team | Class 2A team | Class 1A individual | Class 2A individual

. . .

Tickets

Cost ranges from $8 to $13. Tickets must be purchased online at mshsl.org/tickets.

. . .

Streaming

The Neighborhood Sports Network streams state tournament games. A subscription is required. Link to the streams here.