2024 Girls Tennis Team Championship Recap

For as long as senior Claire Loftus can remember, she and her Rochester Mayo teammates, and the rest of the Minnesota high school girls tennis world for that matter, were forever looking upward at the Edina High School. And with good reason.

Since 1978 when the Minnesota State High School League’s Girls Tennis State Tournament became a two-class event, Edina has won 37 state championships, including a run of 22 titles in a 23-year run. The only school to interrupt that spree was Mahtomedi in 2016.

But over the past two seasons, Loftus and Rochester Mayo have flipped the script. The final act was played out on Wednesday, Oct. 23 when the top-seeded Spartans defeated No. 2 Edina 5-2 to capture the Class AA team championship at the Baseline Tennis Center on the University of Minnesota campus. 

It was the second consecutive season Rochester Mayo topped Edina for the big-school championship. In 2023, the Spartans won their historic first team title with a 6-1 victory over the Hornets. This season, Rochester Mayo defeated Edina twice during the regular season before one final meeting in the season finale. 

“It’s been an incredible two years,” said Loftus, the defending Class AA singles champion. “All of the players on this team have put so much into this sport. We’ve learned to prepare, to work hard and to battle. That has created opportunities to be successful. That’s what makes last season, and now this one, really rewarding.”

School spirit and the support of classmates was a powerful testament to Rochester Mayo’s success. Two fan busses were needed to transport students to the Twin Cities for the Spartans’ two matches on Wednesday. Following Rochester Mayo’s 4-3 victory over No. 4 in the semifinals, the students took a field trip to the Mall of America before returning to the University of Minnesota campus for the championship match. 

“The support of our parents, fans and community has been off the charts,” Loftus said. “To be able to do this against Edina makes it even more special and gratifying. We’ve looked up to them, literally, for years. They were a powerhouse and no one could really knock them off. For us to be in that position was really special. It is really amazing for our team. We all deserve it.”

Edina advanced to the championship match with a 5-2 victory over No. 3 Mounds View in the other semifinal. 

Class A

Top-seeded Blake was also a repeat champion following a 6-1 victory over No. 3 Litchfield in the Class A title match at Reed-Sweatt Family Tennis Center in South Minneapolis. The Bears swept the doubles matches to go with victories in three of the four singles matches to cruise to their 15^th state championship overall. 

The Bears (15-4) were tested mightily during the regular season. All four of their losses were to Class AA schools in the powerful Lake Conference: Edina twice, Minnetonka and Wayzata. 

Blake earned a spot in the championship with a 7-0 victory over No. 4 Pine City. Litchfield, looking for its first state championship in Girls Tennis, defeated No. 2 Crookston 4-3 in the other semifinal.