Girls Tennis set to begin 2022 State Tournament
Posted: Saturday, October 22, 2022 - 10:41 AM
Girls Tennis ushers in a school year-long of Minnesota State High School League State Tournament events when its four-day tournament begins on Tuesday, Oct. 25 and concludes on Friday, Oct. 28. The Class AA field will play at the Baseline Tennis Center on the University of Minnesota campus. Just more than five miles away in South Minneapolis, the Class A teams and individuals will play at the Reed-Sweatt/Inner City Tennis Center.
The team competition is played the first two days of the tournament while the individuals take over on the final two days.
In the Class AA team field, top-ranked and undefeated Minnetonka was awarded the top seed in its title defense. In compiling a 20-0 record this season, the Skippers recorded 12 shutouts. Minnetonka’s closest margin of victory this season was a 4-3 victory over Rochester Mayo on Sept. 28. Rochester Mayo, the Section 2AA champion, received the No. 3 seed for this season’s Class AA tournament and open the quarterfinals against Visitation. Minnetonka opens against Mounds View, the Section 4AA champion. Twice this season, the Skippers defeated Mounds View by 7-0 results on Sept. 10 and Sept. 26, respectively.
Edina, Minnesota’s most successful girls tennis program with 34 state championships from 1978-2019, earned the No. 2 seed in the Class AA team field. The Hornets are 20-1, their only loss a 5-2 setback to Minnetonka on Sept. 1 during the Lake Conference season.
In the Class AA individual competition, Minnetonka senior Sarah Shahbaz returns to defend her big-school crown. She is the No. 2 seed behind teammate, Kelsey Phillips. They could be headed to another showdown as they had in the Section 2AA final. Phillips, seeded No. 5 in the 2021 state tournament before finishing third, recorded a 7-5, 6-0 victory over Shahbaz in the Section 2AA individual competition to advance to this season’s state tournament.
It could also be a second consecutive season of championship sweeps in the Class AA field. Junior Karina Elvestrom and senior Meghan Jurgens are top-seeded in the doubles field. In 2021, Elvestrom teamed with her sister, Annika, to win the doubles championship.
In Class A, Breck returns to try and win the team crown for the second consecutive season and first time since 2013. The Mustangs, 9-6 this season, have not lost to a Class A team this season. Breck opens against Rochester Lourdes in the quarterfinals. On Sept. 24, Breck recorded a 5-2 victory over the Eagles.
Like Minnetonka, Breck is favored to sweep all crowns this week. In the singles field, junior Isabelle Einess is the top seed and teammates Petra Lyon, a senior, and junior Witt Mehbod are the top duo in doubles. In 2021, Lyon teamed with Ellie Pirtle to win the Class A doubles crown.
