Oct. 21 — ROCHESTER — Last year marked 26 of 27 years since Mayo qualified for the women’s national tennis tournament.
It is a dynastic mark. But before 2023, the Spartans were never good enough to do what they coveted most: win a state title.
Those days are now over. It was a thirst that was finally quenched last season, with Mayo beating Edina 6-1 in the Class 2A state championship dual.
Now that they’ve done it once, they want more.
Mayo is the top-ranked team in a state tournament scheduled for Tuesday and Wednesday at the University of Minnesota’s Baseline Tennis Center. The top-seeded Spartans will begin play at 8 a.m. Tuesday against unseeded Eden Prairie in a state quarterfinal matchup. A win there would put them in the semifinals Wednesday at 8 a.m. against the winner of the matchup between No. 4 Maple Grove and No. 5 Elk River. The championship game is Wednesday at 4 p.m.
Anything less than a second straight state title would be disappointing for Mayo, but also surprising. The Spartans are proven and good.
Mayo has three of the top 10 players in the state, including the top two. Defending state individual singles champion Claire Loftus, a senior, is No. 1 and her sister Aoife Loftus, a sophomore, is No. 2. The seventh grader is Malea Diehn, a sophomore at Mayo.
And if the rankings moved beyond the top 10, Mayo junior Ana Medina would likely find herself around 15th and senior Keely Ryder would also be in that territory.
It’s been a different year for No. 1-ranked Mayo, full of expectations. So far, it’s been up to par as he heads into the state tournament undefeated. That includes beating the state’s No. 2-ranked team, Edina, twice – 5-2 and 6-1.
“It’s different being on the other side (favored to win it all),” Mayo coach Jeff Demaray said. “We’ve obviously had an ‘X’ on our backs all season as defending champions. But our process hasn’t changed. We still take one game at a time and focus on the next point. We control the things we can control and that’s trying to improve as tennis players as well as mentally. It’s different for us in the sense that we are the favorites, but there will be quality teams. up there.
This is actually the second time Mayo has been favored to win it all, having also been top seed last year. But as a program that had never finished as a state champion, it didn’t really buy into that No. 1 seed until it made the deal.
Now no questions are asked. Now it’s up to the Spartans to live up to expectations by capturing the school’s second straight girls’ tennis crown. Mayo is ranked first, Edina second, Mounds View third, Maple Grove fourth and Elk River fifth.
“We’re pretty confident because we’ve been playing well all season,” said Mayo senior doubles player Charlotte Colby. “But there are some really good teams in the state, so we have to stay focused. There’s a little pressure being the No. 1 seed and the defending state champion. But we just want to make our best and have a lot of fun This season has been so much fun as a senior, I just want to soak in every minute of it.
Demaray has received plenty of praise all season for its three senior captains, Claire Loftus, Ryder and Colby. Their leadership, he says, is extraordinary.
This allowed this Mayo team to flourish and be considered arguably the best Mayo women’s tennis team of all time.
“The chemistry on this team has been incredible,” Demaray said. “Our captains have done a phenomenal job. They are so supportive of all of our players. They have been great leaders, on and off the field, hosting different sleepovers and bonding events. It’s great to see. The camaraderie has was incredible. I can’t thank these captains enough.”
Demaray also extends his thanks to what he calls the “Mayo tennis family.” That is, all the close-knit Mayo tennis players and parents who are a part of the program now and have been a part of it in the past.
It’s these players and parents from long ago and not so long ago who helped make this program what it has become.
That is, one that aims to prove that this is currently the best girls tennis program in the state.
