Oct. 25—MINNEAPOLIS — Never underestimate the heart of a champion.
That adage befit Rochester Mayo’s Claire Loftus perfectly Friday afternoon in the Class 2A tennis tournament singles championship at the University of Minnesota’s Baseline Tennis Center.
The Mayo senior went from looking exhausted and beaten, to a champion, beating a game Ava Nelson of Elk River 5-7, 7-5, 2-0, the final set abbreviated as Nelson retired after suffering from cramps in her quadricep late in the second set.
Loftus was the tournament’s top seed, Nelson No. 3.
It left Loftus a perfect 32-0 on the season and provided the senior a second straight state championship.
“Obviously, it was the state final and I had to bring the energy to play my best tennis,” Loftus said. “Regardless of the results, I needed to do it because this would be the last match of my high school career. I had to bring it all.”
Loftus had every right to be exhausted. In Friday’s semifinals, she was taken to three sets before beating Eagan’s Cassandra Li.
Two hours later came the title bout with Nelson, who Friday morning in the other semifinal prevailed in straight sets over Loftus’ sophomore sister Aoife.
That meant Nelson was relatively fresh for the final. And Claire Loftus? Not so much.
“It had been a long week of tennis,” said Loftus, who had played seven matches in four days, including three Tuesday and Wednesday in helping Mayo to its second straight team championship
“It had been physically and mentally pretty exhausting,” Loftus said. “And then I had that long match with (Cassandra Lli). It made it challenging to bounce back.”
But she did.
After losing a 4-0 lead in the first set against Nelson, and dropping it 7-5, Loftus called on all of her reserves to defend her championship.
Gradually, her energy returned, looking inspired as her strategy to now be the assertive one in directing points and also to more steadily charge the net began paying big dividends.
As Loftus bounced back, it was Nelson who lost her powers, in the end heading to the sidelines permanently with those cramps.
“Going into the match, I knew (Nelson’s) style was to be aggressive from the baseline,” Loftus said. “She likes to attack the ball. I told myself starting in the second set that I had to be the one to attack each point, otherwise, I’d just be defending the whole time. The change I made was just to be more aggressive.”
Mayo coach Jeff Demaray has coached girls tennis champions before. But in Loftus, he has one who stands alone.
Her skill, her willingness to battle and her leadership all make her uniquely great.
“She was amazing today,” said Demaray, who has had Loftus at No. 1 singles for the past six years. “Even though this was her seventh match in the last four days, she found a way to persevere and keep battling. She was really tired. She was running on empty. But she gave it everything she had. It was a credit to all the conditioning she’s done over the years (that she could fight back).”
And then he made his proclamation.
“Claire is the best player I’ve ever coached,” Demaray said. “And what’s so special about her is that she’s an even better person. She is a great role model, on and off the court.”
—Mayo’s doubles team of Keely Ryder and Malea Diehn finished third overall. The state’s defending champions from a year ago lost 4-6, 6-2, 6-4 to eventual champions Rory Wahlstrand and Reese Wahlstrand of Mounds View in the semifinals. It was a difficult individual tournament for sophomore Diehn, who was fighting a virus. Ryder had also been battling a cough and cold.
Ryder/Diehn beat Hastings’ Broolyn Keller and Reese Keller 6-0, 6-4 in the third-place match.
“I am so proud of the way those two came back,” Demaray said.
Ryder is among three seniors on the Mayo team, Claire Loftus and Charlotte Colby the others.
—In the Class 1A tennis tournament at Reed-Sweatt Tennis Center, the Lake City doubles combination of Therese Bauer and Rylee Thieren finished third overall. Bauer/Thieren lost 6-4, 6-1 in the semifinals to eventual champions Mach Sohre and Kelsey Jaeger of Maple River.
Bauer and Thieren then beat Minnewaska’s Megan Thorfinnson and Alia Randt 6-4, 7-6 (7-5 tie-breaker) in the third-place match.
Bauer and Thieren, both just freshmen, are part of a promising Lake City tennis future.
—At the U of M’s Baseline Tennis Center
SINGLES
Semifinals: Claire Loftus (Mayo) def. Cassandra Li (Eagan) 6-4, 4-6, 6-2; Ava Nelson (Elk River) def. Aoife Loftus (Mayo) 6-1, 7-6 (7-1). Final: C. Loftus (Mayo) def. Nelson (Elk River) 5-7, 7-5, 2-0 (retired). Third place: Li (Eagan) def. A. Loftus (Mayo) 6-2, 6-3.
DOUBLES
Semifinals: Rory Wahlstrand/Reese Wahlstrand (Mounds View) def. Malea Diehn/Keely Ryder (Mayo) 4-6, 6-2, 6-4; Astrid Kerrman/Raya Hou (Edina) def. Brooklyn Keller/Reese Keller (Hastings) 6-3, 6-4. Final: Wahlstrand/Wahlstrand (Mounds View) def. Kerman/Hou 6-2, 6-4. Third place: Diehn/Ryder (Mayo) def. Keller/Keller 6-0, 6-4.
(Includes Section 1 finishers)
—At Reed-Sweatt Tennis Center
SINGLES
Final: Chloe Alley (Minnehaha Academy) def. Fatemeh Vang (Blake) 6-0, 6-3.
DOUBLES
Semifinals: Mach Sohre/Kelsey Jaeger (Maple River) def. Therese Bauer/Rylee Thieren (Lake City) 6-4, 6-1; Ally Mersman/Madison Ward (Maple River) def. Megan Thorfinnson/Alia Randt (Minnewaska) 7-5, 6-0. Final: Sohre/Jaeger (Maple River) def. Mersman/Ward (Maple River) 6-4, 6-4. Third place: Bauer/Thieren (Lake City) def. Thorfinnson/Randt (Minnewaska) 6-4, 7-6 (7-5).
