For the second year in a row, the Minnesota girls tennis state tournament, which begins Tuesday and extends through Friday, will have a strong Rochester flavor — with one notable exception.
Rochester Mayo, the No. 1 seed in the team tournament, is once again the team favorite in Class 2A. The defending champion Spartans are undefeated (21-0) in dual meets and earned the No. 1-seed in the team competition happening Tuesday and Wednesday at the Baseline Tennis Center on the campus of the University of Minnesota.
Edina is seeded No. 2 in Class 2A while Mounds View is the No. 3 seed.
Rochester Mayo’s success is tied directly, as it often is in team tennis, to its deep and talented roster. They boast the best 1-2 singles punch in state tennis in senior Claire Loftus, the state’s No. 1-ranked singles player and 2023 singles state champion, and her younger sister, sophomore Aoife, the state’s No. 2-ranked singles player.
Claire Loftus defeated Aoife Loftus 6-1, 6-1 in the Section 1, 2A individual finals.
While losing to her older sister has become common through the years, Aoife admitted that playing Claire so often has forced her to improve.
“We play against each other in practice every day,” Aoife told the Rochester Post Bulletin. “She knows my game really well. It makes things really challenging.”
Two other Mayo players will seek additional state tournament hardware.
