Boys state tennis: Mahtomedi bests Eagan in quarters

Mahtomedi has been great this year when it comes to singles play. Tuesday was more of the same for the No. 4 seed Zephyrs.

The last time Mahtomedi faced Eagan was at the start of the season. The Zephyrs won that match 5-2 by winning three of the four singles matches. On Tuesday the Zephyrs won all four singles matches in Minneapolis at the Baseline Tennis Center. They finished with a 5-2 victory over Eagan in the Class 2A quarterfinals.

“We went into the match today knowing we could win in every spot, we just didn’t know where we would win,” said senior Jack Allaben of Mahtomedi. “We were a little nervous going into it, but we all had a positive mindset knowing we could win.”

Mahtomedi will square off with top-seeded Wayzata in the semis at 8 a.m. Wednesday back at the U. Second-seeded Rochester Mayo — who edged past Eden Prairie 4-3 in Tuesday’s quarters — will meet third-seeded Blake in the other semifinal at 10 a.m.

The title match is set for 4 p.m.

In the singles Tuesday, Mahtomedi’s Sam Rathmanner defeated Owen Heidke 6-0, 6-0; Brandon Pham beat Carter Michaels 6-3, 6-1; Allaben was victorious over Jack Gustafson 6-0, 6-1; and Will Lieberman defeated Will Heidtke 6-1, 6-3.

Their strength in singles showed Tuesday.

“Yeah. I mean one of our four singles lost to Eagan earlier in the season, so it was good that he turned it around and won it this time,” Allaben said of the Zephyrs being strong in singles all year. “He (Lieberman) has been improving all year and the rest of the singles were strong in general. That was kind of our plan.”

The Wildcats (17-4) were able to pick up two wins after winning sets over the Zephyrs (24-2) in doubles play. Aidan Wald and Zach Burge defeated Luke Poppinga and Will Gleason 6-2, 6-4, and Luke Roettger and Reese Nelson defeated Sowmik Garishakurti and Blake Prouty 6-4, 7-6 (4).

But Max Hendrickson and Eli Hendrickson were able to move past Jacob Braginsky and Omer Mitha in doubles 6-4, 7-5. The Zephyrs used the same lineup they have had all season long in their win over the Wildcats.

“We went with the lineup we have been using all year, knowing that everyone had a chance,” Allaben said.

CLASS A

St. Paul Academy is two wins away from a three-peat after the top seed bested Minnewaska 7-0 in the quarterfinals at Reed-Sweatt Tennis Center.

The Spartans dropped a total of four games across the seven matches.

They’ll meet fifth-seeded Rock Ridge in the semifinals at 8 a.m. back in Minneapolis after Rock Ridge upset Winona Cotter 4-3 in its quarterfinal Tuesday.

Breck and Foley will meet in the other semifinal at 10 a.m., with the title bout set for 4 p.m.

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