Mayo looking good as it reaches state tennis tourney for fifth straight year
May 16—ROCHESTER — Again.
Yes, for the fifth straight season, the Mayo boys tennis team is the Section 1, Class 2A champion. Another state tournament berth is theirs.
It was no done deal when last season ended that the Spartans would reel off another section title, which they did Friday by beating Owatonna 7-0 in the semifinals and then rival Century 6-1 in the championship at the Rochester Athletic Club.
What left doubt was all of the senior talent Mayo was losing from a 2024 team that ultimately landed second at state for the second straight year to powerhouse Wayzata.
"We lost half of our players from last year," Mayo coach Jeff Demaray said. "That's a lot in one year. But credit to our younger players for working their tails off and playing junior tournaments and taking lessons and doing camps. They did it and, you know, it showed today how much they've improved."
Friday's wins upped No. 3-ranked Mayo to an impressive 20-1 overall, its lone loss to runaway state tournament favorite Wayzata.
Now, it's Mayo's time to make some noise at state again, which is June 3-4 at the University of Minnesota's Baseline Tennis Center.
Knowing how formidable Wayzata is this season, the Spartans have their minds on something other than a championship, though they'll never say never to a potential title.
"Wayzata is No. 1 and the rest of us will all be fighting for the No. 2 spot," Mayo No. 1 singles player Caleb Kennel said.
But that is definitely not the only thing that Kennel — a senior — is after. He made that clear after roaring to a 6-2, 6-0 win over Century standout Karthik Anand in the section final.
"The most we want to do is not win, win, win," Kennel said. "We want to focus on helping our younger players. We have five of them who were not (with the varsity) last year. They need to know how to play at state. The pressure matches (against the best teams) are the ones you want to play. When I was in seventh grade, I remember going against a Wayzata guy who was bigger and stronger than me and he easily beat me. But after that, I started to figure things out. From our young guys, we want to see determination. That is the mental battle. You have to want to win. That's the No. 1 thing we want to see."
David Teng hits the tennis ball about as hard as a high school kid can hit one. The Mayo senior — who will head off to North Texas University in the fall where he might play club tennis — showed off all of that power Friday in pairing with No. 1 doubles teammate John Trygstad to score a 6-1, 6-4 win over Century in the section final.
Teng, who uses his 5-foot-9, 220-pound body to pummel the tennis ball, spent most of the day overwhelming the competition with his sheer force.
He has a goal each time he rips a serve or a forehand, his two best shots. It's to end points in a hurry.
"I know I'm not the most consistent player, so I just kind of work on ending the point as early as I can," said Teng, whose freshman brother Michael Teng plays No. 2 doubles for Mayo and is also a force. "I like getting myself set up for that one shot that I can put in a corner or right at a person."
The latter is a scary deal for all his opponents. Teng's shots are fired that hard.
"My size helps," Teng said matter of factly. "It helps me generate that power."
Teng is not only feeling good about his own game, but he likes what Mayo has going on period. He says the Spartans are at their peak.
"So far this season, this is the most solid we've been, especially from the doubles I've watched," said Teng, who will be state bound for the fifth time with Mayo. "I know we're going to have a tougher time at state, but I think we've got a pretty good chance to do something."
Century coach Ben Maes is a self-professed big competitor. There have been times over the years when he's determined that his teams have not measured up in that capacity.
Friday was definitely not one of them. After beating No. 3 seed Lakeville North 4-3 in the semifinals and then losing to sizable favorite Mayo 6-1 in the final, Maes had nothing but good things to say about his team. He loved what he'd watched.
"I am proud of my team," said Maes, whose Panthers got a gritty 4-6, 6-1, 6-3 win at No. 3 doubles by Apollo Homb and Josh Borgmeier to help beat Lakeville North and a 1-6, 7-5, 11-9 win from No. 3 singles player Rowan Johnson against Mayo. "I'd talked before about us being a little too soft (some seasons). But this team is definitely learning to battle. They've done a good job over the course of the year of that. I keep telling them to keep playing every single opponent as hard as they can and as tough as they can. And they've done that."
Century finished the team portion of its season a robust 18-3, two of those losses to Mayo.
SEMIFINALS
Mayo 7, Owatonna 0
Singles: Caleb Kennel (M) def. Thomas Oien 6-0, 6-0; Noah Wisniewski (M) def. Asher Penn 6-0, 6-1; Al McKie (M) def. Landon Rahn 6-0, 6-0; Max Rivera (M) def. Tristan Gibart 6-0, 6-0. Doubles: David Teng/John Trygstad (M) def. Finn Loveless/Joe Zeman 6-3, 6-2; Daniel McKie/Michael Teng (M) def. Stephen Sennott/August Penn 6-0, 6-0; Nico Onigkeit/Noah Elder (M) def. Owen Kaytor/Jack Mottl 6-1, 6-2.
Century 4, Lakeville North 3
Singles: Kade Bishop (LN) def. Karthik Anand (C) 6-0, 6-0; Thor Sviggum (C) def. Reid Bishop 6-3, 6-2; Ezra Mahoney (LN) def. Rowan Johnson 6-2, 6-1; Riwaj Gurung (C) def. Carter Louie 6-0, 6-0. Doubles: Preston Craig/Ethan Tran (LN) def. Owen McMaster/Alex Cao 6-0, 6-4; Tim Schroeder/Mahadev Krishnan (C) def. AJ Henry/Grant Tran 4-6, 6-1, 6-1; Apollo Homb/Josh Borgmeier (C) def. Ryan Nguyen/Joe Lund 4-6, 6-1, 6-3.
CHAMPIONSHIP
Mayo 6, Century 1
Singles: Kennel (M) def. Anand 6-2, 6-0; Wisniewski (M) def. Sviggum 6-1, 6-3; Johnson (C) def. A. McKie (M) def. Johnson 1-6, 7-5, 11-9; Rivera (M) def. Gurung 6-1, 6-4. Doubles: D. Teng/Trygstad (M) def. McMaster/Cao 6-1, 6-4; D. McKie/M. Teng (M) def. Schroeder/Krishnan 6-1, 6-2; Onigkeit/Elder (M) def. Homb/Borgmeier 6-1, 6-2.
