MINNEAPOLIS — For a second straight spring, the Minnewaska boys tennis team has a tough draw at state in the Twin Cities.
Minnewaska, one of the three unseeded teams, kicks off the tournament with a match against top-seeded St. Paul Academy at 8 a.m. Tuesday in the Class A state quarterfinals at the Reed-Sweatt Family Tennis Center.
The Spartans, winners of the last three Class A state tournaments, are the top ranked Class A team in the state by the Minnesota Tennis Coaches Association. Minnewaska finished No. 5 for Class A in the rankings.
“I just saw the bracket and it’s not the greatest,” Minnewaska’s long-time head coach Tara Reichmann said Thursday morning. “We’ve got St. Paul Academy first round for the second year in a row, which is disappointing.”
Minnewaska’s state appearance is its third in program history and its third in the last four years with trips coming in 2022, 2024 and 2025.
Michael Lyne / West Central Tribune
And after losing one senior to graduation, momentum from last year’s state trip has fueled the young Lakers, who have three upperclassmen in the lineup.
“We’ve had a real successful season,” Reichmann said. “Our team, overall, gets along the best I’ve ever seen just with the mix of older and younger kids.”
Minnewaska is 18-6 and St. Paul Academy is 15-9, according to Tennis Reporting.
Both teams have quality losses and wins.
Minnewaska’s losses are to Class AA programs Alexandria, Bemidji, Hutchinson and St. Cloud as well as Class A programs Foley, another unseeded team in the Class A bracket, and New London-Spicer.
Michael Lyne / West Central Tribune
The Lakers have solid wins against Benson, Litchfield, which was ranked No. 7 in Class A, NLS, and Sartell, an unseeded team in the Class AA bracket.
St. Paul Academy’s losses are all to Class AA programs, including two to Blake and Wayzata and one each to Eagan, Eden Prairie, Edina, Orono and Rochester Mayo. Wayzata is No. 1, Edina is No. 2, Rochester Mayo is No. 3 and Eagan and Eden Prairie are unseeded in the Class AA bracket.
Significant wins on St. Paul Academy’s schedule are Breck, the No. 5 seed in the Class A bracket, Eden Prairie, Elk River, the No. 5 seed in the Class AA bracket, Mounds View, the No. 4 seed in Class AA, and Rochester Lourdes, the No. 3 seed in Class A.
“The biggest reason why they’re tough is because they play year-round,” Reichmann said of the Spartans. “A lot of those kids, they specialize in sports at those private schools and they’re basically tennis players.”
Reichmann has gone with a variety of lineups throughout the season and has not made a decision on which lineup she will play in Tuesday’s quarterfinal match, but she has to submit three.
Michael Lyne / West Central Tribune
Singles players Drew Bleick and Carter LeClair have had phenomenal seasons for the Lakers.
Bleick, a junior who typically slots in at No. 2 singles, has a 29-1 record. LeClair, a sophomore who usually plays No. 3 singles, has a 28-2 record.
Only two others have at least 20 wins for Minnewaska and that is senior Tenzin Dahl and sophomore Marshall Kopp. Both have 20-10 records.
Dahl, who typically competes at No. 1 singles, has played all his doubles matches with Kopp, who almost exclusively slots in at No. 1 doubles.
Dahl and Kopp compete in the Class A state doubles tournament which begins at 10 a.m. Thursday at the Reed-Sweatt Family Tennis Center. The duo plays Foley’s Aaron VanderWeyst and Jack Erkens.
“They’re just glad to make it to state,” Reichmann said.
Michael Lyne / West Central Tribune
(All matches are at the Reed-Sweatt Family Tennis Center)
Tuesday
– Quarterfinals: 1-St. Paul Academy vs. Minnewaska, 8 a.m.; 4-Southwest Christian vs. 5-Breck, 10 a.m.; 2-Rock Ridge vs. Redwood Valley, noon; 3-Rochester Lourdes vs. Foley, 2 p.m.
– Consolation semifinals: 4 p.m. and 6 p.m. Tuesday
Wednesday
– Semifinals: 8 a.m. and 10 a.m.
– Fifth-place: noon
– Third-place: 2 p.m.
– Championship: 4 p.m.
