Oct. 24—MINNEAPOLIS — Rochester Mayo junior Aoife Loftus is keeping it within the family.
For the third straight year, the top prize in the biggest class of girls tennis will go to a Loftus. Older sister Claire Loftus won the state singles title in 2023 and '24, Aoife won it Friday afternoon.
"I'm just really proud that the singles title is still within the Loftus family," Aoife said. "I knew if I was to do it, it would not be at all easy. I was going to have to be super focused and work really hard."
There was one certainty before the championship action ever started Friday at the University of Minnesota's Baseline Tennis Center. It was that the state singles title would be staying within the "Mayo tennis family."
That became guaranteed when Mayo's Malea Diehn beat Minneapolis Washburn's Olivia McDonald 6-2, 6-2 in one semifinal and Aoife Loftus upset top seed Cassandra Li of Eagan 4-6, 6-1, 6-2 in the other.
Diehn was the No. 2 seed, Loftus No. 4.
"Aoife played incredible tennis all day today," Mayo coach Jeff Demaray said. "That was a huge win over the No. 1 seed in the entire tournament."
It was also a huge win over Diehn — 6-1, 6-3 — who is not only a teammate of Loftus, but among her best friends. It is something she couldn't accomplish just a couple of weeks ago against the fellow junior when she fell to her in straight sets in the Section 1, Class 3A final at the Rochester Athletic Club.
That was a day — and particularly a second set — when Loftus couldn't get her game together. On Friday, it was the opposite. This time it was Diehn unable to find a rhythm, while Loftus could do little wrong.
"It was hard to get an error out of her today," Diehn said. "She played really well. She was making a lot of balls. Her anticipation was really good. At the end of the day, I'm just really happy for her. It makes it harder and easier all at the same time to lose to such a good friend."
Loftus was able to take the emotion out of playing her close friend, as is her habit. When she is on the court with anybody, she is only after one thing — a win.
There is nothing but love when the match is over. But during it, Loftus is single focused.
"Winning is my No. 1 priority," Loftus said. "I don't have a hard time playing my friends. But off the court, it is nothing but love."
Loftus opened the day with a single thought. It was that she'd cherish keeping the state singles title within the Loftus family. To do that, she'd have to accomplish something she'd been unable to do the last two years. In successive seasons, she'd played and lost to Eagan's Li in straight sets at state.
But she regarded her chances as much better this time. That had everything to do with her having expanded her game.
"If you just try to beat (Li) from the baseline, it's likely not going to go very well," Loftus said. "But I am a different player than before. I use a slice now and have a lot more variety and skills that I can execute that I didn't have before."
She used them all against Li, then did the same against Diehn. In both cases, that worked to near perfection.
As Loftus reflected on her win, she couldn't help but give a major thank you to her parents. It has been them that has provided her the opportunity to excel at tennis, paying for lessons, transporting her to tournaments nation wide, and on and on.
This truly was a family affair, one that saw the state singles title won three straight years by one family — the Loftuses.
"My parents, they have provided me all the resources and support I could need," Aoife said. "I wouldn't be at the level I am right now without them."
In Class 3A doubles, it was Mayo's combination of senior Ana Medina and junior Eliana Elder prevailing in a marathon in the third-place match. Medina/Elder won 7-5, 2-6, 10-4 over Maple Grove's Amelia Larsen and Lexi Helmer-Jahnke.
In Class 1A doubles at Reed-Sweatt Tennis Center, Lake City's Therese Bauer and Rylee Thieren won their third-place match 6-1, 6-2 over Minnewaska's Alia Randt and Rachel Rankin.
Bauer and Thieren are both sophomores. It was the second straight year that Bauer/Thieren had finished third in doubles.
(Southeast Minnesota results)
—At U of M's Baseline Tennis Center
Singles
Semifinals: Malea Diehn (Mayo) def. Olivia McDonald (Minneapolis Washburn) 6-2, 6-2; Aoife Loftus (Mayo) def. Cassandra Li (Eagan) 4-6, 6-1, 6-2. Championship: Loftus (Mayo) def. Diehn (Mayo) 6-1, 6-3.
Doubles
Semifinals: Raya Hou/Lauryn Schenck (Edina) def. Ana Medina/Eliana Elder 6-3, 6-1. Third place: Medina/Elder (Mayo) def. Amelia Larsen/Lexi Helmer-Jahnke (Maple Grove) 7-5, 2-6, 10-4.
—At Reed-Sweatt Tennis Center
Singles
Consolation semifinals: Ruby Leach (East Grand Forks) def. Emma Siert (Lake City) 6-4, 6-2.
Doubles
Semifinals: Isla Dille/Molly Patten (Litchfield) def. Therese Bauer/Rylee Thieren (Lake City) 6-2, 6-3. Third place: Bauer/Thieren (Lake City) def. Alia Randt/Rachel Rankin (Minnewaska) 6-1, 6-2.
