Quantcast
skip navigation

Edina wins 2A team title in boys' tennis, Breck claims 1A championship

By JIM PAULSEN, Star Tribune, 06/09/21, 2:30PM CDT

Share

The matches were played outside amid the unusual heat wave gripping Minnesota.

Edina MT

Edina tennis players celebrated when they realized they had clinched the Class 2A boys' team championship Wednesday in their match against Wayzata played at Prior Lake High School. Photo: ANTHONY SOUFFLE • anthony.souffle@startribune.com

Going into the season, Edina boys’ tennis coach Gary Aasen was more uncertain than he had ever been in more than 20 years at the helm.

Tennis is a way of life at Edina, so talent is rarely a concern. But it had been two years since the Hornets had fielded a team and much had changed. Veteran players — senior leaders — were gone, having been denied a final season by the pandemic.

In their place were 10 newcomers, with experience limited to junior varsity where Aasen rarely got to see them.

“I didn’t even know their names. I had never seen them play a match because I didn’t get to see them last year,” Aasen said. “I had to break in 10 new guys and get them in place and see if they could be a team.”

Aasen leaned heavily into his five veterans Matthew Fullerton, Oskar Jansson, Luke Westholder, Otto Schreiner and Nolan Ranger — to lead the way to whatever success could be had.

Good move.

Edina defeated previously unbeaten Wayzata 4-3 in the Class 2A team championship match Wednesday, giving the Hornets their 24th state championship and first since 2009. The final score was a little deceiving as Edina led 4-0 and did not complete their final three matches due to the withering heat at Prior Lake High School.

Tennis Hub Headlines

  • A winner, even on the one day she lost

  • By JIM PAULSEN, Star Tribune 12/07/2023, 7:45am CST
  • Isabelle Einess of Breck, who learned from her one high school loss that she must deal with anxiety, is the Metro Player of the Year.
  • Read More