Boys tennis state tournament: St. Paul Academy inches toward Class A repeat with dominant quarterfinal victory

The St. Paul Academy boys tennis team took another key step in its state title defense Tuesday, topping Breck 7-0 in the Class A quarterfinals at Reed Sweatt Family Tennis Center.

The Spartans were dominant Tuesday, winning six of the seven matches in straight sets. In only one set across the board did Breck claim more than two games.

The quarterfinal pitted the past two state champions against one another. Along with Blake, which is now playing in Class 2A, the three private-school programs have dominated Class A boys tennis for the past two-plus decades, with Breck winning nine state titles since 1995, and St. Paul Academy claiming five since 1993.

But, for now, the Spartans rule. While the Class A team state tournament is not seeded, St. Paul Academy entered the tournament as the class’ top-ranked team. It is on its current run while being void of any seniors in its lineup. Eighth-grader Zahir Hassan is the No. 1 singles player for SPA. Seventh-grader Winston Arvidson is at No. 2 singles. Another eighth-grader and four sophomores fill out the lineup.

St. Paul Academy will play Foley in the Class A semifinals at 10 a.m. Wednesday in Minneapolis. Foley topped Benson/KMS 6-1 in its quarterfinal match.

Rochester Lourdes, widely expected to be St. Paul Academy's biggest challenger, will take on Rock Ridge in the other semifinal.

The final will follow at 4 p.m. Wednesday.

Fourth-seeded Mahtomedi was knocked off by fifth-seeded Eden Prairie 4-3 in the Class 2A quarterfinals Tuesday at Baseline Tennis Center on the University of Minnesota campus.

The Zephyrs’ wins came at No. 1, No. 2 and No. 3 singles, with Sam Rathmanner, Brandon Pham and Jack Allaben all claiming victories.

But Varin Tangeti won at No. 4 singles for the Eagles, and Eden Prairie swept the three doubles matches to move on to Wednesday morning's semifinal against top-seeded Wayzata, which blanked Becker 7-0 on Tuesday.

Mahtomedi is well positioned to be back in a similar position next spring. The Zephyrs featured only one senior this season — Brandon Pham, who competed in doubles.

Second-seeded Rochester Mayo also delivered a sweep, topping Eagan 7-0. Owen Heidtke and Will Heidtke pushed the No. 2 and No. 4 singles matches to the third set for the Wildcats before the Spartans prevailed in super tiebreakers. Like Mahtomedi, Eagan is equally young. Charlie Stonecipher — who participated in the No. 1 doubles match — was the lone senior in the Wildcats’ lineup Tuesday.

Rochester Mayo will play second-seeded Blake in Wednesday's semifinals. Blake swept Elk River, meaning three of the four Class 2A quarterfinals resulted in 7-0 sweeps.

Like Class A, the Class 2A final will be played at 4 p.m. Wednesday. Whoever wins will become the fourth different champion in the four Class 2A tournaments played since 2019.

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