Tennis: Eagan eager for postseason

Having one singles player with "hands like John McEnroe," another that is a "grinder" and eight "very good" doubles players, coach Mike Remington and Eagan's tennis team tied for the Lake Conference championship for the second year in a row.

That's all well and good for the Wildcats, but their focus now is forgetting about this regular season and beginning anew with the Class 2A, Section 3 team tournament, which is underway.

Eagan will open its section play Thursday, after receiving the No. 2 seed and a first-round bye. The Wildcats' opponent was determined after this story went to print.

Regardless, one thing is for sure: Eagan will not have to play Rochester Mayo this spring in the section tournament. The Wildcats were moved out of the Spartans' section this season. Mayo defeated Eagan for the section championship the past two seasons, then went on to finish third and first, respectively, at the state tournament.

Instead, this season the Wildcats likely will have to get through top-seed Henry Sibley for a trip to state. While the Warriors aren't as strong as those Mayo teams of the past couple years, they've shown they will be a force. Henry Sibley beat Eagan 4-3 earlier this season, one of just two losses for the Wildcats so far.

"Mayo is the type of team you want to stay away from as long as you can," Remington said. "But Henry Sibley is the same way; they're the reigning [section] champs so you take your hat off to them.

"It's a different look for us, though, and there's no Sibley aura for our kids like Mayo had."

Eagan's singles lineup should continue to hold strong. The four -- all underclassmen -- have carried the team all season, winning three or four points every match.

The group is led by sophomore Justin Abrams (the one with McEnroe-like hands) and junior Derek Taylor (the grinder).

Taylor, though, enters the postseason on a bit of a losing skid having lost four of six matches at No. 2 singles.

He admits that the mental side of the game has gotten to him of late, but he's vowing to let it go.

"I started out so well, I kind of got into a mindset of a guaranteed win," he said. "Then I hit a rough spot. To get over the hump, I can't let up now. For me, this is like starting over new."

Eagan's doubles players might want to take that approach, too.

All are fine players, Remington said. But he also said so far no two players have stepped up and shown they can be the best combination.

"We're fine," senior doubles player Bobby Weinberger said. "The pressure [doubles players] have keeps us going, keeps us motivated. We know we have a lot of talent."

Believing it can defeat a team such as Henry Sibley, or anyone else for that matter, has Eagan looking forward to this week of tennis. It's almost as if the aforementioned pressure is already off.

"It's fantastic," Taylor said of the section switch. "It's maybe the best thing to happen to Eagan tennis so far."