As a captain and a five-year varsity veteran, Minnetonka senior Bri Smith has no illusions about the meaning of high school tennis. Individual glory is possible, sure, but at the high school level, it's all about the team.
That's why Smith, a singles player for most of her high school career, jumped at the chance to play doubles with sophomore Theresa Tebon this season.
Minnetonka, the No. 2-seeded team in the Class 2A girls' tennis tournament, defeated perennial power Mounds View 5-2 in Tuesday's quarterfinals at the University of Minnesota's Baseline Tennis Center.
Smith and Tebon, who have lost only once this year, played their role to perfection, winning at No. 1 doubles 6-2, 6-1.
With a pair of eighth-grade singles specialists on the roster in Bella Lambert and Anna Letto, Minnetonka coach Dave Stearns thought the Skippers would be best served by pairing Smith and Tebon.
"He brought it up before the season, and I thought it was a great idea," Smith said. "We have great chemistry together. If it's best for the team, then that's what I want to do."
In fact, the only losses suffered by the Skippers came at the first two singles positions, where Lambert lost to defending state champion Summer Brills 6-1, 6-0 and Letto fell to Alexandra Kopiecki 6-2, 6-3, emphasizing the importance of all seven positions on the roster.
"From a team standpoint, a win at No. 1 doubles or No. 3 doubles counts the same as a win at No. 1 singles," Smith said. "Honestly, that's all that matters."
