Mahtomedi ekes out win vs. Rochester Mayo in 2A

Mahtomedi coach Justen Seim stood and watched passively, arms folded, looking anything but nervous.

The Zephyrs were leading 3-1 in the Class 2A girls' tennis tournament quarterfinals, but three matches, all on consecutive courts, were in the middle of difficult third sets.

After his Zephyrs had sweated out a 4-3 victory over Rochester Mayo on Tuesday at Baseline Tennis Center at the University of Minnesota, Seim admitted it was all an act.

"I put on a good front," Seim said. "Inside, it was turmoil."

Mahtomedi's No. 1 doubles team of senior Hanna Shands and junior Alex Kent pulled out a three-set victory over Mayo's Kate Rosenow and Elena Cattaneo for the match-deciding point. Shands and Kent had lost the first set 6-1 but rallied to win the final two sets 6-3, 6-4.

Despite their teammates losing on both sides of them, neither player was aware of the importance of their match until it was over.

"That's probably a good thing," Kent said. "We would have gotten nervous. It's good to have a little nerves, but it's more important to have fun."

"I knew we could come back. We just had to get warmed up," Shands said. "I'm used to pressure from lacrosse. I play better when there's pressure. I can focus better."

Seim added that the victory carries more weight than normal, coming against an established program like Mayo's.

"We have so much respect for what Mayo's accomplished," he said. "This gets us to the point where now, people will see that we're here to play serious tennis."

Mahtomedi will play Edina, which defeated Mounds View 7-0 in Wednesday's semifinals. The Hornets, shooting for their 18th consecutive championship, defeated the Zephyrs 7-0 earlier in the season.

"But they were all tough matches," Seim said. "If anything, we can go into that match knowing we can compete with them. Not many teams can say that."

The next step for the No. 2-ranked Lakers is getting past Minnetonka. Coach Kris Schneider said her team is more confident now than they were in years past but even that only goes so far.

"I definitely think it helps for the older players, definitely," Schneider said. "But Minnetonka's really good. They're tough."

Schneider said she doesn't plan to address her team's previous losses to the Skippers in the semifinals.

"The older players, they know," she said. "The younger players don't need to know."