Jeff Prondzinski clearly knows how to build a team, having coached Wayzata boys tennis to plenty of success over the years, including three of the school’s five state championships. But he acknowledged plenty of trial and error in putting together the Trojans’ best lineup this spring.
He landed on exactly the right formula, leaning heavily on underclassmen and team-first players. Boasting a marvelous doubles lineup, Wayzata cruised to a 5-2 victory over Rochester Mayo at Baseline Tennis Center to win its second straight Class 2A team championship.
“Our depth is as strong as I’ve ever had as a coach,” Prondzinski said. “But I really didn’t know this would happen. It takes time.”
Wayzata’s doubles lineup went 84-2 during the season. The No. 2 team of eighth-grader Ethan Turunen and seventh-grader Tommy Prondzinski, the coach’s son, spent the season wowing observers by finishing undefeated.
“I didn’t really know that two middle-school kids could play that well under pressure,” Coach Prondzinski admitted.
Prondzinski said the result was fulfilling, because the Trojans won without a group of experienced veterans.
“We are very young. We only had one junior and two seniors out there,” he said.
Jeff Prondzinski didn’t undersell what the Trojans accomplished.