Wayzata Falls To Mayo In State Tennis Finals

The Wayzata boys tennis team entered the Class AA state tournament with a goal of improvement. The Trojans, in their fourth consecutive state appearance, hadn’t advanced through the semifinals in that span.

They accomplished that Wednesday.

So even as Wayzata lost a 4-3 match to Rochester Mayo in the Class AA title game at the University of Minnesota Baseline Tennis Center on Wednesday, the Trojans shared optimism in their achievement.

“Hopefully we can build off it and become better people because of it,” junior Matt Halverson said.

The Trojans (18-5) fell behind 3-1 quickly in the match, as Mayo’s No. 1 singles, No. 3 singles and No. 4 singles quickly built the Spartans’ lead and left the team one win away from clinching the championship.

But Wayzata fought back.

Nicholas Beaty picked up an emotional 6-4, 7-5 win at No. 2 singles, fist-pumping his way through the final game before topping Mayo’s Connor Shives.

With two matches remaining—No. 1 and No. 3 doubles—the Spartans clinched the title.

Michael Poeshla and Nicholas Ackerman topped Wayzata’s Halverson and Ketan Kulkarni with a 6-1, 6-7 (5-7), 6-1 victory to solidify the championship.

Scott Vezzosi and Giuliano Kornberg finished off the matchup with a victory at No. 1 doubles to make the final 4-3.

For the Trojans, this particular trip was a stepping stone for the program. Wayzata defeated Mounds View 4-3 in the quarterfinals before topping Mahtomedi 4-3 in the semis.

“It was great to finally get past the semifinal round,” Kulkarni said. “We’ve gotten here so many times, so it was good. It’s kind of disappointing not to win it all, but it was great that we grinded out a couple 4-3 matches. We’ll be happy with our performance either way.”

Halverson said it’s been a fun ride.

“You’ve always got to battle no matter what,” Halverson said. “win or lose, you’ve got to take something positive out of everything you do and try to build off everything.”

Wayzata vs. Rochester Mayo

No. 1 singles: RM Thomas Nath def. W Dustin Britton 6-2, 6-1

No. 2 singles: W Nicholas Beaty def. RM Connor Shives 6-4, 7-5

No. 3 singles: RM Ingrid Neel def. W Michael Anderson 6-3, 6-2

No. 4 singles: RM Eric Rustad def. W Jason Lee 6-0, 6-0

No. 1 doubles: W Scott Vezzosi/Giuliano Kornberg def. RM Colin Rieke/Sawyer Bock 7-6 (7-5), 4-6, 6-2

No. 2 doubles: W Jack Graven/Duncan Sallstrom def. RM Brice Deschamps-Barrette/Eric Newman 6-2, 6-1

No. 3 doubles: RM Michael Poeschla/Nicholas Ackerman def. W Matt Halverson/Ketan Kulkarni 6-1, 6-7 (5-7), 6-1