The Edina Hornets won their 17th girls' tennis championship in as many years on Wednesday, beating rival Minnetonka 5-2 in the finals of the state tournament.
The team beat Duluth East 6-1 in the quarterfinals of the Class AA tournament before crushing Rochester Mayo 7-0.
The championship capped a nearly perfect 13-1 season for the Hornets.
“Oh my god, it feels so good to do this,” senior Maddie Boyer, the Hornets' team captain, told the Star Tribune. “That was so nerve-racking. I’m so happy. And I’m so relieved.”
Coach Steve Paulsen told the paper his secret to success was never mentioning championships."That pressure will always be there,” he said. “So we never talk about winning. We set goals about how we want to play, and if we do those things, we’ll be happy.”
Edina's Caitlin Merzbacher is seeded second in the singles tournament. She defeated Mounds View's Alexandra Kopiecki 6-1, 6-1 Thursday morning in the first round. Merzbacher is scheduled to take on Apple Valley’s Malini Wijesinghe at noon. If she wins, she’ll play in the semifinals at 8 a.m. Friday.
Two teams of Edina players are competing in the doubles tournament.
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