BLOOMINGTON — No. 4 Rock Ridge upset the first- and third-ranked teams to win the Class AA girls tennis state championship Wednesday, Oct. 22.
It's the school's first title. Virginia was the state champ in 1989, the only time it or Eveleth-Gilbert won.
The Wolverines beat No. 3 The Blake School at Life Time Bloomington South.
They swept top-seeded Mahtomedi in an early morning match Wednesday to advance to the championship.
Rock Ridge narrowly beat No. 5 Fergus Falls 4-3 in the first round Tuesday.
Heading into the semifinals, Head Coach Kortney Rosati said the girls had a good attitude and plans to simply play their best.
“We were definitely hoping for the win. We were not putting it past us by any means,” Rosati said. “ ... We knew it would be a good match either way. We did not expect a complete 7-0 win. That was crazy.”
It helped the team felt they had nothing to lose. Their worst possible finish was fourth place, the same as their seed.
The Wolverines looked to carry the energy of a “good, clean win” into the championship, but Rosati said it would be a tough match.
“The girls have put in a lot of hard work to get where they are today, and I think this is definitely a huge accomplishment,” she said before the finals. “So, it’ll be bittersweet depending on how it ends up, but I think overall we’ll be really happy and proud.”
Thief River Falls was the only other Northland school competing in the team tourney.
The unranked Prowlers beat No. 5 Pine City 5-2 in the consolation bracket Tuesday afternoon, then beat Lake City 4-3 Wednesday.
The singles and doubles tennis tournament begins Thursday.
Multiple Wolverines will take the court, looking to also win an individual title.
