Lourdes’ Evan Ritter is a tennis state champion

Jun. 5—MINNEAPOLIS — For the second time in the last three years, Rochester Lourdes houses the best boys tennis singles player in the state in Class 1A.

In 2023 it was Marjan Veldic winning the state championship. On Friday, at the same Reed-Sweatt Tennis Center site, it was Lourdes senior Evan Ritter capturing the big prize.

It wasn’t easy. Ritter needed three sets and a game-ending tie-breaker to get it done. But he was up to the task, especially when it mattered most.

Ritter won 6-7 (7-5 tie-breaker), 6-4, 7-6 (7-1 tie-breaker) against North Branch’s Wyatt Helberg. He saved his best shots for the most crucial moments.

No time was that more true than the final tie-breaker. Ritter dominated it, leaving him with the state championship he coveted.

He’d been building toward this. As a sophomore he finished third at state and last year was second. This time there was no stopping him.

“To be a state champion, this is the perfect ending for me,” Ritter said. “Sophomore year third, junior year second. I couldn’t have been happy this year with anything less than first.”

It took the Lourdes senior a bit to get in a flow. He was taken by surprise by the depth and the power on Helberg’s ground strokes to begin the match. But gradually, the unforced errors diminished for Ritter and he won playing his style. That is, with aggression and force, especially with his serve and forehand.

He played power tennis and won with it. And he noted that his backhand had rarely been more consistent.

“Evan played really tough, especially in those moments that are the biggest difference makers,” Lourdes coach Steve Tacl said. “Throughout the whole tournament he played tough in the biggest spots. But give Wyatt a ton of credit. He makes a ton of balls and does some funky things out there.”

Throughout the match, Tacl was encouraging Ritter to play his own style, which is built around power rather than a defensive posture.

“I didn’t want him to back off and just grind,” Tacl said. “I think Wyatt is really good at that. Evan needed to keep his foot on the accelerator and execute. The message in the (last) tie-breaker especially was to go play your game. Go execute it. When you do that, the pressure builds (for your opponent). And they feel a little bit of scoreboard pressure, too.”

Tacl couldn’t help but think back on Ritter’s tennis journey, how he didn’t crack the varsity roster as a seventh grader, but from then on just kept building and building his game.

After his eighth grade year came real devotion to tennis and ultimately his assent to the top.

“I’m really proud of myself,” Ritter said. “And I couldn’t have done it without the people around me today who helped keep me motivated. Instead of lingering on past shots, they kept me going.

“The whole match, it was just a ton of fun. There were a lot of people watching and they were just so energetic.”

In Class 1A doubles, the Lourdes combination of Joe Palen and Andy Fink fell 6-2, 6-0 in the semifinals to No. 1 seed Allan Wang and Isaak Senaratna of St. Paul Academy. Palen and Fink were seeded fourth.

Winona Cotter’s combination of Hamilton Brewer and Logan Granseth also lost in their semifinal match to St. Paul Academy’s Winston Arvidson and Henry Cammack, falling 6-3, 6-1. That set up another match between No. 3 seeded Brewer and Granseth, and No. 4 Palen and Fink for third place. Those two teams also met in the Section 1-1A final, with the Cotter combination winning.

Friday, it was Brewer and Granseth prevailing again, this time 7-6, 6-4.

In the Class 2A tournament at the University of Minnesota’s Baseline Tennis Center, Mayo’s fourth seeded Caleb Kennel and Noah Ryder did not have enough to get past No. 1 seed Jacob Salisbury and Nolan Beduhn of Wayzata in the semifinals. The Mayo combination lost 6-3, 7-6 (7-5).

In the third-place match, the team of Kennel and Ryder knocked off No. 2 seed Max Skanse and Anthony Perrill of Orono 6-4, 5-7, 10-8.

CLASS 1A

Singles

Semifinals: Evan Ritter (Lourdes) def. Zack Lundeen (Redwood Valley) 6-2, 6-2; Wyatt Helberg (North Branch) def. Josh Cook (Minnehaha Academy) 6-4, 6-2. Championship: Even Ritter (Lourdes) def. Wyatt Halberg (North Branch 6-7 (7-5), 6-4, 7-6 (7-1). Third place: Josh Cook (Minnehaha Academy) def. Zach Lundeen (Redwood Valley) 6-2, 6-2.

Doubles

Semifinals: Allan Wang/Isaak Senaratna (St. Paul Academy) def. Joseph Palen/Andy Fink (Lourdes) 6-2, 6-0; Winston Arvidson/Henry Cammack (St. Paul Academy) def. Hamilton Brewer/Logan Granseth (Winona Cotter) 6-3, 6-1. Championship: Allan Wang/Isaak Senaratna (SPA) def. Winston Arvidson.Henry Cammack (SPA) 7-6, 3-3, retired. Third place: Hamilton Brewer/Logan Granseth (Cotter) def. Joe Palen/Andy Fink 7-6, 6-4.

CLASS 2A

Singles

Semifinals: Soren Swenson (Mounds View) def. Santiago Sanchez (Edina) 6-0, 6-0; Ethan Turunen (Wazata) def. Tarun Gopalakrishnan 5-7, 6-1, 6-2. Championship: Soren Swenson (Mounds View) def. Ethan Turunen (Wayzata) 7-5, 7-6 (7-4). Third place: Santiago Sanchez (Edina) def. Tarun Gopalakrishnan 2-0, 2-0, default.

Doubles

Semifinals: Jacob Salisbury/Nolan Beduhn (Wayzata) def. Caleb Kennel/Noah Ryder 6-3, 7-6 (7-5); Varin Tangeti/Zayden Chau (Eden Prairie) def. Max Skanse/Anthony Perrill (Orono) 7-5, 6-4. Championship: Jacob Salisbury/Nolan Beduhn (Wayzata) def. Varin Tangeti/Zayden Chau (Eden Prairie) 6-2, 6-3. Third place: Caleb Kennel/Noah Ryder (Mayo) def. Max Sanse/Anthony Perill (Orono) 6-4, 5-7, 10-9.