By Pat Ruff

Post-Bulletin, Rochester MN 

MINNEAPOLIS -- The Rochester Lourdes girls tennis team is full of surprises.

After coming up with a stunningly easy 6-1 win over No. 3 ranked Staples-Motley on Tuesday in the first round of the state Class A team tournament at Reed-Sweatt Family Tennis Center, the fourth-ranked Eagles followed that by dropping a pair of 4-3 matches Wednesday.

Lourdes fell 4-3 to No. 6-ranked Waseca in Wednesday's semifinals, then fell by the same score to No. 7 Virginia in the-third place match.

"What it came down to for us the entire day was our lack of depth," said Lourdes coach Kevin Rust, whose team has just one senior -- No. 1 singles player Courtney Rust. "Both (Waseca and Virginia) were deeper than we were. We got exposed a little bit.

"But I am really proud of our kids for the year they had and how far they came. Our kids played their hearts out today. What it came down to was experience."

After having such an easy time with Staples-Motley, Lourdes had figured to land back in the state championship round. But instead, Waseca -- a team Lourdes had beaten 4-3 earlier this season -- slipped by it in the semifinals.

A Lourdes-Mounds Park Academy re-match had been anticipated in the finals. Lourdes beat No. 1-ranked MPA 4-3 in the championship last year.

MPA went on to beat Waseca 6-1 in Wednesday's title round.

In Lourdes' dual with Waseca, it was the Bluejays' doubles that did it in. Waseca swept all three spots and also got a win at No. 4 singles.

In the third-place dual with Virginia, Lourdes also got wins at No. 1 (Courtney Rust), No. 2 (Margaret Pearson) and No. 3 singles (Brittany Alexander), but lost everywhere else.

Lourdes' No. 4 singles player, Sofia Terzic, did not play against Virginia after getting sick following her match against Waseca.

The fourth-place finish is no shock for a Lourdes program that had won 11 of the past 12 state Class A championships. Lourdes, which finished the year 15-4, had an unusually thin and young roster this season.

SEMIFINALS

Waseca 4, Lourdes 3

Singles: Courtney Rust (L) def. Danni Collins 6-2, 6-2; Margaret Pearson (L) def. Briee Mercier 6-1, 6-2; Brittany Alexander (L) def. Abby Collins 6-4, 6-1; Taylor Nelson (W) def. Sofia Terzic 6-2, 6-2. Doubles: Lexie Ulfers/Hannah Flor (W) def. Kristen Brandhagen/Veronica Grande 6-4, 7-6 (7-4); Alicia Knoll/Tessa Krueger (W) def. Megan Jans/Annie Wente 7-5, 6-2; Abbyh Hoehn/Shanly Nelson (W) def. Lucy Hansen/Rachel Morice 6-3, 6-4.

THIRD PLACE

Virginia 4, Lourdes 3

Singles: Rust (L) def. Amanda Arbogast 7-5, 7-0; Pearson (L) def. Hailey Slatten 6-2, 6-1; Alexander (L) def. Alexis Gunderson 6-3, 6-0; Caley Westin (V) def. Grande 7-5, 6-1. Doubles: Casey Mauston/Katie Kingston (V) def. Jans/Wente 6-4, 6-1; Celsea Marquis/Amanda Babich (V) def. Hansen/Morice 6-3, 5-7, 7-1; Samantha Silcox/Taylor Gunderson (V) def. Brandhagen/Seah Buttar 6-7 (7-5), 6-3, 6-4.

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