Boys state tennis: Mounds View’s Swenson wins in 2A, St. Paul Academy sweeps in Class A

Soren Swenson noted he had the majority of shots in his bag a year ago but they rarely bore fruit I would miss them over and over again the Mounds View junior revealed That doesn t work in tennis a competition highlighting consistency The truly elite players are the ones who can produce shot after shot one point after another That s what was required in Friday s Class A individual state final as Swenson outdueled Wayzata s Aaron Beduhn - - for the state crown in a matchup of the tournament s top two seeds Swenson s win came two days after he was edged by Beduhn via a third set super tiebreak in the band semifinals on Wayzata s path to a third consecutive championship What I learned was to just stay really solid and use my forehand to dictate points Swenson announced Solid was the perfect term to describe his play in the final Swenson largely controlled the first set and looked to be in cruise control in the second But Beduhn answered with multiple break points to even the count at - seemingly shifting momentum But Swenson recovered to break Beduhn s serve to reclaim a - edge giving him the chance to serve for the title And after going down - in his operation battle Swenson rallied He did so first with a series of overhead smashes a shot that can be demanding to capitalize on repeatedly But the junior did so even with Beduhn returning the first couple I was like for on overheads he disclosed and it really saved me Selected pressure-packed moments can cause players to crumble But not Swenson The ability to execute in such moments impressed his older brother Bjorn who himself won multiple individual state titles for the Mustangs He handled himself really well Bjorn commented He used the crowd he celebrated he did a great job Tied - in the final encounter Swenson blasted an ace at miles per hour to go up - I was just saving it the whole match just for that serve just to go get it he stated He won the next point to officially claim the championship capping a marathon week in which Swenson was tested numerous times but ultimately came out on top just as his brother suspected he might at the season s outset Swenson was a state-tournament quality participant in past seasons but not a championship contender That changed with his offseason work habits He s waking up every day lifting playing tennis multiple times a day He has worked so hard every day and it s really shown with the way he has improved Bjorn reported I unfailingly knew he had it in him It s constantly been in him from a young age in battling on the ping pong court in our basement I could tell that he s got what it takes It s cool to see his hard work pay off Related Articles A state softball Rocori tops Byron for title State softball Husom does it with bat and glove Champlin Park rules A East Metro Softball Athlete of the Year Forest Lake s Avery Muellner State boys tennis St Paul Academy finishes off fourth straight title State softball Champlin Park s Ava Parent walks-off White Bear Lake Between the stage the habitat and the quality of competition Soren called Friday s title bout the best match of my life The rest of which delivered on a family legacy that frankly Soren felt no pressure to fulfill Selected people definitely would he declared But for me I m my own participant And a really good one at that I couldn t be more proud as a brother Bjorn disclosed It s an amazing feeling Orono s duo of Anthony Perrill and Quinn Martini won the doubles title over Wayzata s Jacob Salisbury and Rishi Ranjith via a - - final Spartans soar Two days after winning a fourth straight unit title St Paul Academy completed a clean sweep of the Class A championships One year after falling in the final St Paul Academy sophomore Winston Arvidson completed his title quest with a - - supremacy over Rochester Lourdes Evan Ritter on Friday Arvidson left no doubt throughout his tournament run dropping just five games total across four matches It was an all-St Paul Academy affair in the doubles bracket as Isaak Senaratna and Allan Wang bested Spartans teammates Jacob Colton and Ben Macedo - - in the championship match Senaratna and Wang took third a year ago