The Eden Prairie High School boys tennis team is headed to the state tournament after an exhilarating 4-3 victory over Minnetonka in the Section 2AA team championship at Gustavus Adolphus College on Tuesday.
This marks the third consecutive year the team has qualified for the state tournament, which will take place June 4-7 at the Baseline Tennis Center at the University of Minnesota.
Eagles boys tennis head coach Brent Lundell credited strategic lineup changes for their success. He explained that he focuses on finding the best matchups against Minnetonka, using the regular season to experiment with different player combinations in singles and doubles.
“I use the regular season to find that lineup best suited to beat Minnetonka,” he said. “Quite honestly, I don’t even know what our regular season record is because we’re constantly moving people around from singles to doubles, trying different combinations.”
The team consists mainly of younger players, with two seniors. The majority of this year’s roster is in seventh, eighth, or ninth grade.
Lundell has been the EPHS boys tennis varsity coach for three years, following a three-year stint as the junior varsity coach. He said this will be his last year coaching the team.
“I’m spread too thin,” he said. “I’m a full-time investment banker during the day. And my kids are at Minnetonka, and I’m just missing too much of their stuff right now.”
Comments
We offer several ways for our readers to provide feedback. Your comments are welcome on our social media posts (Facebook, X, Instagram, Threads, and LinkedIn). We also encourage Letters to the Editor; submission guidelines can be found on our Contact Us page. If you believe this story has an error or you would like to get in touch with the author, please connect with us.