MINNEAPOLIS — Malea Diehn wanted this. Really, really wanted this.
And now it’s hers.
The Rochester Mayo senior is a Class 3A girls tennis state champion. She earned that on Friday at the University of Minnesota’s Baseline Tennis Center, doing it in the best “do over” she could imagine.
For the second straight year, Diehn reached the state title match. And for the second straight year she was facing off with not only a Mayo teammate, but a good friend, fellow Spartans senior Aoife Loftus.
Those two entered the tournament as its top two seeds, Diehn No. 1 and Loftus No. 2.
One year ago, Loftus played an impeccable match and beat Diehn 6-1, 6-3 in the state final.
Diehn walked away from that one lauding Loftus for her superior play. But she also left feeling that she hadn’t played her best tennis.
That all changed on Friday afternoon.
“That was about as good as I can play,” said Diehn, who finished her season unbeaten after beating Loftus 6-3, 6-0 in the championship match. “Winning state is so satisfying. As soon as I won it, there was this instant joy that I had. After not accomplishing it last year, this just means a lot.”
There was a concern Friday morning that Diehn might not even reach the final. That’s because she had a heck of a time disposing of No. 5 seed Lucy Saari, of Forest Lake, in the semifinals.
Diehn owned a 5-2 lead in the first set only to see it slip away, ultimately losing 7-6 (10-8 in the tie-breaker).
In the end, Diehn — renowned for her mental strength — righted her ship. She took the next two sets 6-1, 6-2.
“I think losing that first set almost helped me,” Diehn said. “I was up 5-2, then she got me in the tie-breaker. But I didn’t let it affect me the rest of the match. In a way, it helped. I feel like I have good mental strength. I’ve done work on that. But staying calm has always been part of my character.”
What has also been a constant for Diehn is having powerful groundstrokes. But those strokes are at an entirely new level now. She’s put in constant work to make that happen, both on the court and in the weight room.
The 5-foot-11 senior crushes the ball from the forehand side especially, but also with her serve and her backhand. Diehn had it all going Friday in the state final.
Against Loftus, she started with consistent authority and never let up.
“She was capitalizing on a lot of points,” Loftus said. “I found myself on defense a lot. She was able to control points before I was. I had some opportunities to put the ball away and was unable to execute the shots that I needed at that time. But it’s Malea’s power that is her biggest weapon, especially on her serve. She was able to start her offense off of her first serve.”
The Loftus sisters won the state championship the previous three years. Aoife’s older sister Claire won it all in 2023 and 2024, then Aoife won it last year.
But there would be no denying Diehn this season. She was on a mission and never stopped until that first-place medal was draped around her neck.
Mayo’s doubles team a champion
The Mayo girls earned the “Triple Crown.” On Wednesday, they finished as the Class 3A team state champions for the fourth straight year. Then, Friday, the Spartans won individual state titles in singles and doubles.
The doubles champs were senior Eli Elder and junior Grace Pickering.
Elder, who landed third in doubles at state a year ago, went out in the kind of style that had her pinching herself.
With Elder dominating things from the baseline, and Pickering from the net, they beat Edina’s Bella Loucks and Sophia Zeng 6-4, 6-3 in the championship match. Elder/Pickering entered as the No. 1 seed, Loucks/Zeng as the No. 2.
“We had really good teamwork,” Elder said. “Grace is such a good partner. She keeps everything positive and we complement each other so well. I knew how good Grace was at the net and she proved it all season.”
Pickering was counting her blessings in having Elder as a partner.
“It was so fun,” Pickering said. “I was so happy that Eli and I could do this together and that she could go out this way in her senior season.”
• The combination of Century’s Zoe Zhang and Jasmine Yu finished sixth in the Class 3A doubles competition, losing in the consolation final.
Lake City’s Bauer/Thieren land second
The Lake City doubles team of Therese Bauer and Rylee Thieren just keeps getting better.
And the juniors are having the time of their lives doing it.
After finishing in third place at the state tournament the previous two years, Bauer/Thieren took a jump Friday at Inner City Tennis, landing second to No. 1-seeded Addie Berman and Abbey Perry of Breck. Berman and Perry won the title match 6-3, 6-2.
But in the semifinals, there was much for Bauer and Thieren — seeded third — to celebrate. That came in beating Litchfield’s No. 2-seeded Isla Dille and Molly Patten. It was that combination that beat Bauer and Thieren the last two years at state.
After having devoted an intense amount of time to their games, Bauer and Thieren got over the hump Friday. The Lake City duo beat Dille/Patten 4-6, 6-2, 6-4.
“We were just so happy to make it to the championship match,” Bauer said. “Getting second place, that was a very positive state experience. We have so much fun playing the game we love together.”
They made their jump with a certain motto in mind.
“We came in here wanting to have ‘focused fun,’” Thieren said.
Lake City coach Nick Dudley got emotional talking about his junior pair.
“I had a number of people come up to me and say how much fun it was watching them play,” Dudley said. “The way they conducted and handled themselves, I was just so proud of them.”
• Cannon Falls’ Livia Tennessen finished fourth in Class 1A singles. Red Wing’s Lorilei Hartman was fifth.
From left, Red Wing’s Lorilea Hartman, Lake City’s Rylee Thieren, Lake City’s Therese Bauer and Cannon Falls’ Livia Tennessen all had top-five finishes in the Class 1A individual tennis tournament at Inner City Tennis on Friday, Oct. 30, 2026 in Minneapolis.
Contributed photo
• At U of M’s Baseline Tennis Center
Singles
Semifinals: Aoife Loftus (Mayo) def. Rashi Singh (Edina) 6-3, 6-0; Malea Diehn (Mayo) def. Lucy Saari (Forest Lake) 6-7 (10-8), 6-1, 6-2. Championship: Diehn (Mayo) def. Loftus (Mayo) 6-3, 6-0. Third place: Singh (Edina) def. Saari (Forest Lake) 6-2, 6-3.
Doubles
Semifinals: Eli Elder/Grace Pickering (Mayo) def. Emily Leviton/Caroline Yang (Minnetonka) 7-5, 6-1; Bella Loucks/Sophia Zeng (Edina) def. Any Lowman/Allie Trolling (Cambridge-Isanti) 6-2, 6-3. Consolation semifinals: Nikole Nazarevych/Melody Le (Wayzata) def. Paige Dahlman/Danica Scofield) 6-1, 6-3; Zoe Zhang/Jasmine Yu (Century) def. Mikenna Peloquin/Sofia Kostinovski (Mounds View) 6-4, 7-5. Championship: Elder/Pickering (Mayo) def. Leviton/Yang (Minnetonka) 6-4, 6-3. Third place: Leviton/Yang (Minnetonka) def. Lowman/Troolin (Cambridge-Istanti) 3-6, 6-4 10-5. Fifth place: Nazarevych/Le (Wayzata) def. Zhang/Yu (Century) 6-4, 6-4.
• At Life Time Bloomington South
Singles
Semifinals: Sam Williams (Mankato East) def. Ellen Davis (Minneapolis Southwest) 6-3, 6-0; Elizabeth Payne (Holy Angels) def. Madeline Bergerson (Hill Murray) 6-2, 2-6, 6-3. Championship: Payne (Holy Angels) def. Williams (Mankato East) 6-4, 6-4. Third place: Bergerson (Hill Murray) def. Davis (Minneapolis Southwest) 6-4, 6-2.
Doubles
Semifinals: Kylie Southworth/Brielle Romasiewicz (St. Peter) def. Alice Johnson/Kiri Milos (Rock Ridge) 6-1, 7-5; Nora Rubischko/Brooke Gabel (Hill Murray) def. Louisa Cohen/Raina Prigge (Blake) 6-4, 6-1. Championship: Southworth/Romasiewicz (St. Peter) def. Johnson/Milos (Rock Ridge) 6-1, 7-5.
• At Inner City Tennis
Singles
Semifinals: Chloe Alley (Minnehaha Academy) def. Livia Tennessen (Cannon Falls) 6-0, 6-2; Elizabeth Shores (St. James) def. Reese Foley (Visitation) 7-6 (7-1), 6-3. Consolation semifinals: Lorilei Hartman (Red Wing) def. Ella Thorstad (Belle Plaine) 6-2, 7-5; Brianna Nelson (Yellow Medicine East) def. Ariana Quelle (Minnewaska) 6-2, 4-6, 1-0 (7-2). Championship: Alley (Minnehaha Academy) def. Shores (St. James) 6-1, 6-2. Third place: Foley (Visitation) def. Tennessen (Cannon Falls) 6-0, 6-1. Fifth place: Hartman (Red Wing) def. Nelson (Yellow Medicine East) 7-5, 6-3.
Doubles: Addie Berman/Abbey Perry (Breck) def. Emelia Klanderud/Alison Slama (Fairmont) 6-3, 7-5; Therese Bauer/Rylee Thieren (Lake City) def. Isla Dille/Molly Patten (Litchfield) 4-6, 6-2, 6-4. Championship: Berman/Perry (Breck) def. def. Bauer/Thieren (Lake City) 6-3, 6-2. Third place: Dille/Patten (Litchfield) def. Klanderud/Slama (Fairmont) 6-2, 6-2.