The Rochester Mayo Invitational girls' tennis tournament, always the first notable meet of the season, took place Saturday. And, as happens so frequently, the results shook up the top of the tennis state coaches association rankings.
Chanhassen's Hayley Haakenstad defeated Wayzata's Kelly Yang in three sets to win the championship at No. 1 singles and take over the No. 1 ranking in Class 2A. In the semifinals, Yang defeated the previous No. 1-ranked player, Edina's Caitlyn Merzbacher, in three sets, while Haakenstad needed three sets to beat Minnetonka's Isabella Lambert.
For Haakenstad, she erased a disappointing loss to Lambert in the section semifinals in 2013 that eliminated her from a likely state tournament berth.
"But it's not something she's focused on," her coach Jim Mason said. "It's just business as usual."
Merzbacher defeated Lambert in the third-place match and dropped to No. 3 in the state rankings. Lambert, who was ranked No. 2, dropped to No. 4 in the rankings.
Lose the battle, win the war
Benilde-St. Margaret's co-head football coach Jon Hanks thought something seemed off in Friday's 27-26 victory over Chaska. But the ruling had been made and all the Red Knights could was move on.
Leading 20-12 in the fourth quarter, a muffed kickoff return by Benilde-St, Margaret's ended up getting swatted before it ended up in the end zone. Chaska fell on it for what was ruled a touchdown. The Hawks converted the two-point conversion and, within a few seconds of game time, a 20-6 Benilde lead had disappeared and the score was tied 20-20.
"I thought the ruling was that when a kickoff is not controlled by either team and it crosses the goal line, it's automatically a touchback," Hanks said.
Hanks said he talked with Minnesota State High School League officials, who agreed with his understanding of the rule and asked for a game recording to assess the play for themselves.
In the end, it didn't matter as the Red Knights won on a touchdown by Nate Barry with 1:41 left.
"It's just one of those things that happens," Hanks said. "I know the officials were trying to get it right."
Worth noting
In Breck's 44-12 victory over New Life Academy, Mustangs junior receiver Ramaud Chiaokhiao-Bowman caught seven passes for 144 yards and three touchdowns, kicked two extra points and intercepted a pass on defense.
