Rock Ridge Boys Tennis Win Section Championship in First Co-Op Season

The Wolverines defeated Aitkin last week to capture the Section 7A championship in their first year as a program.

VIRGINIA, Minn. – Rivalries are one of the most important aspects of sports. It forces the teams involved to be better each time they meet or else you’ll be on the receiving end of some lengthy trash talk. But what happens when a pair of rivals now have to team up and play together? Well that’s exactly what happened with the Virginia and Eveleth-Gilbert boys tennis teams.

With the school district consolidation, the Blue Devils and Golden Bears are now the Rock Ridge Wolverines. And so far, so good as they defeated Aitkin last week to capture the Section 7A championship in their first year as a program.

“I think the biggest thing was once we got past that the blue stuff had to go away and the gold stuff had to go away, we kind of put our differences aside and had a great time joining together,” said head coach Jeff Mauston.

“I’ve gotten to know them over the years competing with them. But now to be on the same team with them, our friendship has just grown and we all enjoy each other. I’ve never been able to attend the state tournament so I’m glad they were able to take all our Eveleth guys and we’re able to participate with them,” sophomore Jared Delich said.

Rock Ridge will take on Rochester Lourdes in the first round of the Class A tournament. And despite the tall task at hand, the Wolverines like their chances of moving on.

“I think just having that whole team appeal with everyone working together and having a great coaching staff. They’ve been coaching for hundreds of years, these old guys, and it’s been really awesome having them around, too,” senior Ryan Scherf said.

“Knowing you’re playing one of the top programs in the state, their coach is a great guy and their program is awesome, you go in and the nerves are gone. So you can really focus and really try to play your best tennis and I think that’s what these kids will do. Like I said, I wouldn’t be surprised at all if we came out on top. They’re that quality of a group,” said Mauston.

The team tournament will begin Tuesday down at St. Cloud Tech High School. Rock Ridge will also have their #1 singles and #1 doubles players in the individual tournament beginning on Thursday.