The spotlight shone on Rochester Century senior Jessie Aney on Tuesday, and with good reason.
Aney, whose tennis résumé is more impressive than her slicing backhand, was lured by the members of the Rochester Century boys' tennis team to play with them in hopes of a winning a state tournament berth. She won the 2011 Class 2A girls' singles and 2012 girls' doubles championships and has accepted a tennis scholarship to North Carolina.
The move worked when the Panthers ousted longtime champion Rochester Mayo in the Section 1 finals.
"I thought coming into this season there were four teams that could win [the section]," Century coach Nick Crossley said. "Getting Jessie kind of put us over the edge."
With Aney playing No. 1 singles on Tuesday and setting the tone for the rest of the team, the Panthers continued their roll, defeating Edina 6-1 in the Class 2A team quarterfinals at Baseline Tennis Center in Minneapolis. Aney defeated Edina's Michael O'Neil 6-2, 6-2, keying a Century sweep of all four singles matches.
"You can't get anything by her on the baseline," O'Neil said. "She's just a really, really good player.
While Aney was a reluctant center of attention — "I didn't do this for me," she said — another vital piece of the Century puzzle didn't even get to pick up a racquet Tuesday, relegated to cheering his Century teammates on.
Senior Branden Yates is one of the Panthers' captains, and, before Aney's arrival, was expected to contribute at No. 3 doubles.
But the team needed something to give it an advantage. Knowing Jessie was available, Yates and teammate Nick Aney, Jessie's brother, concocted a plan.
"Nick and I, we sat down with her at Buffalo Wild Wings and told how much we needed her on the team," Yates said.
What he didn't mention was that he was orchestrating his own demise. The addition of Aney meant someone was going to be forced out of the lineup. That someone was Yates.
"I don't look at it like she forced me off the team," the affable senior said. "I could have worked harder and beat out some of the guys ahead of me. But I'm a captain and I want what's best for the team. We needed her and she's been great to have."
To Crossley, Yates' sacrifice is the linchpin to the Panthers' remarkable season.
"I had no idea that she would play for us until Branden called me up and said 'I've got someone. What about Jessie?' I was totally caught off guard. Branden is a great story. All he wanted was to get to state, even it if meant it didn't work out for him."
Rochester Century will meet Mounds View, the No. 1 seed, in the semifinals on Wednesday morning. Mounds View routed Cretin-Derham Hall 6-1, the loss coming when No. 1 singles player Jake Trondson retired from his match due to illness.
For the better part of a month, Elk River players had been pushing a lineup that made coach Randy Ronning uneasy. Ronning finally relented late Monday and the move paid off when the Elks defeated second-seeded East Ridge 4-3.
The plan was to stack the doubles and lean on senior Josh Gearou, one of the state's top singles players, to secure a key singles victory. Its success depended on sweeping doubles and left little room for error.
"They team wanted it, but it made no sense to me unless we could be sure to get the fourth point," Ronning said. "We didn't decide until [Monday] night to do this."
It may not have worked had the No. 2 doubles team of Derek Williams and Jordan Haack not survived a first-set loss before rallying to win 1-6, 6-1, 6-3, clinching the victory. Williams, a senior in his first year as a varsity player, admitted that inexperience played a factor early in the match.
"It was a little nerve-racking," he said. "But we knew we needed that [team] point and it was do-or-die. What an amazing feeling."
The Elks will face Minnetonka, which defeated St. Cloud Tech 7-0 in the other Class 2A semifinal. The Skippers will be shooting for their third consecutive finals appearance, having lost to Wayzata in the finals in 2013 and 2014.
"We've got some unfinished business," senior Jonah Salita said.
In Class 1A, Blake remained on track to win its third consecutive championship, defeating Luverne 7-0.
The Bears will face Rochester Lourdes, a 6-1 victor over Foley, in one of Wednesday's semifinals. The other will pit Breck, which defeated St. Peter 6-1, against Crookston, a 4-3 winner over Hibbing.
