MINNEAPOLIS — For Alexandria boys tennis teammates Donovan Rousu and Nathan Cook, the Class AA state boys tennis tournament served as a learning experience.
Rousu and Cook competed in the tournament at the Baseline Tennis Center in Minneapolis on Thursday, June 4, competing in the individual doubles bracket as the Cardinals’ lone state qualifiers.
Both tournaments consisted of 16 entries in both singles and doubles individual brackets, filled by the top-two finishers in each section tournament. Rousu and Cook qualified for state after finishing as the runner-ups in the Section 8AA tournament.
In the duo’s first match of the tournament, Rousu and Cook fell to Edina’s Thomas Loucks and Joshua Latour in straight sets 6-3, 6-1, moving into the consolation side of the tournament.
Facing off against St. Thomas Academy’s Drew Lindstrom and Bruce Sanborn, Rousu and Cook battled back from a close first-set loss to win Set 2. However, a slow start in the tiebreaker set allowed Lindstrom and Sanborn to captialize, ultimately ending the Cardinals’ state-tournament run 6-4, 3-6, 10-6.
Overall, Alexandria boys tennis head coach Nick Jansen was proud of the way Rousu and Cook, who were the top-two singles players on the roster, represented the Cardinals and knows their experience gained will be vital in the near future. Both players will be back on the team in 2027.
Alexandria’s Donovan Rousu prepares to serve during a high school boys tennis dual on Tuesday, April 21, 2026, at Alexandria Area High School.
Alexandria Echo Press file photo
“The duo represented Alexandria well and learned a lot that they can use,” Jansen said. “Just seeing them battle and fight was awesome and coming ready to compete every day and every point.”
Alexandria’s tennis season finished with a 19-5 dual record and a second-place finish in the Central Lakes Conference standings to Sartell-St. Stephen.
Wayzata’s Jacob Salisbury and Nolan Beduhn won the Class AA state individual doubles championship while Mounds View’s Soren Swenson captured the Class AA state singles title.
Minnewaska Area’s Drew Bleick reaches second round
In the Class A state boys tennis tournament, Minnewaska Area’s Drew Bleick was able to score a victory in the championship bracket at the Reed-Sweat Tennis Center on Thursday, June 4.
Bleick, seeded fourth in the field of 16, won his opening-round match in the individual singles tournament in straight sets over Breck’s Rocco Zoya 6-2, 6-3. However, in the second round, Bleick fell in straight sets to No. 5-seed Zack Lundeen or Redwood Valley 6-3, 6-2.
In doubles, Carter LeClair and Marshall Koep won the opening set of their match for the Lakers against Pine City’s Braden Berglund and Milo Rydberg, only to see Berglund and Rydberg bounce to win a close match 1-6, 6-3, 7-6 (6). In the consolation round, LeClair and Koep fell to Rock Ridge’s Colton Bialke and Aidan Sandnas 7-5, 6-4.
St. Paul Academy-Summit’s Allan Wang and Isaak Senaratna won the Class A individual doubles championship over teammates Winston Arvidson and Henry Cammack by retirement, while Rochester Lourdes’ Evan Ritter won a tight final over North Branch’s Wyatt Helberg 6-7 (5), 6-4, 7-6 (1) for the singles crown.
Blake Durham is the Sports and Outdoors Editor at the Echo Press. He joined the newspaper in September 2025 and covers various sports in Alexandria and throughout Douglas County. He graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire with a bachelor’s degree in communications in 2022.