Rock Ridge Tennis Tops Cloquet 6-1, Showing Strong Lineup Depth

Rock Ridge's boys tennis team handed Cloquet a 6-1 defeat Wednesday in Virginia, rolling to a 4-0 start that puts the Wolverines squarely in the conversation for another deep Section 7A run.

The Wolverines, playing at home on the Virginia Indoor Tennis and Pickleball Facility courts, swept singles play and collected two of three doubles points against the Lumberjacks. The margin was commanding without being fluky: Rock Ridge earned clean wins the length of the lineup, with both established upperclassmen and younger players stepping into varsity roles holding their own.

Senior Aidan Sandnas, who reached the state individual doubles tournament last spring alongside then-senior Grady Dimberio, represents the kind of returning experience that gives Rock Ridge's roster a credible claim at a sixth straight state team appearance. The Wolverines reached the state tourney in five consecutive seasons through 2025, a streak that has turned the program into a fixture among Minnesota's top Class A programs.

The coaching staff pointed to sustained preparation as the engine behind the early-season results, noting that the squad's commitment during practice had begun translating directly to match outcomes. That depth gives Rock Ridge scheduling flexibility as the spring calendar fills with midweek conference dates and weekend invitationals, where lineup rotation and endurance become advantages as meaningful as individual ranking.

The girls program set the bar last fall, winning the school's first state tennis championship in October 2025, the Wolverines' first title since predecessor Virginia High School captured the Class A crown in 1989. With the boys carrying a perfect record into the meat of the conference schedule, the tennis program as a whole is positioned for a spring worth watching on the Iron Range.