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  • St. Peter's Mitch Elofson returns a shot against Mankato West's Bill Leitch during their match Friday in St. Peter. Pat Christman

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April 27, 2012

St. Peter tennis standout Elofson focuses on the big picture

By Joe Tischler Special to The Free Press

ST PETER — The conditions were not quite ideal for a tennis match Friday afternoon at the Gibbs Tennis Center at Gustavus.

When winds are gusting that light tennis ball has a tendency to fly on you. For St. Peter senior Mitch Elofson though, all conditions are ideal when you are as good as he is. The cool, windy environment was no match for him and he proved it with an easy 6-1, 6-1 win over Mankato West’s Bill Lietch Friday.

St. Peter knocked off the Scarlets 5-2. The Saints swept the doubles matches and took two of four singles matches.

West’s two wins on Friday came from Eric Pipes (a 6-4, 6-1 winner over Matt Huber at third singles) and from David Pietsch (a 4-6, 6-2, 10-5 winner over Zeke Haugen at fourth singles).

Elofson is currently ranked 5th in Class A and is seeking his third straight appearance to the state tournament. He lost in the consolation final as a sophomore and lost in the second round a year ago as a junior. This year he hopes to make it farther.

“Individually, I want to win my section and then I want to win my first two matches at state.”

St. Peter coach Jeff Miller has been coaching Elofson since he started playing on the varsity squad as an 8th grader. He has seen his game grow both physically and mentally over the years.

“The biggest thing about him is the fact that I don’t think I’ve ever had a harder working player. He works on his game constantly.”

Elofson has been the No. 1 singles player for the Saints for three years. No matter who tries to take his spot, Mitch has always met those tests head on.

“We’ve had some contests to try to unseat him, but he’s always answered the challenge,” said Miller. “He’s played well with the top players in the state. He’s a fine, fine player.”

Every player knows what their strengths are. In Friday’s match against Lietch, Elofson proved what he does best.

“I’m pretty quick and I can get to most shots,” he said. “My ground strokes, in general, are the best part of my game right now.”

He even proves he’s pretty good at his weakness as well, winning points at the net, something he did well Friday.

“I need to learn how to win points at the net, volleys, finishing up points.”

Something he needs to learn how to do though is beat senior Connor Oberle from Holy Family Catholic. His only loss of the year came to him on Tuesday, losing in a third set tiebreaker. He also finished second to Oberle in the section meet last year. Elofson was also second in the section as a sophomore.

Despite his individual goals, Elofson cares more about how his team performs. St. Peter is looking to return to state as a team for the second straight year.

 “My primary goal is to make it to state as a team. That’s always fun to hang out with your team in the cities.”

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