MONROE - The Cheesemakers boys tennis team lost a tough home-opener to Waunakee Tuesday, 5-2.
"We knew Waunakee was going to be tough," first-year Monroe coach Brad Saugstad said. "They brought back nine out of ten players from last year and they brought in a freshman at No. 3 singles. We knew we were in for a tough match, but we fought pretty hard."
Monroe's two wins came from freshman Taylor Soddy and senior Eric Knudtson.
Soddy knocked off Jacob Yaeger in the No. 2 singles match in a tie-breaker, 6-4, 7-6 (5).
"For Taylor to get a win like that, as a freshman, that's a very good win," Saugstad said. "Taylor plays a little different of a game than a lot of two-players. He's has a little softer of a game, a little more finesse. And he frustrated his guy quite a bit."
Knudtson needed three sets to dispose of freshman Calvin Clark, 4-6, 6-3, 6-1.
"Eric has been the fastest starter on the team this year. He jumps out fast in every set," Saugstad said. "He just has some trouble finishing them. But he finished those last two sets, and that's exactly what I want out of him. He was playing a tough freshman and he used that senior experience to his advantage."
Three matches went into a third set.
Monroe's top singles player, junior Carson Root, was one of those, falling to Gabe Stauffacher, 4-6, 6-3, 6-2. Root played No. 2 singles a year ago.
"As a freshman I played (first singles), so I somewhat have a feel for it. But it's definitely a big step up. It's a faster paced game," Root said.
In the final set, Root held on as long as he could. Trailing 5-1, Root continually kept Stauffacher from reaching match point. The final two games took nearly 20 minutes to be played.
"It was definitely tiring, but I wanted to keep fighting back because I wanted to win," Root said. "Tennis is a back-and-forth sport, so there are always momentum shifts. I knew there could be one and I started to get going a little bit."
Saugstad was pleased with what he saw from his best player.
"I liked seeing the fight in him. I liked seeing him in those last three games keep fighting and competing out there," Saugstad said. "He had a little bit of problems with his forehand and his backhand. But he was fighting through it. He'll learn from that and he'll take something away from it."
Monroe's No. 4 singles player, Jess Hager, fell to Alex Cordell, 6-3, 6-2.
The Cheesemakers' doubles teams were swept.
Top duo Patrick Gellings and Garrett Tschanz fell 6-3, 2-6, 6-0. Second doubles, made up of Jakob Baertschi and Christian Noregia, went down 7-6 (2), 6-2. The No. 3 doubles tandem of Luke Molinaro and Luke Andraski lost 6-0, 6-1.
"I'm pretty happy with how well we played as a team. We knew we were in for a fight today. Two-five isn't too bad. It's about what I was expecting," Saugstad said.
Monroe's junior varsity team lost, 5-3.
"We knew Waunakee was going to be tough," first-year Monroe coach Brad Saugstad said. "They brought back nine out of ten players from last year and they brought in a freshman at No. 3 singles. We knew we were in for a tough match, but we fought pretty hard."
Monroe's two wins came from freshman Taylor Soddy and senior Eric Knudtson.
Soddy knocked off Jacob Yaeger in the No. 2 singles match in a tie-breaker, 6-4, 7-6 (5).
"For Taylor to get a win like that, as a freshman, that's a very good win," Saugstad said. "Taylor plays a little different of a game than a lot of two-players. He's has a little softer of a game, a little more finesse. And he frustrated his guy quite a bit."
Knudtson needed three sets to dispose of freshman Calvin Clark, 4-6, 6-3, 6-1.
"Eric has been the fastest starter on the team this year. He jumps out fast in every set," Saugstad said. "He just has some trouble finishing them. But he finished those last two sets, and that's exactly what I want out of him. He was playing a tough freshman and he used that senior experience to his advantage."
Three matches went into a third set.
Monroe's top singles player, junior Carson Root, was one of those, falling to Gabe Stauffacher, 4-6, 6-3, 6-2. Root played No. 2 singles a year ago.
"As a freshman I played (first singles), so I somewhat have a feel for it. But it's definitely a big step up. It's a faster paced game," Root said.
In the final set, Root held on as long as he could. Trailing 5-1, Root continually kept Stauffacher from reaching match point. The final two games took nearly 20 minutes to be played.
"It was definitely tiring, but I wanted to keep fighting back because I wanted to win," Root said. "Tennis is a back-and-forth sport, so there are always momentum shifts. I knew there could be one and I started to get going a little bit."
Saugstad was pleased with what he saw from his best player.
"I liked seeing the fight in him. I liked seeing him in those last three games keep fighting and competing out there," Saugstad said. "He had a little bit of problems with his forehand and his backhand. But he was fighting through it. He'll learn from that and he'll take something away from it."
Monroe's No. 4 singles player, Jess Hager, fell to Alex Cordell, 6-3, 6-2.
The Cheesemakers' doubles teams were swept.
Top duo Patrick Gellings and Garrett Tschanz fell 6-3, 2-6, 6-0. Second doubles, made up of Jakob Baertschi and Christian Noregia, went down 7-6 (2), 6-2. The No. 3 doubles tandem of Luke Molinaro and Luke Andraski lost 6-0, 6-1.
"I'm pretty happy with how well we played as a team. We knew we were in for a fight today. Two-five isn't too bad. It's about what I was expecting," Saugstad said.
Monroe's junior varsity team lost, 5-3.
