MONROE - Oregon won three of the four singles matches to hand Monroe a nail-biting 4-3 loss Tuesday, April 30.
"This was a high-quality high school tennis match," Monroe coach Brad Saugstad said. "Oregon brought back nearly their entire team from last year and I figured at the start of the year that Oregon would give Edgewood a run for the conference championship. I knew we had the ability to play a close match with Oregon and I figured it would end up 4-3 one way or another. Unfortunately, it was the wrong way for us."
Monroe senior Taylor Soddy at No. 1 singles defeated Oregon's Jackson Schneider 6-4, 4-6, 6-4. The other wins for the Cheesemakers came from the No. 1 doubles team of seniors Kevin Kohlstedt and Jess Hager, which defeated Oregon's Nick Hepner and Brian Johnson 6-1, 3-6, 6-2 and the No. 2 doubles team of Josh Riese and Jared Nix. Riese and Nix defeated Alex Nasserjah and Adam Bessemer 6-2, 7-6 (2), 6-2.
Soddy lost four times to Schneider last year.
"Taylor Soddy played an incredibly smart match at No. 1 singles," Saugstad said. "Taylor was determined to get the best of him this time. Taylor was down 4-3 in the third set and was exhausted, but he dug deep, held serve twice and broke serve once to bring home the win. This was a huge win for Taylor."
The Cheesemakers (2-3, 0-2 Badger South) won three of the four three-set matches.
"I was encouraged by how much stronger we were mentally today than we were this weekend," Saugstad said.
Saugstad liked the perseverance Riese and Nix showed.
"Josh Riese and Jared Nix had to battle back tonight after dropping the first set 6-2," he said. "They got up early in each of the next two sets and came through with a victory. I was very happy with how these two refocused after the first set and upped their game."
Monroe sophomore Kevin Noriega at No. 2 singles lost to Oregon's Alec Onesti 6-2, 6-1. Oregon's Dakota Tollakson at No. 3 singles pulled out a three-set win over Monroe sophomore Matt Monahan 2-6, 6-2, 6-3. At No. 4 singles, Oregon's Drew Christofferson beat Jeremy Miller 6-2, 7-6 (7). The Cheesemakers' No. 3 doubles team of Vince Wartenweiler and Austin Lewey lost to Jackson Wilhelm and Brady Behrend 6-2, 6-3.
"Matt and Jeremy have taken some tough losses recently, but I'm confident that they're going to learn from them and come through with some big wins for our team later in the season," Saugstad said.
"This was a high-quality high school tennis match," Monroe coach Brad Saugstad said. "Oregon brought back nearly their entire team from last year and I figured at the start of the year that Oregon would give Edgewood a run for the conference championship. I knew we had the ability to play a close match with Oregon and I figured it would end up 4-3 one way or another. Unfortunately, it was the wrong way for us."
Monroe senior Taylor Soddy at No. 1 singles defeated Oregon's Jackson Schneider 6-4, 4-6, 6-4. The other wins for the Cheesemakers came from the No. 1 doubles team of seniors Kevin Kohlstedt and Jess Hager, which defeated Oregon's Nick Hepner and Brian Johnson 6-1, 3-6, 6-2 and the No. 2 doubles team of Josh Riese and Jared Nix. Riese and Nix defeated Alex Nasserjah and Adam Bessemer 6-2, 7-6 (2), 6-2.
Soddy lost four times to Schneider last year.
"Taylor Soddy played an incredibly smart match at No. 1 singles," Saugstad said. "Taylor was determined to get the best of him this time. Taylor was down 4-3 in the third set and was exhausted, but he dug deep, held serve twice and broke serve once to bring home the win. This was a huge win for Taylor."
The Cheesemakers (2-3, 0-2 Badger South) won three of the four three-set matches.
"I was encouraged by how much stronger we were mentally today than we were this weekend," Saugstad said.
Saugstad liked the perseverance Riese and Nix showed.
"Josh Riese and Jared Nix had to battle back tonight after dropping the first set 6-2," he said. "They got up early in each of the next two sets and came through with a victory. I was very happy with how these two refocused after the first set and upped their game."
Monroe sophomore Kevin Noriega at No. 2 singles lost to Oregon's Alec Onesti 6-2, 6-1. Oregon's Dakota Tollakson at No. 3 singles pulled out a three-set win over Monroe sophomore Matt Monahan 2-6, 6-2, 6-3. At No. 4 singles, Oregon's Drew Christofferson beat Jeremy Miller 6-2, 7-6 (7). The Cheesemakers' No. 3 doubles team of Vince Wartenweiler and Austin Lewey lost to Jackson Wilhelm and Brady Behrend 6-2, 6-3.
"Matt and Jeremy have taken some tough losses recently, but I'm confident that they're going to learn from them and come through with some big wins for our team later in the season," Saugstad said.
