MILTON - Singles led the way for the Monroe tennis team, as the Cheesemakers won their fourth dual in a row, beating Milton 5-2.
The win rounded out Monroe's record in the Badger South Conference at 4-2, good for third place in the conference. Monroe coach Brad Saugstad was pleased with the win, considering the Red Hawks have not always been easily dispatched.
"I was a little worried coming into this match because Milton is a team that we've struggled against the last few years, but the boys played smart, consistent tennis," Saugstad said. "We countered Milton's aggressive style with patience, and just waited for them to make mistakes or for them to give us opportunities to put the ball away."
The Cheesemakers put away all four singles matches, including No. 1 singles player Taylor Soddy defeating Kenneth Yap 6-3, 6-3. At No. 2 singles, Kevin Noriega defeated Duston McGarry 6-0, 4-6, 6-0; at No. 3 singles, Matt Monahan defeated Eric Berthiaume 6-1, 6-0; and at No. 4 singles, Jeremy Miller defeated Sam Miller 6-7 (2), 6-4, 6-2.
"Taylor Soddy got a solid win over Kenneth Yap at 1 singles," Saugstad said. "Yap is a hard hitting player who can hit great shots, but can go for too much on his shots at times. Soddy was patient and let Yap make mistakes."
Such was the case in Noriega's win, which was sixth in a row.
"Noriega just went for consistent smart shots and let his opponent make the mistakes," Saugstad said.
Miller's was a little closer, but Saugstad was happy to see him battle for the win.
"He lost another tiebreak, but he bounced back by getting a little more net clearance on his forehands and working his opponent's backhands," Saugstad said. "Jeremy has good shots, and it looks like he's learning how to use them a little better."
The Cheesemakers also got a win at No. 3 doubles, where Vince Wartenweiler and Jared Nix defeated Milton's Landon Riggs and Anthony Cudzinovic 6-3, 6-7 (5), 6-1.
"Vince Wartenweiler and Jared Nix came through with a nice win tonight," Saugstad said. "They usually do well in the first sets, but have been struggling in the second sets. We need to get them playing better in the second, but I like how they came out and just dominated in the third."
At No. 1 doubles, Monroe's Kevin Kohlstedt and Jess Hager lost to Milton's Luke Lee and Eric Grote 7-6 (4), 7-6 (4). At No. 2 doubles, Monroe's Josh Riese and Mark Jenson fell to Jake Morris and Sean Grote 6-2, 6-1.
Saugstad said his team's overall performance is right where he wanted it to be, heading into the conference tournament, which will be Friday, May 17 and Saturday, May 18.
"All year long our goal has been to peak for the conference tournament, subsectionals, and sectionals," Saugstad said. "With four straight dual wins and winning our own tournament this last weekend, I'm feeling pretty good about how we're playing."
That said, Saugstad can see opportunities across his lineup where his team can improve even more.
"Every spot in our lineup has contributed at different times this year, but we've yet to have a match when everyone was on their game at the same time," Saugstad said. "If we want to try to make a run at the conference tournament or at sectionals, we're going to need every player to be playing their best tennis of the season."
The win rounded out Monroe's record in the Badger South Conference at 4-2, good for third place in the conference. Monroe coach Brad Saugstad was pleased with the win, considering the Red Hawks have not always been easily dispatched.
"I was a little worried coming into this match because Milton is a team that we've struggled against the last few years, but the boys played smart, consistent tennis," Saugstad said. "We countered Milton's aggressive style with patience, and just waited for them to make mistakes or for them to give us opportunities to put the ball away."
The Cheesemakers put away all four singles matches, including No. 1 singles player Taylor Soddy defeating Kenneth Yap 6-3, 6-3. At No. 2 singles, Kevin Noriega defeated Duston McGarry 6-0, 4-6, 6-0; at No. 3 singles, Matt Monahan defeated Eric Berthiaume 6-1, 6-0; and at No. 4 singles, Jeremy Miller defeated Sam Miller 6-7 (2), 6-4, 6-2.
"Taylor Soddy got a solid win over Kenneth Yap at 1 singles," Saugstad said. "Yap is a hard hitting player who can hit great shots, but can go for too much on his shots at times. Soddy was patient and let Yap make mistakes."
Such was the case in Noriega's win, which was sixth in a row.
"Noriega just went for consistent smart shots and let his opponent make the mistakes," Saugstad said.
Miller's was a little closer, but Saugstad was happy to see him battle for the win.
"He lost another tiebreak, but he bounced back by getting a little more net clearance on his forehands and working his opponent's backhands," Saugstad said. "Jeremy has good shots, and it looks like he's learning how to use them a little better."
The Cheesemakers also got a win at No. 3 doubles, where Vince Wartenweiler and Jared Nix defeated Milton's Landon Riggs and Anthony Cudzinovic 6-3, 6-7 (5), 6-1.
"Vince Wartenweiler and Jared Nix came through with a nice win tonight," Saugstad said. "They usually do well in the first sets, but have been struggling in the second sets. We need to get them playing better in the second, but I like how they came out and just dominated in the third."
At No. 1 doubles, Monroe's Kevin Kohlstedt and Jess Hager lost to Milton's Luke Lee and Eric Grote 7-6 (4), 7-6 (4). At No. 2 doubles, Monroe's Josh Riese and Mark Jenson fell to Jake Morris and Sean Grote 6-2, 6-1.
Saugstad said his team's overall performance is right where he wanted it to be, heading into the conference tournament, which will be Friday, May 17 and Saturday, May 18.
"All year long our goal has been to peak for the conference tournament, subsectionals, and sectionals," Saugstad said. "With four straight dual wins and winning our own tournament this last weekend, I'm feeling pretty good about how we're playing."
That said, Saugstad can see opportunities across his lineup where his team can improve even more.
"Every spot in our lineup has contributed at different times this year, but we've yet to have a match when everyone was on their game at the same time," Saugstad said. "If we want to try to make a run at the conference tournament or at sectionals, we're going to need every player to be playing their best tennis of the season."
