MONROE - Kelsey Erickson teamed with Willie Noriega to win her second City Mixed Doubles Tournament at Recreation Park on Sunday.
Noriega and Erickson played doubles together for the first time and had a flair for the dramatic, winning two three-set matches. In the title match, they defeated Carson Root and Kristin McArdle 6-4, 1-6, 6-3 to win the 37th annual Mixed Doubles Tournament.
Noriega said the partnership was a good fit since their games complement each other.
"Kelsey is great at the net," he said. "She cleaned everything up. I'm really good at the baseline and she is really good at the net. It was a really good 1-2 punch. Kelsey took me to the promised land."
Erickson last year teamed with Dan Hager to win the mixed doubles title. Erickson, who will be a sophomore at UW-Whitewater this fall, admitted that they had to maintain their focus on the court after losing the second set.
"We had to not dwell on what happened and keep going forward," Erickson said. "We didn't want to worry about the mistakes."
Erickson is playing lacrosse and club tennis at Whitewater. She said winning two three-set matches on Sunday sent a message about the talent in the tournament.
"I think it just shows the level of competition we have around here," Erickson said. "We are all pretty even around here. It's always fun to come back and play against people you usually play against in the summer."
Noriega said they had a hard time trying to break Root's serve in the third set. However, they relied on some consistency at the net and capitalized when Root and McArdle hit some shots out.
"We kept a lot of balls in play," Noriega said.
Noriega and Erickson defeated Jess Hager and Alisa Fager 6-0, 6-2 in the quarterfinals. In the semifinals, they defeated Kevin Noriega and Brooke McBain 6-4, 4-6, 6-2.
Root and McArdle defeated Bob Seichter and Ashley Segner in the quarterfinals 6-0, 6-1. In the semifinals, Root and McArdle defeated Christian Noriega and Emily Grossen 6-1, 6-3.
Kevin Noriega and McBain bounced back from a three-set semifinal loss, to beat Christian Noriega - Kevin's brother - and Grossen 4-6, 6-0, 6-0 to take third place.
Jim Bartholf, former Monroe tennis coach and the tournament director, said the unique format of mixed doubles keeps the playing field competitive.
"In mixed doubles a lot of times it comes down to the woman player," Bartholf said. "The men usually have the tendency to hit to the weaker player. It was a very good match pitting two of the best girls tennis players in the past decade against one another. Both of them could handle the driving shots."
Noriega and Erickson played doubles together for the first time and had a flair for the dramatic, winning two three-set matches. In the title match, they defeated Carson Root and Kristin McArdle 6-4, 1-6, 6-3 to win the 37th annual Mixed Doubles Tournament.
Noriega said the partnership was a good fit since their games complement each other.
"Kelsey is great at the net," he said. "She cleaned everything up. I'm really good at the baseline and she is really good at the net. It was a really good 1-2 punch. Kelsey took me to the promised land."
Erickson last year teamed with Dan Hager to win the mixed doubles title. Erickson, who will be a sophomore at UW-Whitewater this fall, admitted that they had to maintain their focus on the court after losing the second set.
"We had to not dwell on what happened and keep going forward," Erickson said. "We didn't want to worry about the mistakes."
Erickson is playing lacrosse and club tennis at Whitewater. She said winning two three-set matches on Sunday sent a message about the talent in the tournament.
"I think it just shows the level of competition we have around here," Erickson said. "We are all pretty even around here. It's always fun to come back and play against people you usually play against in the summer."
Noriega said they had a hard time trying to break Root's serve in the third set. However, they relied on some consistency at the net and capitalized when Root and McArdle hit some shots out.
"We kept a lot of balls in play," Noriega said.
Noriega and Erickson defeated Jess Hager and Alisa Fager 6-0, 6-2 in the quarterfinals. In the semifinals, they defeated Kevin Noriega and Brooke McBain 6-4, 4-6, 6-2.
Root and McArdle defeated Bob Seichter and Ashley Segner in the quarterfinals 6-0, 6-1. In the semifinals, Root and McArdle defeated Christian Noriega and Emily Grossen 6-1, 6-3.
Kevin Noriega and McBain bounced back from a three-set semifinal loss, to beat Christian Noriega - Kevin's brother - and Grossen 4-6, 6-0, 6-0 to take third place.
Jim Bartholf, former Monroe tennis coach and the tournament director, said the unique format of mixed doubles keeps the playing field competitive.
"In mixed doubles a lot of times it comes down to the woman player," Bartholf said. "The men usually have the tendency to hit to the weaker player. It was a very good match pitting two of the best girls tennis players in the past decade against one another. Both of them could handle the driving shots."
