MADISON - Monroe's No. 1 doubles team of juniors Ellie Grossen and Chandra McGuire lost in the second round of the state tournament Friday, falling to the No. 1 seed team from Roncalli 6-2, 6-0.
The Roncalli duo of senior Abby Halla and freshman Tallie Piaskowski entered the match with a perfect 28-0 record for the season. With the lost, Grossen and McGuire finish the season at 20-7.
Monroe coach Brad Saugstad that the straight-set loss doesn't quite show the kind of fight his team put up against a formidable Roncalli squad.
"The score doesn't necessarily indicate it, but Ellie and Chandra played a very strong first set with many games going to deuce," Saugstad said. "They were going toe to toe with the girls from Roncalli, but on the big points towards the end of each game Roncalli always seemed to pull out a big shot or two. Ellie and Chandra weren't playing poorly, Roncalli was just that good."
Saugstad said Grossen and McGuire did a lot of things well but that it was negated by Halla and Piaskowski's play.
"(They) hit a high percentage of 1st serves in, hit a high percentage of returns in, and were moving up to the net," he said "but against a team like Roncalli it wasn't enough."
Now that the season is over, though, Saugstad looks at his junior duo's season as being much more successful than he had anticipated.
"Coming into the year, I expected them to have quite a bit of success and probably make it to state," he said. "but I don't know that I expected 20-7 record and a win at state from them. They should feel really good about the season they had."
The Roncalli duo of senior Abby Halla and freshman Tallie Piaskowski entered the match with a perfect 28-0 record for the season. With the lost, Grossen and McGuire finish the season at 20-7.
Monroe coach Brad Saugstad that the straight-set loss doesn't quite show the kind of fight his team put up against a formidable Roncalli squad.
"The score doesn't necessarily indicate it, but Ellie and Chandra played a very strong first set with many games going to deuce," Saugstad said. "They were going toe to toe with the girls from Roncalli, but on the big points towards the end of each game Roncalli always seemed to pull out a big shot or two. Ellie and Chandra weren't playing poorly, Roncalli was just that good."
Saugstad said Grossen and McGuire did a lot of things well but that it was negated by Halla and Piaskowski's play.
"(They) hit a high percentage of 1st serves in, hit a high percentage of returns in, and were moving up to the net," he said "but against a team like Roncalli it wasn't enough."
Now that the season is over, though, Saugstad looks at his junior duo's season as being much more successful than he had anticipated.
"Coming into the year, I expected them to have quite a bit of success and probably make it to state," he said. "but I don't know that I expected 20-7 record and a win at state from them. They should feel really good about the season they had."
