JEFFERSON - The Monroe boys tennis team opened the season with a 6-1 loss to Jefferson Thursday, April 10.
The lone win for the Cheesemakers came from junior Kevin Noriega and senior Mark Jenson at No. 1 doubles. Noriega and Jenson defeated Jefferson's Austin Tucker and Leo Reyes 6-3, 6-3.
"The boys had a case of the first match jitters," Monroe coach Brad Saugstad said. "Even some of our most experienced players struggled to serve and keep the ball on the court. Even though it wasn't our best night, we can take some positives away from the match."
One of them was Noriega and Jenson at No. 1 doubles. Noriega is making the transition from singles and Jenson is playing up from No. 2 doubles which he played last year.
"They have had limited practice time together this year, and I'm looking forward to watching them improve as a team as the year goes on," Saugstad said.
Monroe junior David Shon lost to Jefferson's Danny Arndorfer 6-4, 6-1. Monroe junior Matt Monahan at No. 2 singles lost to Jefferson's Ty Jay 6-3, 6-3. At No. 3 singles, Monroe junior Jeremy Miller lost a three set match to Spencer O'Brien 4-6, 7-5, 6-0. Monroe freshman Silas Setterstrom at No. 4 singles lost to Jimmy Nelson 6-3, 6-3.
Jefferson's No. 2 doubles duo of Ben Thompson and Nate Poser defeated the Cheesemakers' Ellyott Baertschi and Kody Althaus in three sets 6-1, 1-6, 6-3. Monroe juniors Zach Hendrickson and Rhett Katzenberger lost to Stian Herlofsen and Ryan Stelse 6-3, 6-1.
"We do have some things to work on, but I was impressed with the team's fight," Saugstad said. "We were down early in almost all of our matches and the boys did not give up. They were frustrated by how they were playing, but it didn't show on the court.
"We are going to learn from tonight's match and search for ways to improve on what went wrong. In practice, we are going to really need to focus on the basics of tennis and get our returns and serves going in because we gave up too many easy early points.
"We will have to work on our decision making on the court. At times, we were choosing to go for overly aggressive shots when we weren't in good position on the court to go for those shots. We need to be a little smarter with our shot selection."
The lone win for the Cheesemakers came from junior Kevin Noriega and senior Mark Jenson at No. 1 doubles. Noriega and Jenson defeated Jefferson's Austin Tucker and Leo Reyes 6-3, 6-3.
"The boys had a case of the first match jitters," Monroe coach Brad Saugstad said. "Even some of our most experienced players struggled to serve and keep the ball on the court. Even though it wasn't our best night, we can take some positives away from the match."
One of them was Noriega and Jenson at No. 1 doubles. Noriega is making the transition from singles and Jenson is playing up from No. 2 doubles which he played last year.
"They have had limited practice time together this year, and I'm looking forward to watching them improve as a team as the year goes on," Saugstad said.
Monroe junior David Shon lost to Jefferson's Danny Arndorfer 6-4, 6-1. Monroe junior Matt Monahan at No. 2 singles lost to Jefferson's Ty Jay 6-3, 6-3. At No. 3 singles, Monroe junior Jeremy Miller lost a three set match to Spencer O'Brien 4-6, 7-5, 6-0. Monroe freshman Silas Setterstrom at No. 4 singles lost to Jimmy Nelson 6-3, 6-3.
Jefferson's No. 2 doubles duo of Ben Thompson and Nate Poser defeated the Cheesemakers' Ellyott Baertschi and Kody Althaus in three sets 6-1, 1-6, 6-3. Monroe juniors Zach Hendrickson and Rhett Katzenberger lost to Stian Herlofsen and Ryan Stelse 6-3, 6-1.
"We do have some things to work on, but I was impressed with the team's fight," Saugstad said. "We were down early in almost all of our matches and the boys did not give up. They were frustrated by how they were playing, but it didn't show on the court.
"We are going to learn from tonight's match and search for ways to improve on what went wrong. In practice, we are going to really need to focus on the basics of tennis and get our returns and serves going in because we gave up too many easy early points.
"We will have to work on our decision making on the court. At times, we were choosing to go for overly aggressive shots when we weren't in good position on the court to go for those shots. We need to be a little smarter with our shot selection."
