VIROQUA — Monroe’s top doubles tandem of Aaron Roidt and Charlie Frehner advanced to state with a second-place performance at the East Troy sectional June 9. The rest of the Cheesemakers saw their season come to an end at the June 7 Viroqua subsectional.
“It’s definitely exciting to get another doubles team back to state. For our boys team, it’s been four years since we’ve had someone make it to the state tournament, which was Silas Setterstrom,” Monroe coach Matt Bordner said. “I think getting players to state has been a goal ever since we had Silas, and so it’s just really exciting to be back in the mix on the boys side.”
Waukesha Catholic Memorial’s Nate Carson and Chase Korb (17-9) took first place. Madison Edgewood’s Austin Buchner and Sam Katerov (13-9) were third and Viroqua’s Eric Jerdee and Ben Gillen (15-9) were fourth. Roidt and Frehner have a 9-6 record on the year, with the bulk of the wins coming down the stretch.
Frehner and Roidt were the No. 1 overall seed in the subsectional, earning a bye to the sectional.
In their first match, the pair downed Whitewater 6-1, 7-5. Then took out Viroqua 6-3, 6-4.
“Viroqua had big first serves and they were fairly athletic, but I think Charlie and Aaron had a better all-around match and played much looser after getting that first match out of the way. We limited unforced errors and I think Charlie and Aaron both did some really nice things throughout the match,” Bordner said.
The duo lost to Catholic Memorial 6-1, 6-2 in the championship.
“There were quite a few deuce games and we certainly had our opportunities, but I think Charlie and Aaron just didn’t play as crisp as they’d like which is certainly understandable in what was probably their fourth or fifth hour of playing out in the brutal sun and heat,” Bordner said. “We lost the match, but I really think it’s a team that can play much closer with if we see them later on in the state tournament.”
Individual state is from June 17 to 19 at Sports Core in Kohler. By press time, the final D2 sectional had yet to be completed, and Frehner/Roidt had not yet been seeded for the state bracket.
“Charlie and Aaron make a fantastic doubles team and it’ll be fun to see what they can do at state,” Bordner said. “We’ve talked with both of them about how last year was taken away from them due to COVID, so I think for all of us it’s also important to just soak in all of the moments and excitement over the next week and really enjoy this opportunity that we have. We have a few small things we’d like to tune-up over the next week before making one last push in Kohler next week.”
At the subsectional, Bordner said his young team went in with an underdog mentality.
“Getting the experience today for our young player was huge, and for quite a few of them it’s nice to get the jitters of their first time competing in postseason out of the way,” Bordner said. “We bring back most of our team next year, and I think it’s a group of guys out there that are really hungry to get better and compete at a higher level, which is super exciting to see.”
At No. 2 doubles, Mitch Ferguson and Gavin Eckerman led 5-4 in the second set and had a chance to force a tiebreaker, but their McFarland counterparts came back to close it out 6-1, 7-5. Monroe’s No. 3 tandem of Wes Saunders and Chris Giasson defeated a pair from Mauston before losing to Edgewood. Bordner said the victory should be good for the pair’s confidence moving into the offseason.
At No. 1 singles, Ryan Mathiason played several close games, but lost to Viroqua’s Dustin Kenyon, 6-0, 6-3. Ethan Towne, playing No. 2 singles for Monroe, sent almost every game against Edgerton’s Emmett Sund into deuce, only to lose 6-1, 6-3. At No. 4 singles, Monroe’s James Seagreaves struggled, but Bordner said it was better for him to have gotten his feet wet and understanding what tournament tennis is all about.
