MADISON - Monroe senior Mark Jenson and junior Kevin Noriega at No. 1 doubles had their tennis season came to an end at the WIAA Div-ision 2 state tournament.
Jen-son and Nor-iega lost to Dom-inican's Danny Uhen and Frank Wong 6-0, 6-3. Uhen and Wong, the No. 3 seed, finished third at state last year.
"They are the best team we played this year," Monroe coach Brad Saugstad said. "They had huge serves and returns and were very tall and aggressive around the net. The score doesn't really tell how competitive we were in this match."
Jenson and Noriega got eight games to deuce.
"Kevin was really ripping the ball today and Mark was picking up incredibly difficult half-volleys, but Dominican was just too good and put so much pressure on each shot," Saugstad said. "Dominican was definitely a level above us, but for many points we took our level of play up and were equal to them."
With about 700 tennis players at No. 1 doubles across the state, Jenson and Noriega made it to the final 48.
"That puts them around the top seven percent of players in Division 2 in the state, Saugstad said. "These guys had a great season and went out and gave it their all today.
"We'll miss Mark's play and leadership next season, and now that Kevin has seen and played against some of the best in the state, we'll see if he can take his game to new levels."
Jen-son and Nor-iega lost to Dom-inican's Danny Uhen and Frank Wong 6-0, 6-3. Uhen and Wong, the No. 3 seed, finished third at state last year.
"They are the best team we played this year," Monroe coach Brad Saugstad said. "They had huge serves and returns and were very tall and aggressive around the net. The score doesn't really tell how competitive we were in this match."
Jenson and Noriega got eight games to deuce.
"Kevin was really ripping the ball today and Mark was picking up incredibly difficult half-volleys, but Dominican was just too good and put so much pressure on each shot," Saugstad said. "Dominican was definitely a level above us, but for many points we took our level of play up and were equal to them."
With about 700 tennis players at No. 1 doubles across the state, Jenson and Noriega made it to the final 48.
"That puts them around the top seven percent of players in Division 2 in the state, Saugstad said. "These guys had a great season and went out and gave it their all today.
"We'll miss Mark's play and leadership next season, and now that Kevin has seen and played against some of the best in the state, we'll see if he can take his game to new levels."
