MADISON - The final prep tennis tournament for Monroe seniors Kevin Noriega and Matt Monahan at the WIAA Division 2 state meet is turning into an improbable run for their scrapbooks.
Noriega and Monahan set a goal of making a run to the quarterfinals of the state tennis tournament at the University of Wisconsin-Madison's Nielsen Tennis Stadium and as of Friday, they have a shot at a fifth-place finish.
"They have had a great run at the state tournament," Monroe coach Brad Saugstad said. "They were a set away from getting to the semifinals and I don't think anyone expected that."
Noriega and Monahan (20-8) will play in a consolation semifinal match against fourth-seeded Michael Racjchel and Jason Tan of Brookfield Academy (13-13) at 8:30 a.m. today and if they win they would play for fifth place at state.
In a second-round match at state Friday, Noriega and Monahan defeated eighth-seeded Noah Fink and Archie Brohn of Kohler in three sets 6-3, 6-7 (1), 7-5. By reaching the quarterfinals, Noriega and Monahan became one of the final eight teams at state.
"The key was consistency and keeping the ball in play," Saugstad said. "Once they settled in and started playing with consistency they were fine."
Noriega and Monahan jumped out to a 5-1 lead in the third set. Fink and Brohn won four straight games to tie the set at 5. Then Monahan had a good serving game and Noriega hit some key shots at the net and Noriega and Monahan won the last two games to close out the win.
Noriega and Monahan took Brookefield Academy's Adil Bhatia and Bryan Geenan to three sets before losing a thrilling quarterfinal match in three sets 6-2, 4-6, 6-2.
"The Brookfield guys really had nice volleys and put pressure on us around the net," Saugstad said. "The pressure just kept continuing to build. Every shot Matt and Kevin hit there were two guys standing right at the net. They had double-faulted about 15 times in the match. When you are playing that high level of tennis that really hurts."
Racjchel and Tan of Brookfield Academy will pose a challenge in the consolation semifinals.
"Our goal will be to play a close match and try to pull it out," Saugstad said. "Matt and Kevin are just happy to be playing Saturday. Hopefully, they can go out and pull off an upset."
Noriega and Monahan set a goal of making a run to the quarterfinals of the state tennis tournament at the University of Wisconsin-Madison's Nielsen Tennis Stadium and as of Friday, they have a shot at a fifth-place finish.
"They have had a great run at the state tournament," Monroe coach Brad Saugstad said. "They were a set away from getting to the semifinals and I don't think anyone expected that."
Noriega and Monahan (20-8) will play in a consolation semifinal match against fourth-seeded Michael Racjchel and Jason Tan of Brookfield Academy (13-13) at 8:30 a.m. today and if they win they would play for fifth place at state.
In a second-round match at state Friday, Noriega and Monahan defeated eighth-seeded Noah Fink and Archie Brohn of Kohler in three sets 6-3, 6-7 (1), 7-5. By reaching the quarterfinals, Noriega and Monahan became one of the final eight teams at state.
"The key was consistency and keeping the ball in play," Saugstad said. "Once they settled in and started playing with consistency they were fine."
Noriega and Monahan jumped out to a 5-1 lead in the third set. Fink and Brohn won four straight games to tie the set at 5. Then Monahan had a good serving game and Noriega hit some key shots at the net and Noriega and Monahan won the last two games to close out the win.
Noriega and Monahan took Brookefield Academy's Adil Bhatia and Bryan Geenan to three sets before losing a thrilling quarterfinal match in three sets 6-2, 4-6, 6-2.
"The Brookfield guys really had nice volleys and put pressure on us around the net," Saugstad said. "The pressure just kept continuing to build. Every shot Matt and Kevin hit there were two guys standing right at the net. They had double-faulted about 15 times in the match. When you are playing that high level of tennis that really hurts."
Racjchel and Tan of Brookfield Academy will pose a challenge in the consolation semifinals.
"Our goal will be to play a close match and try to pull it out," Saugstad said. "Matt and Kevin are just happy to be playing Saturday. Hopefully, they can go out and pull off an upset."
