WHITEWATER - Monroe junior Taylor Soddy will make a second straight trip to the WIAA Division 2 state tennis tournament after taking third place at the Whitewater sectional on Wednesday.

Soddy, at No. 1 singles, defeated Konstantin Goertz, an exchange student of Ripon, 6-2, 6-0. He then lost to Madison Edgewood's Patrick Carney 6-2, 6-2.

"It's always tough at sectionals to win that first match to get to state," Monroe coach Brad Saugstad said. "You have to battle the nerves. He (Soddy) kept balls in play and made his opponent run around. He didn't play his best, but he was able to get back to state."

Soddy was scheduled to play McFarland's Sam Locke in a third place match. However, Locke injured his ankle in a semifinal match and defaulted in the third place match.

"That wasn't a big deal," Saugstad said. "He isn't going to be seeded at state. He was just happy to be going to state. It would have been good to get another match against good level of competition."

Soddy will now have a week to prepare for the state tournament which begins Thursday, May 31. He will find out who his opponent is when the WIAA releases the pairings on Saturday. Soddy won one match at state last year and then lost to the No. 1 seed.

"His goal this year is to win two matches," Saugstad said.