MADISON – The Menomonie boys tennis season came to an end in the quarterfinals of the WIAA Boys Tennis Team Championship where the Mustangs dropped their contest to defending and eventual state champion Brookfield Central, Friday, June 13 at the Nielsen Tennis Center on the University of Wisconsin campus.
The Mustangs (21-7) were making their second consecutive trip to the state team tournament. Menomonie earned their second consecutive Big Rivers Conterence (BRC) team title this season. Menomonie was the eighth seed in the tournament while Central was the top team and would go on to finish their 2025 season undefeated at 25-0.
In No. 1 singles, Aaron Lambrigtsen fell to Andrey Semin, 6-0, 6-0. In No. 2 singles play, Harrison Davis was downed, 6-2, 6-0, by Noah Wertzler. At No. 3 singles, Bruce Behrend lost to Austin Tilkins, 6-1, 6-0. And at No. 4 singles, Caleb Gunderson lost, 6-1, 6-1, to Henry Hyde.
In doubles, Menomonie’s No. 1 team of Micah Gunderson/Tristan Webb lost 6-0, 6-0, to Jacob Smith and Michael Li, who placed third in the individual state tournament a week earlier. Jacob Rue/Jack Winterfeldt at No. 2 fell 6-2, 6-0, to Viraj Bhagut/Diago Trevizen. At No. 3, Darrin Ellis/Sam McWethy lost 6-1, 6-0, to Sam Lodes/Tyshi Oliveda.
Lambrigtsen, Micah Gunderson, Webb, Winterfeldt and McWithey are seniors and wrapped up their high school tennis careers.
After losing six of 10 varsity players from last years squad that made the team’s first trip to the state team tournament, coach Bryce Supri was extremely happy to see this group of players repeat the success from the previous year.
“There was definitely some uncertainty at the start of this season,” Supri said, “but everyone really stepped up to the challenge and continued to get better as the season went on.”
As the season went on, the team continued to improve and started to peak as the BRC meet and the WIAA tournament began.
“As we entered the conference tournament, it seemed like everyone was playing with a lot of confidence, ” Supri said, “and by the time we got to subs (sub-sectionals) and sectionals everyone was playing their best tennis of the season.”
“It’s been an incredible season. I’m very happy the captains, and the rest of the players, got to share so many great experiences this year and for all the success they had,” Supri added.
Aaron Lambrigtsen, a team captain, provided a lot of the energy for the team.
“Aaron really did a great job leading the team this year,” Supri said. “I don’t think I’ve ever had a player put more time into tennis, and the program, than him, so it’s been great to see his hard work pay off.
“I’m just very proud of all these guys for what they’ve been able to accomplish the last couple years and I hope they’ve gained some experiences they will remember the rest of their lives.”
The story “Menomonie Boys Tennis Season Ends in State Quarterfinals” by Layne Pitt is licensed under a CC BY SA 4.0 International license. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/
