MADISON - Monroe's girls tennis team went into the Badger Conference tennis tournment determined to show off its talent. In the end, its point was made.
The Cheesemakers finished in fourth out of the 12 conference teams, and third place in the Badger South standings. Prior to the tournament, Monroe was fortunate to get high enough seeds for all its doubles teams to require only one match Friday before moving into Saturday's medal round.
The Cheesemakers' singles players weren't so fortunate.
Sophomore Kristin McArdle was the sixth seed in the No. 1 singles bracket and trumped Oregon's Breanna Reifert 6-0, 6-1, in the first round. In the second round, Edgewood's Courtney Halbach beat McArdle 6-0, 6-3. Halbach went on to finish second overall, behind Fort Atkinson's Leah Dahl.
Monroe junior McKenzie Bruce beat Megan Burandt of Milton 6-0, 6-4, in the first round of No. 2 singles. Against Milton just four days earlier, Burandt handed Bruce a 6-2, 6-0 defeat.
"McKenzie Bruce played one of the best matches of her season," Monroe head coach Stephanie Miller said. "She played extremely aggressive."
Bruce then lost 6-0, 6-1, to Fort Atkinson's Olivia Hartwick, the No. 1 seeded player in the bracket. Hartwick lost to Edgewood's Sydney Kirsh in the championship match.
In the No. 3 singles bracket, Monroe junior Kiera Berger was the fifth seed and beat Reedsburg sophomore Emma Ahlfstrom 6-1, 6-1, in round one. In round two, Berger beat Monona Grove's Beth Flaherty 7-6 (8-6), 6-4. Flaherty beat Berger just 10 days earlier in three sets.
"Kiera's opponent was a consistent backboard who very rarely missed. Kiera and I talked about being more aggressive to move her opponent around and to stay positive. She did exactly that and played an excellent match to move into the semifinals," Miller said.
Lexie Weigand of Fort Atkinson beat Berger in the semifinals 6-1, 6-1. In the third-place match against Brooke Steiner of Waunakee, Berger was victorious, 6-0, 6-0.
In the No. 4 singles match, junior Emily Grossen lost to DeForest's Allie Brill in the first round, 6-2, 6-1.
In the No. 1 doubles bracket, Monroe seniors Pam Lehman and Melissa Hill got the top seed and rode a bye into the second round. Then, the pair took on Reedsburg and won 7-5, 6-0. The pair then lost to Waunakee 6-3, 6-2, in the semifinals and finished fourth place after a 6-2, 7-5 loss to Milton, who the pair beat earlier in the week.
In the No. 2 doubles bracket, Gwen Sutter and Ashley Hermanson picked up a bye and then beat Reedsburg's tandem 6-4, 6-2. Then, a 7-5, 6-4 win over Waunakee's duo set up a championship match versus Baraboo. Unfortunately, the Thunderbirds were too much for the Cheesemakers, winning 6-3, 2-6, 6-3.
In the No. 3 doubles, Kelsey Erickson and Taylor Weis cruised passed Sauk (6-1, 4-6, 6-1) and Edgewood (6-2, 3-6, 6-1) to get to the championship round. There, the pair fell to Waunakee 6-1, 6-1.
Miller was pleased with her team's performance, scoring 25 total points as a team. Fort Atkinson won the tournament with 39 points. Waunakee had 35 points and finished in second place. Edgewood was just a point behind Waunakee with 34 point to finish in third place.
After Monroe, DeForest was fifth with 19 points. Sauk Prairie had 16, Milton 12, Monona Grove 8, Baraboo 8, Oregon 6, Portage 5, Stoughton 4, Reedsburg 4, and Wisconsin Dells 2.
The Cheesemakers finished in fourth out of the 12 conference teams, and third place in the Badger South standings. Prior to the tournament, Monroe was fortunate to get high enough seeds for all its doubles teams to require only one match Friday before moving into Saturday's medal round.
The Cheesemakers' singles players weren't so fortunate.
Sophomore Kristin McArdle was the sixth seed in the No. 1 singles bracket and trumped Oregon's Breanna Reifert 6-0, 6-1, in the first round. In the second round, Edgewood's Courtney Halbach beat McArdle 6-0, 6-3. Halbach went on to finish second overall, behind Fort Atkinson's Leah Dahl.
Monroe junior McKenzie Bruce beat Megan Burandt of Milton 6-0, 6-4, in the first round of No. 2 singles. Against Milton just four days earlier, Burandt handed Bruce a 6-2, 6-0 defeat.
"McKenzie Bruce played one of the best matches of her season," Monroe head coach Stephanie Miller said. "She played extremely aggressive."
Bruce then lost 6-0, 6-1, to Fort Atkinson's Olivia Hartwick, the No. 1 seeded player in the bracket. Hartwick lost to Edgewood's Sydney Kirsh in the championship match.
In the No. 3 singles bracket, Monroe junior Kiera Berger was the fifth seed and beat Reedsburg sophomore Emma Ahlfstrom 6-1, 6-1, in round one. In round two, Berger beat Monona Grove's Beth Flaherty 7-6 (8-6), 6-4. Flaherty beat Berger just 10 days earlier in three sets.
"Kiera's opponent was a consistent backboard who very rarely missed. Kiera and I talked about being more aggressive to move her opponent around and to stay positive. She did exactly that and played an excellent match to move into the semifinals," Miller said.
Lexie Weigand of Fort Atkinson beat Berger in the semifinals 6-1, 6-1. In the third-place match against Brooke Steiner of Waunakee, Berger was victorious, 6-0, 6-0.
In the No. 4 singles match, junior Emily Grossen lost to DeForest's Allie Brill in the first round, 6-2, 6-1.
In the No. 1 doubles bracket, Monroe seniors Pam Lehman and Melissa Hill got the top seed and rode a bye into the second round. Then, the pair took on Reedsburg and won 7-5, 6-0. The pair then lost to Waunakee 6-3, 6-2, in the semifinals and finished fourth place after a 6-2, 7-5 loss to Milton, who the pair beat earlier in the week.
In the No. 2 doubles bracket, Gwen Sutter and Ashley Hermanson picked up a bye and then beat Reedsburg's tandem 6-4, 6-2. Then, a 7-5, 6-4 win over Waunakee's duo set up a championship match versus Baraboo. Unfortunately, the Thunderbirds were too much for the Cheesemakers, winning 6-3, 2-6, 6-3.
In the No. 3 doubles, Kelsey Erickson and Taylor Weis cruised passed Sauk (6-1, 4-6, 6-1) and Edgewood (6-2, 3-6, 6-1) to get to the championship round. There, the pair fell to Waunakee 6-1, 6-1.
Miller was pleased with her team's performance, scoring 25 total points as a team. Fort Atkinson won the tournament with 39 points. Waunakee had 35 points and finished in second place. Edgewood was just a point behind Waunakee with 34 point to finish in third place.
After Monroe, DeForest was fifth with 19 points. Sauk Prairie had 16, Milton 12, Monona Grove 8, Baraboo 8, Oregon 6, Portage 5, Stoughton 4, Reedsburg 4, and Wisconsin Dells 2.
