MONROE - The Cheesemakers' girls tennis team faced a tough task in its Badger South opener Tuesday, but found a way to put down Milton, 6-1.
"I think we played great today," Monroe head coach Stephanie Miller said. "We had a couple of tough matches where girls had to come back, but good players can do that. They did a nice job."
Nearly every singles match had its struggles, but Monroe's doubles teams cruised.
Junior Kristin McArdle (No. 1 singles) and sophomore Ellie Shuda (No. 2 singles) both got off to slow starts for the Cheesemakers before coming back to win. Alyssa Quinn lost in straight sets, 6-3, 6-2 to Becca Kessler in the No. 3 singles match, and sophomore Lily Priewe dominated Brooke Negus to win 6-1, 6-1 in No. 4 singles.
In the No. 1 doubles match, McArdle found herself trailing Megan Burandt 1-2 in the first set before fighting her way back to win 6-4, 6-3.
"I started out a little bit wild - I was hitting balls all over the court," McArdle said. "I knew I had to change my mind set and then go from there. The first match of conference is a big one."
Shuda got off to an even tougher start, dropping the first set 4-6 and trailing by three games in the second set before rallying.
"I knew I had to come back and play my game," Shuda said. "I was frustrated and bombing the ball. I usually yell at myself."
In the second set, with a line judge on hand to make sure calls were correctly made, Shuda rallied to win 7-5, forcing a tiebreaker. In the extra session, the sophomore kept the momentum, and forced opponent Natalie Casillas to hit wide right, ending the tiebreaker at 10-5.
"It felt good (to end the match)," Shuda said.
On the doubles side, Monroe's top pair, Ashley Hermanson and Kelsey Erickson, cruised through the first set against Marianne Moser and Sharney Furseth, winning 6-1. In the second set, the two admittedly relaxed and struggled, finding themselves down 3-4.
"We weren't communicating as well as we should have been," Erickson said. "But we picked ourselves up and finished it."
After trailing, the duo stormed back, taking the next three games and the two-set win.
Last year, Hermanson played with Gwen Sutter at No. 2 doubles, but has played alongside Erickson for much of 2009.
"Kelsey and I communicate for the most part," Hermanson said. "It's fun to play with her."
Erickson was teamed up with Taylor Weis at No. 3 doubles in 2008, but Miller said the switch will help the team in the long run.
"It was a tough decision to make. You try to judge each player's progression from year to year. And it wasn't that I thought some girls couldn't play together, I just thought there were better combinations to make," Miller said.
"I think what we've got is pretty close to where (the doubles teams) should be. There's a couple really good combinations and a could good combinations. We're trying to find all the really good combinations."
Weis and current teammate McKenzie Bruce dominated Erin Carr and Amy Diestler in the No. 2 doubles match, 6-0, 6-3.
In the No. 3 doubles, Sutter and Emily Grossen won in straight sets 6-1, 6-2.
"I expect a lot of our doubles. Most of those girls have played varsity for three years, and it shows," Miller said. "They are all good players. One-through-three, they can all play each other on any given day."
The Cheesemakers host Oregon on Thursday and will face Milton again in Saturday's Elkhorn Quad.
"I think we played great today," Monroe head coach Stephanie Miller said. "We had a couple of tough matches where girls had to come back, but good players can do that. They did a nice job."
Nearly every singles match had its struggles, but Monroe's doubles teams cruised.
Junior Kristin McArdle (No. 1 singles) and sophomore Ellie Shuda (No. 2 singles) both got off to slow starts for the Cheesemakers before coming back to win. Alyssa Quinn lost in straight sets, 6-3, 6-2 to Becca Kessler in the No. 3 singles match, and sophomore Lily Priewe dominated Brooke Negus to win 6-1, 6-1 in No. 4 singles.
In the No. 1 doubles match, McArdle found herself trailing Megan Burandt 1-2 in the first set before fighting her way back to win 6-4, 6-3.
"I started out a little bit wild - I was hitting balls all over the court," McArdle said. "I knew I had to change my mind set and then go from there. The first match of conference is a big one."
Shuda got off to an even tougher start, dropping the first set 4-6 and trailing by three games in the second set before rallying.
"I knew I had to come back and play my game," Shuda said. "I was frustrated and bombing the ball. I usually yell at myself."
In the second set, with a line judge on hand to make sure calls were correctly made, Shuda rallied to win 7-5, forcing a tiebreaker. In the extra session, the sophomore kept the momentum, and forced opponent Natalie Casillas to hit wide right, ending the tiebreaker at 10-5.
"It felt good (to end the match)," Shuda said.
On the doubles side, Monroe's top pair, Ashley Hermanson and Kelsey Erickson, cruised through the first set against Marianne Moser and Sharney Furseth, winning 6-1. In the second set, the two admittedly relaxed and struggled, finding themselves down 3-4.
"We weren't communicating as well as we should have been," Erickson said. "But we picked ourselves up and finished it."
After trailing, the duo stormed back, taking the next three games and the two-set win.
Last year, Hermanson played with Gwen Sutter at No. 2 doubles, but has played alongside Erickson for much of 2009.
"Kelsey and I communicate for the most part," Hermanson said. "It's fun to play with her."
Erickson was teamed up with Taylor Weis at No. 3 doubles in 2008, but Miller said the switch will help the team in the long run.
"It was a tough decision to make. You try to judge each player's progression from year to year. And it wasn't that I thought some girls couldn't play together, I just thought there were better combinations to make," Miller said.
"I think what we've got is pretty close to where (the doubles teams) should be. There's a couple really good combinations and a could good combinations. We're trying to find all the really good combinations."
Weis and current teammate McKenzie Bruce dominated Erin Carr and Amy Diestler in the No. 2 doubles match, 6-0, 6-3.
In the No. 3 doubles, Sutter and Emily Grossen won in straight sets 6-1, 6-2.
"I expect a lot of our doubles. Most of those girls have played varsity for three years, and it shows," Miller said. "They are all good players. One-through-three, they can all play each other on any given day."
The Cheesemakers host Oregon on Thursday and will face Milton again in Saturday's Elkhorn Quad.
