MONONA - Artem Bralgin and his gang of doubles-playing buddies pulled together in the clutch to deliver a 4-3 victory over Monona Grove on the road Tuesday evening.
Bralgin, Monroe's No. 3 singles player, got past Derek Markgraf, 6-4, 6-3 and drew praise from his coach.
"Artem Bralgin stepped up today and got a big win in two sets," Monroe coach Jim Bartholf said. "We needed a singles win from someone as we knew we could take the doubles."
Bartholf's confidence was warranted as Matt Turek and Levi Jannsens smashed Mitch Speigle and Ethan Salm, 6-1, 6-1 in No. 1 play. Mark Hoesly and Jim Kundert cruised past Jared Lex and Travor Sisson, 6-3, 6-0 in No. 2 action and Nick Hendrickson and Patrick Gellings were unmatched by Mario Testolin and Jeremy Martinez in their No. 3 match, 6-0, 6-3.
Monroe's grown accustomed to nailbiters and Bartholf was happy to be on the other end of the stick after a non-conference loss by the same tally Monday at Sauk Prairie. Tuesday's victory moved the Cheesemakers to 2-0 in Badger South play and 3-2 overall. They'll enter the eight-team Beaver Dam Invitational Saturday.
The junior varsity squad routed its competition, 7-2 with singles wins from Eric Knudtson, Garrett Tschanz, Jakob Baertschi, Garrett Grinnell, Eric Ganshert and Mike Kohn. Stewart Wyss and Jordan Everson won the only doubles match for Monroe. The JV's host an eight-team tourney in Monroe Saturday beginning at 9 a.m.
Bralgin, Monroe's No. 3 singles player, got past Derek Markgraf, 6-4, 6-3 and drew praise from his coach.
"Artem Bralgin stepped up today and got a big win in two sets," Monroe coach Jim Bartholf said. "We needed a singles win from someone as we knew we could take the doubles."
Bartholf's confidence was warranted as Matt Turek and Levi Jannsens smashed Mitch Speigle and Ethan Salm, 6-1, 6-1 in No. 1 play. Mark Hoesly and Jim Kundert cruised past Jared Lex and Travor Sisson, 6-3, 6-0 in No. 2 action and Nick Hendrickson and Patrick Gellings were unmatched by Mario Testolin and Jeremy Martinez in their No. 3 match, 6-0, 6-3.
Monroe's grown accustomed to nailbiters and Bartholf was happy to be on the other end of the stick after a non-conference loss by the same tally Monday at Sauk Prairie. Tuesday's victory moved the Cheesemakers to 2-0 in Badger South play and 3-2 overall. They'll enter the eight-team Beaver Dam Invitational Saturday.
The junior varsity squad routed its competition, 7-2 with singles wins from Eric Knudtson, Garrett Tschanz, Jakob Baertschi, Garrett Grinnell, Eric Ganshert and Mike Kohn. Stewart Wyss and Jordan Everson won the only doubles match for Monroe. The JV's host an eight-team tourney in Monroe Saturday beginning at 9 a.m.
