WEST SALEM — The Cheesemakers were able to secure two automatic bids to next week’s state tournament. At the WIAA Division 2 West Salem Sectional on Oct. 8, Monroe’s No. 1 singles player, Ryann Dahlman, and the No. 2 doubles tandem of Kaya Holverson and Miah Coppes secured their spot at state. Brackets for the matchups at Nielsen Tennis Stadium in Madison will come out early next week, with the tournament taking place Thursday through Saturday, Oct. 15-17.
“We had an unbelievable day,” said Monroe coach Matt Bordner.
Dahlman’s bid came about as tough as they come. Against Alicia Ritter of Aquinas, she rallied from a 1-6 first set loss to win the second 6-4.
“Ryann dropped the first set and struggled to get momentum, but then came out in the second set and really did a nice job of resetting and playing her game,” Bordner said.
In the winner-take-all super tiebreaker, Dahlman found herself trailing again. With her back against the wall down 4-9 — needing to get to 10 or win by 2 — she rallied with seven straight points to take the set 11-9 and book her trip to Nielsen Stadium.
“I don’t think I’ve ever seen a bigger comeback than that in a super tiebreaker with that much on the line. It was a gutsy effort and a match that will be talked about in our program for quite some time,” Bordner said.
Despite the energy expended, Dahlmann played two more matches on the day, though she lost them both. She was swept by Madison Country Day’s Lily Goeddel 6-0, 6-0, then fell to Edgewood’s Abigail Barker 6-0, 6-3.
“But she will be ready to rumble as we look forward to next Thursday at state,” Bordner reassured.
Holverson and Coppes entered the sectionals coming off a super tiebreaker win over Edgewood at the Jefferson subsectional, and carried that momentum to West Salem. The pair went on to win two more super tiebreakers to become sectional champions, defeating Aquinas 4-6, 6-2, 10-7, and Watertown Luther Prep 4-6, 6-4, 10-1.
“Winning three incredibly tight matches like that in a row is incredibly tough, and I couldn’t be prouder of them. Especially considering they both played singles for all of our conference season, I am thankful that they trusted our process and took the leap into doubles for the postseason as we knew they’d have an opportunity to secure a spot at state. To see it all come to fruition is really neat,” Bordner said.
Monroe’s other sectional qualifiers — No. 1 doubles (Caedyn Blackburn and Elise McKenzie) and No. 3 doubles (Telina Gratz and Paizley Kundert) saw their seasons come to an end.
Blackburn and McKenzie, both seniors, lost to Aquinas in straight sets 6-1, 6-0.
“They were unable to get any momentum going against a very talented No. 1 doubles team from Aquinas,” Bordner said.
Gratz and Kundert won their opening match in a super tiebreaker over Onalaska Luther 4-6, 6-4, 10-8, but then fell to Edgewood 7-5, 6-4. It was just the second loss of the season for the Monroe duo.
“They just didn’t quite have enough against a talented Edgewood team in the championship,” Bordner said. “Telina closes out a very impressive one year tennis career, and Paizley closes out a three year career where she developed incredibly quick and was an absolute joy to watch fly around on the courts.”
Subsectionals
JEFFERSON — The Cheesemakers advanced seven of their 10 varsity tennis players to sectionals following a successful day at the WIAA Division 2 Jefferson Sectional on Monday, Oct. 5.
Advancing include:
● Ryann Dahlman, No. 1 Singles
● Caedyn Blackburn and Elise McKenzie, No. 1 Doubles
● Miah Coppes and Kaya Holverson, No. 2 Doubles
● Telina Gratz and Paizley Kundert, No. 3 Doubles
The West Salem Sectional was held Thursday, Oct. 8.
Dahlmann won her only match of the day against Watertown Luther Prep’s Kaylee Lemke 6-2, 6-2.
“Ryann has had a really impressive season in our singles lineup yet again and is playing with a lot of confidence,” said Bordner.
Blackburn and McKenzie won their lone match over Jefferson 6-1, 7-6(4).
“Caedyn and Elise played conference foe Jefferson and came out extremely strong winning a convincing first set. The second set was extremely tight, but Caedyn/Elise found a way to finish it out in a set tiebreaker to book a trip to sectional,” Bordner said.
At No. 2 doubles, Coppes and Holverson played two matches, winning each. The pair knocked off Columbus 6-1, 6-3 and then fended off Edgewood in a super tiebreaker 6-4, 3-6, 10-8.
“The super tiebreaker was very close, but Miah and Kaya were able to gut it out,” Bordner said.
At No. 3 doubles, top-seeds Gratz and Kundert also booked their ticket to sectionals, disposing of Wayland Academy 6-0, 6-2 and Lake Mills 6-1, 6-2.
“They continue to get better each day,” Bordner said.
The season ended for Jade Tran at No. 2 singles, as well as Braylin Liphart (No. 3 singles) and Ella Mortimer (No. 4 singles).
Tran won her opener 6-1, 6-1 over Molly Engel of Columbus, but lost to Watertown Luther Prep’s Lily Bassett 6-3, 2-6, 10-4.
“Credit to her opponent, as she had a slice shot that was extremely effective and she played really well. Jade finishes an amazing season with a record of 18-4 and will definitely be one of our top players heading into next season,” Bordner said.
Liphart also won her first match, defeating Molly Gee of Jefferson in a tight affair 6-7 (3), 7-6 (5), 10-2. In the second round, Edgewood’s Ashley Davie blanked Liphart 6-0, 6-0.
“Bralyn Liphart played what was likely the match of the day in her first round. She lost her first set in a tiebreaker, and then found herself down a game for most of the second set. She was able to sneak that set into a set tiebreaker and found a way to win, and then went on to also win the super tiebreaker. Her match was nearly three hours long with both players battling till the end,” Bordner said. “Bralyn unfortunately drew a very talented Edgewood player in her next round who played extremely well and secured a win for Edgewood. Bralyn closes out a wonderful senior season and will go down as one of our fiercest competitors we have had on the team in recent years.”
Mortimer lost her only match to Wayland Academy’s Jessica Hu 6-2, 6-2.
“She closes out a very successful sophomore season and it was great to get her experience at subsectionals. She has a bright future on our team,” Bordner said.
Monroe finished the subsectional with the third most team points (8), trailing only Watertown Luther Prep (9) and Edgewood (11).
Subsectional Team Scores
Edgewood 11; Watertown Luther Prep 9; Monroe 8; Wayland Academy 4; Lake Mills 2; Jefferson 2; Edgerton 3; Columbus 2; Madison Country Day School 1
Individual Monroe Singles Results:
No. 1 - Ryann Dahlman, Monroe def. Kaylee Lemke, Watertown Luther Prep, 6-2, 6-2
No. 2 - Jade Tran, Monroe def. Molly Engel, Columbus, 6-1, 6-1
No. 2 - Lily Bassett, Watertown Luther Prep def. Jade Tran, Monroe, 6-3, 2-6, 10-4
No. 3 - Bralyn Liphart, Monroe def. Molly Gee, Jefferson, 6-7 (3), 7-6 (5), 10-2
No. 3 - Ashley Davie, Edgewood def. Bralyn Liphart, Monroe, 6-0, 6-0
No. 4 - Jessica Hu, Wayland Academy def. Ella Mortimer, Monroe, 6-2, 6-2
Individual Monroe Doubles Results:
No. 1 - Caedyn Blackburn & Elise McKenzie, Monroe def. Emmilia Snyder & Amanda Boucher, Jefferson, 6-1, 7-6 (4)
No. 2 - Kaya Holverson & Miah Coppes, Monroe def. Emma Pingel & Payton Engen, Columbus, 6-1, 6-3
No. 2 - Kaya Holverson & Miah Coppes, Monroe def. Clara Herlitzka & Elin Kelly, Edgewood, 6-4, 3-6, 10-8
No. 3 - Telina Gratz & Paizley Kundert, Monroe def. Mary Whittier & Molly Kim, Wayland Academy, 6-0, 6-2
No. 3 - Telina Gratz & Paizley Kundert, Monroe def. Eliana Kirchberg & Addy Smith, Lake Mills, 6-1, 6-2
