MONROE — Despite a 5-2 conference loss to Delavan-Darien on Thursday, Sept. 14, Monroe head coach Matt Bordner was pleased with the improvement he saw in less than a week. The Cheesemakers and Comets met in the Delavan-Darien Quad last Friday, where Monroe again fell 5-2. All but one match was decided in two sets. This time around, there were two, three-set matches and one that included a tiebreaker.

“We dropped a tight conference loss to Delavan-Darien tonight, but we played them much more competitively than last Friday,” Bordner said. “All of our other matches last week weren’t very close, so our game plan was to grind out long matches and hang around as long as possible to give ourselves a chance.”

Bordner was most impressed with singles players Lindsay Leuzinger, Kate Kundert and Ryann Dahlman. Leuzinger lost a grueling, two-hour, three-set match to state qualifier McKenna O’Grady after a 6-0, 6-1 loss last week. Kundert nearly took the first set from Sophia Szczap, who beat Kundert 6-3, 6-0 last week. Dahlman flipped the script against Emily Lock, picking up a three-set win after falling in straight sets last week.

“They all played much, much better against their opponents compared to last Friday and all of them followed our game plan perfectly,” Bordner said.

With the loss, Monroe drops to 9-11 overall. The Cheesemakers still have the opportunity for a 10-win season — the first under Bordner — as they close out their conference season with matches against East Troy and Jefferson.