MONROE — The Cheesemakers have to replace five contributors to their varsity tennis lineup this fall, including determining a new No. 1 singles player. Kylie Miller held that spot for the previous two season, but she, along with Vaughn Barker and Melana, Bella and Alicia Brunton, graduated in the spring.

Back this year for Monroe are juniors Lydia Setterstrom, Lindsay Leuzinger and Kate Kundert, all of whom are expected to play singles. 

“Lydia returns with a wealth of experience, but we again will be keeping a close eye on her wrist,” said coach Matt Bordner. “She’s been battling wrist problems for a bit of time now, which certainly makes things challenging. She’s doing a great job of working through rehab on it though and is conscious of her usage. Lindsay and Kate both will be steady figures in our singles lineup.”

Sydney Conway, Allison Wunschel and Morgan Johnson are all back and will likely find a home in the doubles lineup. Senior Taylor Jacobson could swing either to singles or doubles.

“Syd Conway I think has a chance to really play well at #1 doubles this year, as she’s put in some time and is playing much more aggressive to start the season. Allison Wunschel also figures to play at #1 doubles, and I think she too has a higher ceiling and will be a great leader for us this season,” Bordner said. “Morgan Johnson brings a bunch of varsity experience and match play to our team and will be rock solid for us in the lineup, and Taylor Jacobson filled in at spots last year in our lineup and I really think she’s poised to be a regular contributor this year on our varsity team.”

Bordner said the team is also welcoming Kristina Haumer, an exchange student from Austria. “She looks to immediately plug into our varsity singles lineup,” he said. 

Others that could step up and make a difference include seniors Grace Versnik and Elly Beckman, as well as freshman Mads Josephs.

“Grace has worked hard and improved, and I think Elly also has a chance to make our varsity lineup,” Bordner said. “We’ve integrated a ladder system into our team, and so our girls will be competing against each other to earn their spots and the lineup is likely to be fluid at times as players improve throughout the season.”

Bordner is excited to see how the upcoming season shakes out. He’s hopeful that the team can make the most out of its practices and dive into technique a little more this season. 

“I think that’s probably the biggest key to making the jump for our girls program. I told the girls on our first day of practice that my theme for the season is to become students of the game. I think we’ve really done a nice job of teaching our team to love the game, but for them to make the next jump they will need to dive into the fundamentals and details even further,” Bordner said.

A year ago, the team lost several close matches, and Bordner thinks they can flip the script some this season. While he doesn’t expect to contend for a conference title with the likes of Madison Edgewood, he believes in his team’s ability to win some big matches throughout the fall.

“I think a lot of the girls on this year’s varsity really have a hunger to win,” Bordner said.