MONROE — The Cheesemakers won their home opener 6-1 against Reedsburg Aug. 27.
The doubles teams swept the Beavers, while the singles players went 3-1.
“We played really well and came out with a nice overall team win,” Monroe coach Matt Bordner said. “No. 1 and 2 singles, as well as 1- and 2-doubles all played really strong matches. They took care of their unforced errors and won the important points, which added up to nice quality wins.”
Emma Towne, Monroe’s No. 1 singles player, and No. 2 Bekah Rath each blanked their opponents 6-0, 6-0.
Perhaps the toughest match of the day came at No. 3 singles, where Monroe’s Grace Mathiason had trouble with Reedsburg’s Shelby Henke.
“Grace Mathiason played a long match at 3-singles. She came out strong with a really nice first set. Her baseline game was carrying her and I felt like she had nice control throughout that set,” Bordner said. “She dropped the next set, and I think the wind picking up affected her serve confidence. It’s always interesting to see how a player responds in a third set, and Grace did exactly what we hoped.”
Mathiason won in three sets, 6-2, 3-6, 7-5.
“She kept battling and never gave up, even after being down 4-5 in that last set. Her ability to stay calm and collected is impressive, and gutting out a win like this should be good for her confidence,” Bordner said.
The lone loss for the Cheesemakers came at No. 4 singles, where Kelli Polnow fell to Brooke Benseman 6-2, 6-4.
“Kelli continued to battle at 4-singles for us. She didn’t come out with a win, but she really is playing competitive matches and getting better,” Bordner said.
Monroe’s No. 1 doubles tandem of Jensen Christiansen and Grace Tostrud rolled to a 6-0, 6-2 victory. Sisters Kerstin and Kylie Miller won the No. 2 doubles match 6-2, 6-2, and Ava Petitjean and Sadie Conway rolled to a 6-1, 6-3 victory at No. 3 doubles.
“Ava and Sadie looked good again at 3-doubles,” Bordner said. “So far this season, we’ve seen that our 3-doubles spot can really be a bright spot. Ava and Sadie keep learning more and more each match they get under their belt, so hopefully we can continue to build with them.”
