MONROE — The Cheesemakers wrapped up a 3-day tennis bender with Badger South matches against Stoughton, Watertown and Fort Atkinson Sept. 23-25. Monroe went 1-2.

“We knew coming into the year that this tough conference stretch would be difficult, and it indeed was,” Monroe coach Matt Bordner said. “I think all of our players did a good job of battling through it though and trying to use their matches as opportunities to grow and improve instead of only concentrating on winning and losing.”

The Cheesemakers now turn to the conference tournament, being played Sept. 27-28 at UW-Nielsen Tennis Stadium in Madison.

Sept. 23: Stoughton 4, Monroe 3

The first match of the week was a tight loss to the Vikings at home. Monroe’s No. 1 doubles tandem of Grace Tostrud and Jensen Christensen won 6-3, 6-1

“We knew coming into this match that it would be a tight match that could go either way. It lived up to the expectations and there was a lot of great tennis out there,” Bordner said. “Grace and Jensen continued their solid conference play today. Once they settled into their match and built up some rhythm, they really just took over.”

The Cheesemakers’ No. 3 doubles team of Ava Petitjean and Sadie Conway pulled out a 3-set thriller, 6-3, 4-6, 6-4.

“Ava and Sadie picked up our third win in another really tight match. I was so glad to see them bounce back and play well, because they had been in a little bit of a slump leading into this match,” Bordner said. “Their chemistry out on the court tonight was superb, and although they had some silly errors they did a good job of continuing to bring each other the whole match. For them, if they can mentally keep each other up, they can hang around with almost all 3-doubles teams.”

Kelli Polnow came from behind to win the No. 4 singles match in three sets, 2-6, 7-5 (5), 10-7.

“(She) entered back into our varsity lineup this week after winning a challenge match last week for the 4-singles spot. I’m really proud of the way that Kelli and Cecily Burch have battled this year for that 4-singles spot, and it’s been fun to see them both grow,” Bordner said. “Kelli ended up winning tonight in a very contested match that was even throughout. I think her poise and confidence as a senior helped her a lot in both her set tiebreaker and her match tiebreaker.”

Bordner said Polnow and opponent Zosia Diede were forced to play a tiebreaker instead of a full third set due to darkness. “I think that ended up benefiting Kelli.”

Emma Towne lost the No. 1 singles match 0-6, 3-6; Bekah Rath fell at 2-singles 3-6, 0-6; and Grace Mathiason lost her No. 3 singles match 0-6, 7-6 (3), 0-6. At No. 2 doubles, Kerstin and Kylie Miller lost 5-7, 1-6.

“Grace Mathiason played an interesting match at 3 singles with us. She dropped the first set 6-0, but like she has so many times this season, she found a way to get competitive and battle back into it. She won a very tight second set but just couldn’t build any momentum in that final third set,” Bordner said. “Emma Towne had an off night at 1-singles. She’s been battling some really tough opponents as of late, but has handled it well and continues to get better. For her, it’s all about focusing on the growth and trying to build her skills up for post-season play.”

Sept. 24: Watertown 6, Monroe 1

Christensen and Tostrud were Monroe’s lone victory against the Goslings, winning the top doubles flight 6-2, 6-3.

“This was a big win for Jensen and Grace, as they have a chance tomorrow to now complete a sweep of all of their conference opponents. I’m proud of the way they have played this season, and it’ll be fun to take their momentum into conference tournament play and post-season play,” Bordner said.

Towne lost 6-2, 6-1, with Rath falling 6-0, 6-2; Mathiason going down 6-2, 6-3, and Polnow swept 6-0, 6-0. At doubles, the Miller sisters lost 6-3, 6-1, and Petitjean and Conway fell 6-3, 6-3.

“Watertown was the better team,” Bordner said. “They handled most of our lineup.”

Sept. 25: Monroe 5, Fort 2

The team victory gave the Cheesemakers their second conference dual win of the season, but it didn’t come without a couple of lineup changes.

“Bekah Rath was out, so we rearranged our lineup and I was happy with all of the girls and their effort. Even the matches we lost were good, hard-fought tennis matches,” Bordner said.

Towne was steady in her No. 1 singles victory, beating Klaire Trieloff 6-3, 6-0. Mathiason, at 3-singles, won 6-0, 6-4.

“Emma Towne also bounced back from a couple of tough matches, as well as Grace Mathiason,” Bordner said.

Kylie Miller, playing at 2-singles, lost 6-1, 6-2 to Olivia Granec; and Polnow lost a tight 3-set match to Sarah Holzi 6-4, 4-6, 7-5.

Christensen and Tostrud again won at No. 1 doubles, 6-3, 6-1, while Kerstin Miller and Sadie Conway cruised to a 6-0, 6-2 win at 2-doubles.

“Grace and Jensen finished off the regular season undefeated against our conference opponents and head into the conference tourney with strong momentum,” Bordner said.

Lizzie Snider and Sydney Updike made a varsity appearance at No. 3 doubles, winning in three sets 6-2, 4-6, 6-0.

“Lizzie Snider and Sydney Updike stepped into our varsity lineup today and played really well. They’ve had a great JV season and so it was nice to get them a varsity look, as they will definitely be a strong returning doubles team for our team next year,” Bordner said.