MONROE — The Cheesemakers were swept in their singles matches again and lost to Milton 4-3 in a dual Sept. 17. Just a week after losing to Fort Atkinson by the same score in the same manner, Monroe was unable to get over the hump against the Red Hawks.
“It was a great day from our doubles teams, as they all three won competitive matches,” Monroe coach Matt Bordner said. “It was nice to finally pick up the close matches, as we’ve generally been struggling with them.”
Jensen Christensen and Grace Tostrud won a tight match at No. 1 doubles 6-1, 3-6, 6-1.
“Grace and Jensen picked up their fourth-straight conference win at No. 1 doubles and go into the conference tourney with some solid momentum. They didn’t play their best match, but they did enough to pick up the victory,” Bordner said. “I keep seeing improvement from them and the crazy part is that they both still have so much potential to grow better together as a doubles team.”
At No. 2 doubles, Monroe’s Becky Thoman and Samm Huizenga won 6-4, 1-6, 6-4.
“Sam and Becky picked up a tough No. 3 match victory and played with great energy and aggressiveness. Samm and Becky both had some nice shots at the net and just continued to battle through the whole match,” Bordner said. “They’re poaching more and finishing points off earlier, which is leading to more success. They’ve lost a couple three-set matches this year, so I was glad to see them keep their energy and intensity up to close out that third set.”
Jessa Lucas and Kerstin Miller also picked up a three-set win, 1-6, 7-5, 10-7.
“Kerstin and Jessa played an interesting match after struggling in the first set but found a nice rhythm in the second set to win a close one,” Bordner said. “For conference matches, we usually play out the full third set but due to how long the first two sets took and losing sunlight, both sides opted to finish in a match tiebreaker. Kerstin and Jessa used their positive momentum to finish out.”
All four of Monroe’s singles players lost, with Emma Towne falling at No. 1 to Larissa O’Rourke 6-3, 6-0 and Cierra Larson losing to Grace Van Den Huevel 6-3, 6-1 in the No. 2 singles match. Bekah Rath (No. 3 singles) and Grace Mathiason (No. 4) each lost 6-1, 6-0.
“Emma Towne played a very nice first set against her opponent, who will likely get seeded at conference. Emma continues to improve from playing these tough opponents and will certainly see the benefits next season,” Bordner said. “Cierra battled a tough first set as well but struggled in that second set. She’s working through some consistency issues, but she knows what she needs to do. She is such a hard worker and I know she will work hard to keep getting better.”
The Cheesemakers are participating in the Badger Conference Tournament this weekend at Nielsen Stadium in Madison. Monroe then hosts McFarland Tuesday in the final dual before the WIAA postseason gets underway.
“Our conference is so tough but hopefully we get some draws that allow us to be competitive. The girls keep getting better and I think we all are looking forward to closing this season on some positive notes,” Bordner said.
