MADISON — Monroe’s No. 1 doubles tandem of Jensen Christensen and Grace Tostrud pulled off a big Day 1 upset and finished third overall in the two-day Badger Conference Meet held Sept. 21-22 at Nielsen Tennis Stadium.

“To take third in this conference tournament is something that I think they’ll remember forever,” Monroe coach Matt Bordner said.

Tostrud and Christensen won both matches on the first day, 6-3, 6-3 over Oregon and 6-3, 6-4 over second-seeded Beaver Dam.

“Grace and Jensen turned some heads. They knew coming in they were underdogs which is something we were totally fine with. They played loose and attacked the whole match,” Bordner said. “I give a lot of credit to the Beaver Dam girls, as they had some serious pop on their shots. Grace and Jensen just did a better job of keeping balls in play and setting each other up to finish points off. They played with so much energy and I’m just really proud of their effort.”

In Day 2, the Cheesemaker duo lost to Sauk Prairie 7-6 (6), 6-3 before beating Stoughton in the third-place match 7-5, 6-1.

“They came out stronger in their second match, and winning that close first set was the biggest difference maker. It was very similar to the last time Jensen and Grace played Stoughton, as they took a close first set and then just got really comfortable and aggressive the rest of the way. It’s such a mental sport and when they are able to turn it on, they really play great tennis together,” Bordner said.

The No. 1 doubles team was the only outfit from Monroe to advance beyond the first day.

“Emma Towne had our toughest draw of the tournament playing (Cecile) Fuchs from DeForest. Fuchs is a great player but I give a lot of credit to Emma for never backing down,” Bordner said as Towne lost 6-0, 6-1. “She hit some great strokes and I think this match will be good for her game moving forward.”

Grace Mathiason, playing at No. 4 singles, won her first match against Portage’s Riley Wood 6-4, 0-6, 10-5. Mathiason then lost to DeForest’s Audrey Williams 6-0, 6-1.

“Grace’s serve carried her the whole (first) match, it’s really becoming a weapon for her. If we can continue to build her other strokes, she really could blossom into a great player. She showed some poise after losing that second set and coming back to win the tiebreaker,” Bordner said. “Her next opponent did a great job of keeping balls in play and just was more consistent.”

Monroe played one final dual match Tuesday and plays at the WIAA Division subsectional Oct. 1 at Whitewater.