MONROE — The Cheesemakers’ No. 2 doubles team of Brinley Roidt and Alexis Gertsch advanced to the WIAA Division 1 sectionals on Oct. 9 where they finished third — just one spot shy of qualifying for individual state.
“It’s rare for a team to finish their season on a win, so it was a nice finish for Brinley and Alexis, who close their season with an impressive 16-3 record together,” Monroe head coach Matt Bordner said.
No. 1 singles Adeline Eckerman was unable to pick up a game against Rya Arreazola of Janesville Craig, who ended up taking second at sectionals and will advance to state.
No. 2 singles Ryann Dahlman upset 4-seed Lydia Mikelbank of McFarland before falling to eventual sectional champion and top-seeded Ava Lee of Monona Grove.
No. 3 Jade Tran took one game from Claire Orn of Stoughton, who took third in sectionals.
No. 4 singles Allie Adrian hung tight with 3-seed Erin Hull of Stoughton.
After winning a play-in game against the 9-seed from Janesville Parker, No. 1 doubles Layla Pallesen and Rylee Svendsen fell to the top-seeded Oregon squad of Gianna Golesh and Baylee Knott. That pair took fourth at sectionals and will advance to state.
Roidt and Gertsch overcame a slow start in subsectionals, where they downed the 7-seed from Beloit Memorial in three sets. The pair then ousted the 3-seed from Monona Grove. In their sectional semifinal game, Roidt and Gertsch took leads in both sets but eventually fell to the sectional championship duo of Brenna Borkowski and Ellen Windau of Mukwonago. Roidt and Gertsch faced an 0-3 deficit in their third-place match before winning the last 12 games to earn the win.
No. 3 doubles Ada Lehto and Mads Josephs won their first subsectional game before falling to the 2-seed, and eventual sectional champions, from Oregon.
Although Monroe wasn’t able to reach the big stage at Nielson Stadium, Bordner sees the 2024 season as a success. The team finished 11-10 overall, which is the most wins in his girls coaching career. Three spots in the lineup earned all-conference — first-team No. 1 doubles Pallesen and Svendsen, second-team No. 1 singles Eckerman and second-team No. 2 doubles Roidt and Gertch.
“It was a very successful season, and I think it’ll be the stepping stone we need to get this team to consistently play at a high level over the coming years,” Bordner said.
