MONROE — The Cheesemakers lost a tight match to McFarland 4-3 Wednesday in their final dual match of the season. The contest had been postponed one day due to inclement weather the day before.
“This was our last dual of the season and our senior night,” Monroe coach Matt Bordner said. “It was a beautiful fall afternoon for tennis, and there were a lot of great matches today at the varsity and JV level. I’m really proud of our senior girls this year. They have provided great leadership for both our varsity and JV teams and make coaching a lot of fun.”
Monroe’s doubles teams again came up big, with all three tandems scoring wins.
At No. 1 doubles, Jensen Christensen and Grace Tostrud picked up a 6-1, 6-0 victory.
“Grace and Jensen cruised in their match which will help secure them a higher seed (at subsectionals),” Bordner said.
Monroe’s No. 2 doubles tandem of Becky Thoman and Samm Huizenga needed three sets, but pulled off a win 6-2, 3-6, 10-2.
“Becky and Samm pulled off a close match and finished off the match tiebreaker really strong. We had a great practice on Monday and I think the intensity paid off,” Bordner said.
Jessa Lucas and Kerstin Miller, teaming up for No. 3 doubles, won 6-4, 6-3.
“Jessa and Kerstin also played a close match. Their communication has improved so much and they continue to get a feel for where each other is on the court. They still have a bunch of room for improvement but I’m happy with the positive energy they are playing with lately,” Bordner said.
Emma Towne lost the No. 1 singles match to McFarland’s Michelle Butcher 6-1, 6-4.
“Emma Towne continues to improve her play at 1 singles and had a great 2nd set against a tough opponent,” Bordner said.
At No. 2 singles, Cierra Larson lost to Aeryn Olson 6-0, 6-1.
Bekah Rath, playing at No. 3 singles, lost a tough first set that could have changed the course of the match, but instead fell to Maiah O’Rourke 7-6 (5), 6-3.
“Bekah Rath was our closest singles player to scoring a victory for us,” Bordner said. “For Bekah, it was great to see her get back on track. She’s been in a bit of a slump, but really came out today and played some of her best tennis. There were points where she was in total control. Unfortunately, her first set comes down to a couple points not going her way and then losing some of that momentum in the second set.”
Grace Mathiason, Monroe’s No. 4 singles player, lost to Lexi Mazzara 6-3, 6-1.
The match itself, despite being a nonconference setup, was important because both schools are in the same subsectional and results will be considered for subsectional seeding. The WIAA Division 2 subsectional is slated to be played Monday at UW-Whitewater and includes Big Foot/Williams Bay, Delavan-Darien, East Troy, Edgerton, Jefferson, McFarland, Watertown Luther Prep and Whitewater.
“I think our doubles teams have some potential in this tournament and I’m looking forward to seeing what our singles players can do as well. We’ve gone through a really tough conference stretch this year and playing in Division 2 for the postseason makes a big difference,” Bordner said.
