WATERTOWN — The Goslings swept Monroe 7-0 Tuesday despite a strong effort by the Cheesemakers after a long bus ride and rain delay.
“This was a tough match for us,” Monroe coach Matt Bordner said. “I thought we came out with good energy after the long bus ride but ultimately Watertown played the better matches. Their doubles players were very strong at the net and their singles players did a great job of keeping balls in play.
“I’m proud of our girls effort but sometimes you just have to tip your cap to the better opponent. We had a slight delay due to a quick rain shower which was tough because a few of our girls were starting to pick up a little momentum in their second sets.”
In the No. 1 singles match Monroe’s Emma Towne lost to Aubrey Schmatzler 6-0, 6-4.
“Emma Towne really settled in with her second set. She was making a lot of unforced errors in her first set but focused more on keeping balls in play which benefitted her in that second set. She continues to grow playing at that top singles spot,” Bordner said.
At No. 2 singles, Cierra Larson of Monroe lost to Taylor Adams 6-1, 6-1, while Bekah Rath lost the No. 3 singles match 6-0, 6-1 and Grace Mathiason lost to Mya Werning 6-1, 6-1 at No. 4 singles.
“Cierra, Bekah and Grace Mathiason all showed some good things in their matches but it really just boiled down to Watertown keeping balls in play longer than us. We tried a few different strategies to affect their rhythm but ultimately just need to work on our consistency,” Bordner said.
In the top doubles flight, Grace Tostrud and Jensen Crhistensen lost to Jenna Koep and Katie Schleicher 6-2, 6-2.
“Jensen and Grace Tostrud played probably the most competitive match of the day. There were a lot of eyes on this match, and a lot of energy after points which was fun for both sides,” Bordner said. “Watertown’s (No.) 1 doubles were very strong at the net and finished off nearly all the balls that were hit at them at the net. Jensen and Grace did a good job mixing things up, especially early in the second set. Watertown went on a run to finish that second set strong though.”
Samma Huizenga and Becky Thoman lost the No. 2 doubles match 6-3, 6-4 to Sydney Linskens and Abby Marr. In the No. 3 doubles match, Monroe’s Jessa Lucas and Kerstin Miller lost to Hannah Baneck and Grace Bowman 6-2, 6-4.
“Samm and Becky, as well as Jessa and Kerstin, played long matches and Kerstin and Samm both battled through not feeling well,” Bordner said. “Jessa continues to impress me. She moves around the court probably better than anyone on our team and her and Kerstin are getting better together. Samm and Becky have good rapport and hit some nice strokes, we need to just keep working on footwork and aggressiveness.”
Monroe was scheduled to host Edgewood Thursday and has a busy week coming up with a rain-makeup on Monday at Oregon, a home match against Fort Atkinson Tuesday and an away meetup with Stoughton on Thursday.
