MADISON - Two doubles teams and one singles player made it to the second round of the Badger Conference tennis tournament, but did not qualify for today's semifinals at the University of Wisconsin's Nielsen Tennis Stadium.
"After seeing our draw, I knew it was going to be an uphill battle today and we had some good performances," Monroe coach Brad Saugstad said. "Most of the day, we were playing seeded opponents better than us. We would have stretches of points where we were very competitive, but there was a reason these teams seeded ahead of us and we just couldn't string together enough solid points against these good players."
Monroe's No. 1 doubles tandem of senior Hallie Signer and sophomore Jensen Christensen defeated seventh-seeded Ashley Saniter and Abby Kiesow of Beaver Dam, in three sets 7-6 (4), 2-6, 10-6 in a first-round match. In the second round, Watertown's Celeste Bayer and Jenna Kopp beat Signer and Christensen 6-0, 6-1.
"The key for Hallie and Jensen were first serves, returns and keeping the ball away from the net," Saugstad said. "They won two tiebreaks in the match because they were more consistent than their opponents when the pressure was on."
At No. 2 doubles, Monroe seniors Parris Bunker and Kiara Miller defeated Fort Atkinson's Brynn Torrenga and Madelyn Evans 6-0, 6-0. Stoughton's Paige Halverson and Karlie Halverson then beat Bunker and Miller in a second-round match 6-2, 6-1.
Monroe sophomore Emma Towne, at No. 3 singles, beat Portage's Greta McKinnon 7-6 (2), 6-2. With the win over McKinnon, Towne avenged a loss from earlier this season. Then in a second-round match, DeForest's Leah Miller defeated Towne 6-1, 6-1.
"She defeated her Portage opponent by just being steady," Saugstad said of Towne. "The girl from Portage liked to hit hard, but Emma got her to move and forced her into mistakes."
In other first-round matches for the Cheesemakers, Waunakee's Amanda Schuster defeated Monroe senior Maggie Setterstrom 6-0, 6-1 and Sauk Prairie's Katie Yanko at No. 2 singles beat sophomore Grace Tortured 6-0, 6-3. Waunakee's Courtney Paggnuci defeated Monroe senior Skye Allen at No. 4 singles 6-1, 6-0.
Watertown's No. 3 doubles team of Katie Linskens and Sydney Linskens topped the Cheesemakers' Jessa Lucas and Becky Thoman 6-4, 6-0.
"After seeing our draw, I knew it was going to be an uphill battle today and we had some good performances," Monroe coach Brad Saugstad said. "Most of the day, we were playing seeded opponents better than us. We would have stretches of points where we were very competitive, but there was a reason these teams seeded ahead of us and we just couldn't string together enough solid points against these good players."
Monroe's No. 1 doubles tandem of senior Hallie Signer and sophomore Jensen Christensen defeated seventh-seeded Ashley Saniter and Abby Kiesow of Beaver Dam, in three sets 7-6 (4), 2-6, 10-6 in a first-round match. In the second round, Watertown's Celeste Bayer and Jenna Kopp beat Signer and Christensen 6-0, 6-1.
"The key for Hallie and Jensen were first serves, returns and keeping the ball away from the net," Saugstad said. "They won two tiebreaks in the match because they were more consistent than their opponents when the pressure was on."
At No. 2 doubles, Monroe seniors Parris Bunker and Kiara Miller defeated Fort Atkinson's Brynn Torrenga and Madelyn Evans 6-0, 6-0. Stoughton's Paige Halverson and Karlie Halverson then beat Bunker and Miller in a second-round match 6-2, 6-1.
Monroe sophomore Emma Towne, at No. 3 singles, beat Portage's Greta McKinnon 7-6 (2), 6-2. With the win over McKinnon, Towne avenged a loss from earlier this season. Then in a second-round match, DeForest's Leah Miller defeated Towne 6-1, 6-1.
"She defeated her Portage opponent by just being steady," Saugstad said of Towne. "The girl from Portage liked to hit hard, but Emma got her to move and forced her into mistakes."
In other first-round matches for the Cheesemakers, Waunakee's Amanda Schuster defeated Monroe senior Maggie Setterstrom 6-0, 6-1 and Sauk Prairie's Katie Yanko at No. 2 singles beat sophomore Grace Tortured 6-0, 6-3. Waunakee's Courtney Paggnuci defeated Monroe senior Skye Allen at No. 4 singles 6-1, 6-0.
Watertown's No. 3 doubles team of Katie Linskens and Sydney Linskens topped the Cheesemakers' Jessa Lucas and Becky Thoman 6-4, 6-0.
