FREEPORT - The Monroe girls tennis team stepped up to the challenge of a unique scoring format at the Freeport Quad on Saturday and finished second place.
Monroe defeated Freeport 5-2 and knocked off Dixon 6-1. The Cheesemakers' only loss was to quad-winner Rockford Auburn 4-3.
The format of the quad included three singles matches and four doubles matches. The matches included 10-game prosets instead of two out of three sets.
"Getting off to a good start is extremely important in a proset because you don't get to regroup for a second set," Monroe coach Brad Saugstad said. "If you get off to a bad start you have to work hard and dig your way out."
Monroe sophomore Chelsea Miller went 2-0 at No. 2 singles. She teamed with Allie Coplien at No. 2 doubles against Auburn, and they lost 10-5. Junior Alisa Fager at No. 3 singles went 2-0 including a 10-0 win over Freeport's Danielle Marshall. She played against Rockford Auburn at No. 2 singles and lost 10-0.
The Cheesemakers' No. 3 doubles duo of Paige Prien and Sarah Sabatke went 2-0. Prien and Amber Jenson teamed up at No. 3 doubles and beat Rockford Auburn 10-6.
The Cheesemakers won three of the four doubles matches against the Pretzels. Allie Coplien and Erin Gellings at No. 2 doubles defeated Jackie Luecke and Brandi Yoder 10-4. The Cheesemakers' No. 3 doubles duo of Paige Prien and Sarah Sabatke defeated Ke'Asin Dixon and Hope Taylor 10-7. At No. 3 doubles, Sarah Wong and Amber Jenson knocked off Freeport's Jessica Heilman and Grave Berchtold, 10-5.
"We struggled at the top of the lineup where Macayla Quinn had to play a very good Freeport player and Ellie Grossen and Chandra McGuire lost to a very patient lobbing team," Saugstad said of the Freeport match. "Thankfully our lower positions came through and played well. We jumped out to early leads in all of the other matches and were able to hold the leads and finish out each one."
In the match against Rockford Auburn, Wong at No. 3 singles won 10-2. Grossen and McGuire at No. 1 doubles won 10-6. Prien and Jenson at No. 3 doubles won 10-6.
"This was a nail biter that came down to the very end," Saugstad said. "Rockford Auburn had some very good players at the top of their lineup. We were only able to win one match in the top two singles and doubles positions and that really put us in a hole. Sarah Wong played a very good match at No. 3 singles where she was hitting some great angles. Our No. 3 doubles team of Paige Prien and Amber Jenson pulled away in the end with solid net play and eliminating some unforced errors."
Grossen and McGuire fell behind 6-1 against Dixon before rallying to win. Fager at No. 3 singles trailed 4-1 and came back to win.
"The team rebounded from the loss to Rockford Auburn and played well against a pretty good Dixon team," Saugstad said. "Alisa started to consistently work her opponent's backhand and was hitting great short angles and closed out the match winning 9 of the last 10 games for a great come-from-behind win."
Grossen and McGuire came back to win 10-9 (2). The other singles wins for the Cheesemakers included Miller's 10-4 win and Fager's 10-5 victory. Coplien and Gellings at No. 2 doubles won 10-5. Prien and Sabatke at No. 3 doubles won 10-4 and Jenson and Eva Priewe at No. 4 doubles won 10-4.
"Ellie and Chandra started to take over the net and put balls away consistently," Saugstad said. "They fought back to 8-9, broke their opponents serve, and used the momentum to cruise in the tiebreaker 7-2. I hope those impressive comebacks serve as proof for the rest of the team that no lead is too big to overcome."
Monroe defeated Freeport 5-2 and knocked off Dixon 6-1. The Cheesemakers' only loss was to quad-winner Rockford Auburn 4-3.
The format of the quad included three singles matches and four doubles matches. The matches included 10-game prosets instead of two out of three sets.
"Getting off to a good start is extremely important in a proset because you don't get to regroup for a second set," Monroe coach Brad Saugstad said. "If you get off to a bad start you have to work hard and dig your way out."
Monroe sophomore Chelsea Miller went 2-0 at No. 2 singles. She teamed with Allie Coplien at No. 2 doubles against Auburn, and they lost 10-5. Junior Alisa Fager at No. 3 singles went 2-0 including a 10-0 win over Freeport's Danielle Marshall. She played against Rockford Auburn at No. 2 singles and lost 10-0.
The Cheesemakers' No. 3 doubles duo of Paige Prien and Sarah Sabatke went 2-0. Prien and Amber Jenson teamed up at No. 3 doubles and beat Rockford Auburn 10-6.
The Cheesemakers won three of the four doubles matches against the Pretzels. Allie Coplien and Erin Gellings at No. 2 doubles defeated Jackie Luecke and Brandi Yoder 10-4. The Cheesemakers' No. 3 doubles duo of Paige Prien and Sarah Sabatke defeated Ke'Asin Dixon and Hope Taylor 10-7. At No. 3 doubles, Sarah Wong and Amber Jenson knocked off Freeport's Jessica Heilman and Grave Berchtold, 10-5.
"We struggled at the top of the lineup where Macayla Quinn had to play a very good Freeport player and Ellie Grossen and Chandra McGuire lost to a very patient lobbing team," Saugstad said of the Freeport match. "Thankfully our lower positions came through and played well. We jumped out to early leads in all of the other matches and were able to hold the leads and finish out each one."
In the match against Rockford Auburn, Wong at No. 3 singles won 10-2. Grossen and McGuire at No. 1 doubles won 10-6. Prien and Jenson at No. 3 doubles won 10-6.
"This was a nail biter that came down to the very end," Saugstad said. "Rockford Auburn had some very good players at the top of their lineup. We were only able to win one match in the top two singles and doubles positions and that really put us in a hole. Sarah Wong played a very good match at No. 3 singles where she was hitting some great angles. Our No. 3 doubles team of Paige Prien and Amber Jenson pulled away in the end with solid net play and eliminating some unforced errors."
Grossen and McGuire fell behind 6-1 against Dixon before rallying to win. Fager at No. 3 singles trailed 4-1 and came back to win.
"The team rebounded from the loss to Rockford Auburn and played well against a pretty good Dixon team," Saugstad said. "Alisa started to consistently work her opponent's backhand and was hitting great short angles and closed out the match winning 9 of the last 10 games for a great come-from-behind win."
Grossen and McGuire came back to win 10-9 (2). The other singles wins for the Cheesemakers included Miller's 10-4 win and Fager's 10-5 victory. Coplien and Gellings at No. 2 doubles won 10-5. Prien and Sabatke at No. 3 doubles won 10-4 and Jenson and Eva Priewe at No. 4 doubles won 10-4.
"Ellie and Chandra started to take over the net and put balls away consistently," Saugstad said. "They fought back to 8-9, broke their opponents serve, and used the momentum to cruise in the tiebreaker 7-2. I hope those impressive comebacks serve as proof for the rest of the team that no lead is too big to overcome."
