MADISON - With the opening day of the Badger Conference tournament under way, the Monroe tennis squad found themselves tied for fourth place amongst the 12 teams in attendance.
With many of their matchups coming against tough competition, Cheesemakers coach Brad Saugstad felt that his team executed and fought well enough in the tournament's opening round.
"Our day started pretty well with getting six of our seven flights out of the first round," Saugstad said. "To compete in any tournament you need to get the day off to a good start, and we accomplished that."
Cruising to victories in the first round for Monroe were No. 1 singles David Shon, No. 2 singles Matt Monahan, and all of the Cheesemaker's doubles tandems. No. 4 singles Silas Setterstrom had a bye in the first round.
However, the Cheesemakers weren't as successful in the second round. Facing stiffer competition, only the No. 2 doubles team of Ellyott Baertschi and Kody Althaus advanced after their comeback win against the third-seeded duo of Waunakee's Luke Dias and Jake Gallagher. After dropping a tough first set 4-6, Baertschi and Althaus elevated their play to take the second set 6-3 and dug deep to pull out a 7-6 third set marathon.
"I'm extremely proud of how smart (Baertschi and Althaus) played," Saugstad said. "They handled the pressure of a tight match, which was a great win for them today."
Baertschi and Althaus play Monona Grove in the semifinals today at 9 a.m.
With many of their matchups coming against tough competition, Cheesemakers coach Brad Saugstad felt that his team executed and fought well enough in the tournament's opening round.
"Our day started pretty well with getting six of our seven flights out of the first round," Saugstad said. "To compete in any tournament you need to get the day off to a good start, and we accomplished that."
Cruising to victories in the first round for Monroe were No. 1 singles David Shon, No. 2 singles Matt Monahan, and all of the Cheesemaker's doubles tandems. No. 4 singles Silas Setterstrom had a bye in the first round.
However, the Cheesemakers weren't as successful in the second round. Facing stiffer competition, only the No. 2 doubles team of Ellyott Baertschi and Kody Althaus advanced after their comeback win against the third-seeded duo of Waunakee's Luke Dias and Jake Gallagher. After dropping a tough first set 4-6, Baertschi and Althaus elevated their play to take the second set 6-3 and dug deep to pull out a 7-6 third set marathon.
"I'm extremely proud of how smart (Baertschi and Althaus) played," Saugstad said. "They handled the pressure of a tight match, which was a great win for them today."
Baertschi and Althaus play Monona Grove in the semifinals today at 9 a.m.
