MADISON - The Cheesemakers wrapped up two conference championships in a matter of minutes Friday at the Nielsen Tennis Stadium.
Monroe's second-seeded No. 1 doubles team of Ashley Hermanson and Kelsey Erickson knocked off Madison Edgewood's Chloe Starz and Rachel Wabers, 2-6, 6-3, 6-1. On the other side of the complex, unseeded No. 3 doubles tandem of McKenzie Bruce and Taylor Weis upset Monona Grove's Stephanie Slinde and McKenzy Palmer, 7-5, 6-1.
"Both of the teams we beat today we lost to earlier this year, but we should have beaten them," Weis said. "It feels really good."
Bruce and Weis knocked off the No. 4, 5, 1 and 2 seeds to win the conference championship.
"(Bruce and Weis) really impressed me. They've struggled this season," Monroe head coach Stephanie Miller said. "They've lost to some teams they should have never lost against. But they've really picked up their self-esteem and have played well."
The pair squeaked out a 6-3, 3-6, 7-6(5) win over Edgewood's Brianna Piddington and Mari Grace Carney in the semifinal round to reach the final.
Despite the final score, the girls knew the championship match was extremely tough.
"The games were a lot closer than the scores showed - we had a lot of deuces," Bruce said. "It just feels really nice to be unseeded and have everyone underestimate us."
Over the course of the two-day tournament, Bruce and Weis played nearly 10 hours of tennis.
"I'm really happy we have three days off now," Weis said.
The win over the Edgewood duo was satisfying for Hermanson and Erickson. Wabers and Starz had topped Monroe's top doubles team in three sets Sept. 17, helping Edgewood to a 4-3 conference dual meet win.
"It feels amazing. It's revenge - sweet revenge," Hermanson said."It's much better to beat them now."
After dropping the first set, Monroe's top doubles team pulled out its secret weapon.
"'Stanky Leggs.' It's a song (by the GS Boyz)," Erickson said. "It kind of got us out of some of the (bad) moments that we had."
Before long, the Cheesemakers had their title.
Hermanson and Erickson opened Friday with a semifinal win over DeForest's top tandem, 6-1, 6-2. Just like Thursday, the pair had to wait their turn to play again. But the wait was worth it.
"We were ready. We had been sitting nearly 10 hours yesterday. We were just ready to play," Hermanson said.
Also placing Friday for Monroe was No. 1 singles player, junior Kristin McArdle, who beat Edgewood's Sydney Kirsch, 7-5, 6-4, in the third-place match. McArdle was swept by the conference champion, Fort Atkinson's Leah Dahl, in the semifinals, 6-0, 6-0.
"We really played up to our potential this year. In the past we've kind of taken a step down, but this year we've stepped it up," Miller said.
Ellie Shuda took second at No. 2 singles, losing to Fort Atkinson's Olivia Hartwick, 6-1, 6-2, in the championship match. Shuda knocked off Edgewood's Sara Murphy, 6-2, 6-2, in the semifinals Friday morning.
Lily Priewe took fourth place in the No. 4 singles bracket, losing to Edgewood's Marieka Van Rybroek in the semifinals, 7-5, 6-3, then to Sauk Prairie's Avery Bannan by the same score.
In No. 2 doubles action, Monroe's Gwen Sutter and Emily Grossen lost to conference champion Baraboo, 6-3, 7-6(1) in the semifinals. In the third-place match, the pair nearly knocked off Edgewood's Caroline Christiansen and Kylee Molitor, winning the first set 6-4, before losing the last two, 5-7, 1-6.
"These girls were very impressive," Miller said. "We had three challenging for conference titles and another three for third place. That is excellent. We haven't had that many in the championship round in a while."
Monroe finished third in the Badger South, scoring eight points between dual meet results and tournament outcomes. Fort Atkinson and Edgewood tied for first place.
Monroe's second-seeded No. 1 doubles team of Ashley Hermanson and Kelsey Erickson knocked off Madison Edgewood's Chloe Starz and Rachel Wabers, 2-6, 6-3, 6-1. On the other side of the complex, unseeded No. 3 doubles tandem of McKenzie Bruce and Taylor Weis upset Monona Grove's Stephanie Slinde and McKenzy Palmer, 7-5, 6-1.
"Both of the teams we beat today we lost to earlier this year, but we should have beaten them," Weis said. "It feels really good."
Bruce and Weis knocked off the No. 4, 5, 1 and 2 seeds to win the conference championship.
"(Bruce and Weis) really impressed me. They've struggled this season," Monroe head coach Stephanie Miller said. "They've lost to some teams they should have never lost against. But they've really picked up their self-esteem and have played well."
The pair squeaked out a 6-3, 3-6, 7-6(5) win over Edgewood's Brianna Piddington and Mari Grace Carney in the semifinal round to reach the final.
Despite the final score, the girls knew the championship match was extremely tough.
"The games were a lot closer than the scores showed - we had a lot of deuces," Bruce said. "It just feels really nice to be unseeded and have everyone underestimate us."
Over the course of the two-day tournament, Bruce and Weis played nearly 10 hours of tennis.
"I'm really happy we have three days off now," Weis said.
The win over the Edgewood duo was satisfying for Hermanson and Erickson. Wabers and Starz had topped Monroe's top doubles team in three sets Sept. 17, helping Edgewood to a 4-3 conference dual meet win.
"It feels amazing. It's revenge - sweet revenge," Hermanson said."It's much better to beat them now."
After dropping the first set, Monroe's top doubles team pulled out its secret weapon.
"'Stanky Leggs.' It's a song (by the GS Boyz)," Erickson said. "It kind of got us out of some of the (bad) moments that we had."
Before long, the Cheesemakers had their title.
Hermanson and Erickson opened Friday with a semifinal win over DeForest's top tandem, 6-1, 6-2. Just like Thursday, the pair had to wait their turn to play again. But the wait was worth it.
"We were ready. We had been sitting nearly 10 hours yesterday. We were just ready to play," Hermanson said.
Also placing Friday for Monroe was No. 1 singles player, junior Kristin McArdle, who beat Edgewood's Sydney Kirsch, 7-5, 6-4, in the third-place match. McArdle was swept by the conference champion, Fort Atkinson's Leah Dahl, in the semifinals, 6-0, 6-0.
"We really played up to our potential this year. In the past we've kind of taken a step down, but this year we've stepped it up," Miller said.
Ellie Shuda took second at No. 2 singles, losing to Fort Atkinson's Olivia Hartwick, 6-1, 6-2, in the championship match. Shuda knocked off Edgewood's Sara Murphy, 6-2, 6-2, in the semifinals Friday morning.
Lily Priewe took fourth place in the No. 4 singles bracket, losing to Edgewood's Marieka Van Rybroek in the semifinals, 7-5, 6-3, then to Sauk Prairie's Avery Bannan by the same score.
In No. 2 doubles action, Monroe's Gwen Sutter and Emily Grossen lost to conference champion Baraboo, 6-3, 7-6(1) in the semifinals. In the third-place match, the pair nearly knocked off Edgewood's Caroline Christiansen and Kylee Molitor, winning the first set 6-4, before losing the last two, 5-7, 1-6.
"These girls were very impressive," Miller said. "We had three challenging for conference titles and another three for third place. That is excellent. We haven't had that many in the championship round in a while."
Monroe finished third in the Badger South, scoring eight points between dual meet results and tournament outcomes. Fort Atkinson and Edgewood tied for first place.
