UW-Whitewater Secures Fourth Consecutive Women’s Tennis Title
MADISON, Wis.--University of Wisconsin-Whitewater secured its fourth consecutive Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) women’s tennis title following completion of the league championship that was held Oct. 23-24 at Nielsen Tennis Stadium.
The team title was determined by using a combination of the regular-season dual meet standings and the WIAC championship results. The finish in the regular-season standings accounted for one-third of the criteria, while the conference championship accounted for the remaining two-thirds.
The WIAC crown for the Warhawks is the 11th in program history. They accumulated 21 points in this year’s overall championship standings to surpass UW-La Crosse’s second-place sum of 18. UW-Eau Claire placed third with 15, UW-Oshkosh fourth with 12, UW-Stevens Point fifth with eight, UW-River Falls sixth with six and UW-Stout seventh with four.
UW-Whitewater, UW-La Crosse, UW-Eau Claire and UW-Oshkosh advance to a team tournament in the spring that will be hosted by UW-Whitewater the weekend prior to the NCAA Division III Championship. The winner of the four-team tournament receives the conference’s automatic bid into the national event.
The Warhawks claimed five singles title and one doubles crown enroute to this year’s first-place trophy. Annie Smith secured the No. 2 crown with a 6-1, 6-1 victory over UW-La Crosse’s Kelly Kuether. Smith won the No. 3 title at the 2008 championship.
Megan Kasten claimed the No. 3 title with a 6-1, 6-0 decision over UW-Eau Claire’s Katie Gillman, while Sydney Divelbiss earned the No. 4 crown with a 6-3, 6-0 triumph over UW-La Crosse’s Jenny Maruyama.
Alexandra Bayliss was victorious at No. 5 with a 6-4, 6-0 win over UW-Oshkosh’s Lauren Piotrowski and Lauren Aguilar captured the No. 6 championship with a 6-2, 6-3 decision over UW-La Crosse’s Abby Tresedder.
In doubles action, Kasten and Aguilar teamed to win the No. 3 crown with a 9-8 (6) decision over UW-La Crosse’s Amanda O’Keefe and Lindsay Seccombe.
UW-Eau Claire’s Megan Born secured the No. 1 title with a 6-3, 6-2 triumph over UW-Whitewater’s Amy Siemon.
UW-La Crosse claimed a pair of doubles titles as Kelly Stadum and Kelly Kuether won the No. 1 trophy with a 9-7 victory over UW-Stout’s Allie Hinman and Abby Werwie. Jenny Maruyama and Abby Tresedder earned the No. 2 championship with a 8-3 win over UW-Whitewater’s Annie Smith and Sydney Divelbiss.
UW-Oshkosh head coach Steve Francour was voted the Coach of the Year by the league coaches, while UW-Stout’s Allie Hinman received the Judy Kruckman Scholar-Athlete Award.
An All-Sportsmanship Team was chosen for individuals that displayed exemplary sportsmanship throughout the season. It included one member from each school. Named to the squad were: UW-Eau Claire’s Stephanie Wolf, UW-La Crosse’s Kelly Stadum, UW-Oshkosh’s Whitney Tornow,
UW-River Falls’ Amanda Drangeid, UW-Stevens Point’s Allison Fortier, UW-Stout’s Katie Sorensen and UW-Whitewater’s Lauren Aguilar.
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