UW-Whitewater Earns Fifth Straight Women’s Tennis Crown
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MADISON, Wis.--University of Wisconsin-Whitewater earned its fifth straight Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) women’s tennis championship following completion of the league event that was held Oct. 22-23 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 Warhawks secured the 12th first-place trophy in program history with 21 overall points and won all six singles flights and all three doubles flights enroute to the title. This marked the third time in WIAC archives that the same team won all nine flights (Marquette University-1982, UW-Whitewater-2008).
UW-Eau Claire took second with 17 points, UW-Oshkosh third with 15, UW-La Crosse fourth with 13, UW-Stevens Point fifth with eight, UW-River Falls sixth with seven and UW-Stout seventh with three.
UW-Whitewater, UW-Eau Claire, UW-Oshkosh and UW-La Crosse advance to the team tournament in the spring to determine the conference’s automatic qualifier to the NCAA Division III Championship. The Warhawks will host the four-team event.
Individually, UW-Whitewater’s Kalla Schaefer secured the second No. 1 singles title of her career with a 6-3, 6-1 triumph over UW-Eau Claire’s Gretchen Bachmeier. Schaefer also won the flight in 2008. She became the third individual in WIAC history to win three No. 1 doubles crowns, joining former Warhawks Mary Sarbacker (1985-87) and Wendy Seymour (1989-91). This year, she teamed with Alexandra Bayliss to defeat UW-Eau Claire’s Taylor Heltne and Katie Gillman 9-7. Schaefer secured first-place finishes in 2008 and 2009.
Annie Smith won the No. 2 singles title for the second straight season with a 6-3, 6-1 victory over UW-Eau Claire’s Gretchen Bachmeier. She also won the No. 3 singles flight in 2008.
Sydney Divelbiss earned the No. 3 singles crown with a 6-0, 6-1 win over UW-Eau Claire’s Katie Gillman. Divelbiss was the No. 4 singles winner a year ago.
Alexandra Bayliss secured the No. 4 singles flight with a 6-3, 6-4 decision over UW-La Crosse’s Abby Tresedder. Bayliss captured the No. 5 singles title last season.
Megan Kasten was victorious at No. 5 singles with a 6-2, 6-1 victory over UW-Eau Claire’s Renee Nelson. She earned the No. 3 singles title in 2010. Kasten also won her second straight No. 3 doubles crown when she paired with Jackie Vitale to defeat UW-Oshkosh’s Morgan Counts and Brianna Theobald 8-4.
Lauren Aguilar won her second straight No. 6 singles crown with a 6-2, 6-1 victory over UW-Eau Claire’s Lexi DeMario.
Smith teamed with Divelbiss to beat UW-La Crosse’s Jenny Maruyama and Abby Tresedder for the No. 2 doubles championship. Smith also won No. 2 doubles in 2009.
UW-Eau Claire’s Tom Gillman and UW-Whitewater’s Frank Barnes shared the Coach of the Year honor, while UW-Whitewater’s Kalla Schaefer 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 Mary Frassetto; UW-La Crosse’s Lindsay Seccombe; UW-Oshkosh’s Emily Bostwick; UW-River Falls’ Amanda Drangeid; UW-Stevens Point’s Allison Fortier; UW-Stout’s Elizabeth Lehnertz and UW-Whitewater’s Kalla Schaefer.
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