2022 WIAC Women's Tennis Championship Preview University of Wisconsin-Whitewater will strive for a 16th consecutive title at the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) Women’s Tennis Championship (presented by Culver’s) that will be conducted Oct. 22-23 at Nielsen Tennis Stadium in Madison, Wis. The 51st gathering of league teams will be hosted by UW-La Crosse and decide three sets of doubles winners, along with six singles champions, in addition to the team winner. The Warhawks earned their conference-best 22nd title in program archives a season ago with 21 overall points to top UW-Eau Claire’s second-place total of 18 points. UW-La Crosse was third with 15 points, UW-Stevens Point fourth with 12, UW-Stout fifth with nine, UW-River Falls sixth with six and UW-Oshkosh seventh with three. UW-La Crosse ranks second all-time with 15 WIAC championships, while UW-Eau Claire possesses 12 first-place finishes. Former member Marquette University collected five titles. This year’s team title will be determined by using a combination of the regular-season dual-meet standings and the WIAC championship results. The finish in the regular-season standings accounts for one-third of the criteria, while the conference championship accounts for the remaining two-thirds. Point distribution following the dual-meet rotation consists of: UW-Whitewater (6-0) (7 points); UW-Eau Claire (5-1) (6 points); UW-La Crosse (4-2) (5 points); UW-Stevens Point (3-3) (4 points); UW-Oshkosh (2-4) (3 points); UW-River Falls (1-5) (2 points); and UW-Stout (0-6) (1 point). The initial day of competition at the conference event, which begins at 1 p.m., will consist of the first two rounds of doubles matches followed by the first round of singles matches. The second day of the championship commences at 9 a.m., and will feature the final two rounds of singles contests followed by the last round of doubles matches. The top four teams (following the conclusion of the WIAC championship) will advance to a team tournament that will determine the conference's automatic qualifier to the NCAA Division III Championship. The team tournament will be held at the site of the overall conference champion on April 29, 2023. UW-Whitewater owns the top seed in all six singles flights, as well as No. 2 and No. 3 doubles. Autumn Bruno was a No. 1 doubles champion a season ago and received WIAC Newcomer of the Year distinction. She is 8-4 in singles in 2022. Courtney Day was a No. 3 doubles champion in 2019 and is 10-3 in doubles action this year. Gianna Nikoleit owns a 12-3 singles mark and Kasey Schlicht is 7-3 after earning Newcomer of the Year accolades a season ago. UW-Eau Claire’s Samantha Fuchs posted a first-place finish at No. 4 singles last year and teamed with Clare Palen for the No. 2 doubles title. Fuchs and Palen each have a 6-2 singles mark in 2022, and have teamed up for a 13-3 record in doubles contests. The Blugolds’ Morgan Nelson was a No. 3 doubles champion last year and is 7-5 in singles this year, while Anna Lee is 7-3. UW-La Crosse’s Kellie Hierl was a No. 3 singles champion in 2019 when she received Newcomer of the Year honors. Emma Heinert is currently 10-1 in singles competition, while Kate Townsend is 8-1. UW-Oshkosh has received a steady performance this fall from Cordelia Damkot, who is 9-4 in singles. UW-River Falls’ Karyn Duddeck and Kaytlyn Syverson each own 3-6 records in singles events. UW-Stevens Point’s Barbara Covek is 10-1 in singles, while Tristin Jantz is 9-2 and Maya Kunze is 9-3. Faith Leithold and Quinlyn Mack are 8-3. UW-Stout’s Ellie Becker is 4-4 in singles. # # # # #