THE STATE TOURNAMENT: The alternate season Girls Team Tennis Tournament will be held Saturday, May 1 at the Menard Tennis Center in Eau Claire, Wis. Admission is $9 for a maximum of four spectators per participant.
COVID-19 ADMISSION RESTRICTIONS: Because of the COVID-19 pandemic restrictions, only four spectators will be permitted admission at Menard Tennis Club, and a ticket is required. Essential event personnel and limited media will be permitted. Social distancing guidelines of six feet and properly worn face masks are required.
TEAM TOURNAMENT SEEDING: Seeding of the State Girls Team Tournament began in 2017. The head coaches of the four qualifying teams voted to determine the seeds in the bracket.
THE TOURNEY MATCH-UPS & SCHEDULE:
Semifinal Matches
#1 Neenah (15-0) vs. #4 Verona (9-6) - 9 am.
#2 Middleton (7-2) vs. #3 Ashwaubenon (8-3) - 11 a.m.
Championship Match
Winner of the Semifinal Matches - 1:30 p.m.
BY THE NUMBERS: There were 42 teams sponsoring girls tennis in the alternate season in one division. The State Tournament field of teams was determined by team points recorded at the subsectional and sectional levels.
LAST FALL: Second-seeded Muskego won the Division 1 title with a 4-3 win over top-seeded Divine Savior Holy Angels in the championship match. The Warriors won three of the four singles matches and the #1 doubles flight to earn the victory. In Division 2, the #2 seed, Xavier, defeated top-seeded Catholic Memorial 5-2 in the championship match. The Hawks won the first three flights of singles play and the top two flights in doubles action to account for the margin of victory.
THE HISTORY OF THE CHAMPIONSHIPS: Nicolet has won six titles since the advent of the team championship dual format in 1994 and have won a membership-leading 17 team titles. Brookfield Central, Homestead, and University School possess nine team championships, and Whitefish Bay has eight.
ABOUT THE TEAM TOURNAMENT FIELD: Neenah is the top seed in the bracket. The Rockets have qualified for the 18th time and essentially for the ninth consecutive season, qualifying in the traditional fall season from 2012-19. They won the State team title in 2015. They have also compiled six runner-up finishes, including two before the start of the team tournament in 1983 and 1986, and in the team tournament in 2000, 2014, 2016 and 2017. Middleton is the #2 seed. The Cardinals are making their eighth appearance overall and their first since 2014. They won the Division 1 championship in 2013. Third-seeded Ashwaubenon qualifies for the tournament for the second time after making its initial appearance in 2019, which resulted in a defeat in the quarterfinals. The fourth seed is Verona. The Wildcats are making their third appearance in the State Team Tournament and the first since 2002. The two previous experiences at State have resulted in quarterfinal losses.
LAST WEEK: Fourth-seeded Annalise Yang, a freshman from Madison La Follette, earned the singles title with a 6-3, 6-0 victory over second-seeded Lily Olson, also a freshman, of crosstown-rival Madison Memorial in the championship match. In doubles play, the second-seeded tandem of junior Sophia Paape and sophomore Shelby Roth of Neenah won the championship with a 6-2, 6-4 victory over the fourth-seeded duo of seniors Tristyn Lueck and Audrey Ochsner of De Pere.
NEED INFORMATION?: Rosters and records of teams in the State Tournament are available on the restricted media area of the WIAA website at www.wiaawi.org. Results will be available online on the girls tennis homepage.
STATE SOUVENIR PROGRAMS ONLINE: The souvenir programs for the alternate season State culminating events are available online and available to download and print at no cost. The complete alternate season State Girls Tennis Team Tournament program with rosters of qualifiers and tourney information can be accessed at: https://www.wiaawi.org/Portals/0/PDF/Publications/Programs/2020-21girlstennisalternate.pdf.
ORDER STATE MEET APPAREL ONLINE: WIAA licensed apparel is available online for the alternate State Girls Team Tennis Tournament. To browse and purchase branded merchandise, visit the WIAA Store at: https://wiaastategirlstennis21.itemorder.com. Online purchases will be shipped after the online store closes prior to midnight Wednesday, May 5.
FOLLOW STATE MEET ON SOCIAL MEDIA: Receive updates of the State Girls Tennis Team Tournament on the WIAA State Tournament Twitter account @wiaawistate with the hashtag #wiaatennis. Also like us on Facebook and follow us on Instagram at wiaawi.