THE MEET: The 44th Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association Girls Individual Tennis Tournament will be held Thursday-Saturday, Oct. 16-18. The meet takes place at the Nielsen Tennis Stadium on the University of Wisconsin campus in Madison, Wis. Action will begin Thursday at 10:30 a.m., Friday at 9 a.m. and Saturday at 8:30 a.m. Tickets are $6 for adults and students.
THE SCHEDULE:
Thursday, Oct. 16
10:30 a.m. First Round Matches
Friday, Oct. 17
9 a.m. Action Through Quarterfinals
Saturday, Oct. 18
8:30 a.m. Consolation Semifinals
9 a.m. Championship Semifinals
10 a.m. Fifth-place Matches
11 a.m. Third-place Matches
11:30 a.m. Championship Matches
ON THE AIR: The State Girls Individual Tennis Tournament highlight program will air on FS Wisconsin Wednesday, Nov. 19 at 9:30 p.m. The State Team Tennis Tournament highlight show is scheduled to air on FS Wisconsin Wednesday, Nov. 26 at 10 p.m. Check your local listings for the channel in your area.
LAST YEAR: Lexi Keberle of West Bend East defeated two-time defending champion Elizabeth Konon of Homestead to win the Division 1 State singles title with a 6-4, 0-6, 6-3 victory. The top-seeded doubles tandem of Shelby and Tilly Chorney of Waunakee claimed the Division 1 doubles championship with at 3-6, 6-3, 6-2 decision over second-seeded Mardee Merar and Katya Mikhailenko of Homestead. Top-seeded Grace Larrain of Newman Catholic captured the Division 2 singles title. She defeated second-seeded Jenna Zimmerman of Racine St. Catherine’s in the final 7-6 (6), 6-2. In Division 2 doubles play, third-seeded Julia Veitinger and Taylor Benard of University School notched a 6-4, 6-3 victory over top-seeded Maddy Brown and Hayley Clope of Racine St. Catherine’s in the final.
DIVISION 1 SINGLES NOTES: Reigning champion Lexi Keberle of West Bend East is back to defend her crown. The sophomore is awarded the top seed after a 30-0 freshman campaign and a 26-0 mark this season. Senior Emily Kolbow of Arrowhead is also undefeated this season at 29-0 and is seeded second. She has placed third at State the last two seasons and won two matches as a qualifier her freshman season in 2011. Junior Jennifer Skonieczny of Cedarburg has qualified for the third straight season and is the third seed with a 28-5 record. She advanced to the quarterfinals in 2012, but was upset in her first-round match a year ago. The fourth seed goes to sophomore Emily Luetschwager of Stevens Point. She placed fifth last season and has compiled a 27-1 mark this year. Senior Gabi Kitchell of D.C. Everest owns the fifth seed with a 26-3 record. She is a four-time qualifier who has advanced to the quarterfinals in each of the past two last seasons. Sophomore Catherine Lindsay of Eau Claire Memorial is seeded sixth with a 25-8 record after placing sixth last season as a freshman. Junior Kaisey Skibba of Middleton is the seventh seed at 26-6. She has now qualified in each of her first three seasons, having advanced to the third round last season after winning one match in 2012. Sun Prairie junior Dao Sysouvanh qualifies for the third time. She enters play with a 26-1 record as the number eight seed. She won a pair of matches in 2012 and her opening-round match a year ago. Other seeds with State experience are sophomore Emma Corwin of Brookfield Central; seniors Nina Gerard of Nicolet and Nicole Feltz of Fond du Lac, who are four-time qualifiers; and seniors Nicole Meylor of Wauwatosa West and Emily Oberwetter of Middleton, who have now qualified for the third time.
DIVISION 1 DOUBLES NOTES: The top seed is awarded to junior Anna Kreynin and sophomore Katya Mikhailenko of Homestead. Mikhailenko was half the duo that finished runner-up in doubles play last season, and Kreynin, as a freshman, was half the tandem that won the State title in 2012. They have tallied a 17-1 record this season. The second seeded team is senior Allison Ragsdale and junior Abbey Webber of Middleton. They enter the State Tournament with a 28-1 record. Ragsdale was half the duo that placed fifth last season and has qualified for the third straight season. Seniors Michelle Margolies and Erin Wathen of Nicolet are the third seed with a 30-3 record. They both have qualified for State doubles competition all four years of their prep careers. They qualified together in both 2011 and 2012 and with different partners last year. The tandem advanced to the third round in 2012, and Margolies placed fourth last season. The Eau Claire Memorial pair of senior Britta Pressler and sophomore Devon Bourget returns to State for the second straight season after winning a pair of matches last year. They have been issued the fourth seed with a 28-4 record. Pressler also qualified with a different partner in 2012. Seeded fifth are juniors Sara Geschke and Kali Flesch of Arrowhead, who have a 27-6 record. Flesch qualifies for the third time, having advanced to the third round with a different teammate as a freshman and again with Geschke last season. Seniors Lane McLaughlin and KK Doering of Divine Savior Holy Angels are seeded sixth with a 20-1 mark. McLaughlin has qualified for the third time and advanced to the quarterfinals last season with a different partner. Doering also qualified last year with a different teammate. The Neenah tandem of junior Kendra Kappes and sophomore Christina Price of Neenah were awarded the seventh seed with a 20-3 mark. Both gained experience last season by qualifying with Price advancing to the third round with a different partner. Junior Lauren Weiss of Cedarburg qualifies for the third year in a row. This year she’s paired with freshman Amanda Skonieczny. Together they’ve posted a 15-2 record and are seeded eighth. Seniors Courtney Shipshock and Tara Tanriverdi of Arrowhead make up the only undefeated tandem in the bracket with a 33-0 record. They are seeded ninth after qualifying last season.
DIVISION 2 SINGLES NOTES: Junior Tallie Piaskowski of Roncalli is the top seed with the undefeated mark of 24-0. She placed third last season after finishing runner-up in doubles play as a freshman in 2012. Senior Audra Hoffmann of Kohler has qualified for the fourth time and is seeded second. She has netted a 23-3 record this season after placing sixth a year ago. The third seed goes to sophomore Claire Czerwonka of Kenosha St. Joseph, who has posted a 25-1 record this season after placing fifth last season. Senior Michelle Sikes of Brookfield Academy was selected as the fourth seed with a 16-2 record. Like Hoffman, she has now qualified in all four seasons of participation. Sikes finished fourth last season after falling in the first round in each of her first two appearances. Sophomore Elizabeth Krioutchenkov of Shorewood is the fifth seed with a 16-6 mark, and senior Annie Zlevor of The Prairie School is seeded sixth. She has compiled a 20-7 record entering the tournament after advancing to the quarterfinals last season. Senior Molly Stewart of Amery has just one blemish on her record and is seeded seventh with a 20-1 mark this year. The eighth seed was extended to senior Chloe Kitzerow of Roncalli. She has yet to lose a match behind Piaskowski in the Jets’ line-up with a 24-0 record. She also qualified last year, but failed to advance from her first-round match. Although not seeded, senior Maddie Kulow of Baldwin-Woodville joins Piaskowski and Kitzerow among the ranks of the undefeated in the bracket.
DIVISION 2 DOUBLES NOTES: The defending champions, seniors Julia Veitinger and Taylor Benard of University School, comprise the top-seeded duo. They enter play with a 13-7 record. Both qualified in the doubles competition in 2012 as well, but with different partners. Benard was half of the tandem that placed fifth that season. Seniors Hayley Clope and Becca Bixler of Racine St. Catherine’s are bestowed the second seed, entering the tournament with a 12-0 record. Clope finished runner-up with a different partner last year and third in 2012. Bixler also qualified with a different partner and advanced to the second round last season. The third seed was extended to seniors Carly Maves and Maddie Luetmer of Newman Catholic. They have compiled a 20-2 record this season. Maves placed third with a different partner last season and was a doubles qualifier in 2011. Senior Grace Seibert and sophomore Abby Fox of Edgewood are seeded fourth. Seibert placed fourth at State last season with a different partner, and Fox advanced to the quarterfinal round before being ousted from title contention. The duo enters play with an 18-7 record this season. Senior Paige Moritz and junior Lindsey Thomas of Kenosha St. Joseph are the fifth seed with a 16-2 record this season, and the sixth seeded tandem is senior Annie McGrail and freshman Meredith Heckert of Big Foot/Williams Bay. They have played to a 9-2 mark this year. In 2011, McGrail qualified as a freshman with a different partner but did not advance out of the first round. Baldwin-Woodville juniors Hanna Zevenbergen and Megan Jacobson have qualified for the third year in a row. They have posted an 18-2 record after advancing to the second round at State last season and falling in the opening round in 2012. Senior Molly Wirtz and junior Nicole Schroeder of Pacelli return to State for the second straight year and are seeded eighth. They advanced to the second round last season and have recorded a 20-2 mark this season.
NEED THE BRACKETS?: Brackets and qualifiers are available on the WIAA website at www.wiaawi.org. Navigate to the girls tennis homepage for the State Tournament information.
NEED RESULTS?: Results of the State Tournament are available on the WIAA website at www.wiaawi.org by accessing the girls tennis home page.
FOLLOW STATE MEET ON SOCIAL MEDIA: Receive updates of the State Girls Tennis Individual Tournament on the WIAA State Tournament Twitter account @wiaawistate with the hashtag #wiaatennis. Also follow daily recaps on Facebook.