THE MEET: The 45th Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association Girls Individual Tennis Tournament will be held Thursday-Saturday, Oct. 15-17. 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. 15
10:30 a.m. First Round Matches
Friday, Oct. 16
9 a.m. Action Through Quarterfinals
Saturday, Oct. 17
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
LAST YEAR: Defending champion and top-seeded Lexi Keberle of West Bend East defeated #2 seed Emily Kolbow of Arrowhead to win the Division 1 State singles title with a 6-0, 6-3 victory. The top-seeded doubles tandem of Katya Mikhailenko and Anna Kreynin of Homestead claimed the Division 1 doubles championship with at 6-1, 6-0 decision over sixth-seeded KK Doering and Lane McLaughlin of Divine Savior Holy Angels. Third-seeded Claire Czerwonka of Kenosha St. Joseph captured the Division 2 singles title. She defeated top-seeded Tallie Piaskowski of Roncalli in the final 6-3, 6-3. In Division 2 doubles play, the sixth-seeded team of Annie McGrail and Meredith Heckert of Big Foot/Williams Bay scored a 6-2, 6-3 victory over the fifth-seeded duo of Paige Moritz and Lindsey Thomas of Kenosha St. Joseph in the final.
DIVISION 1 SINGLES NOTES: Junior Emily Luetschwager of Stevens Point was awarded the top seed in the bracket. She has a wealth of State Tournament experience, placing sixth last year and fifth in 2013. She has yet to lose a match this season at 30-0. Sun Prairie senior Dao Sysouvanh qualifies for the fourth time and is seeded second. She enters play with a 31-1 record. Sysouvanh won a pair of matches in the tournament in 2012 and again last season. She fell in her opening-round match in 2013. Sophomore Kiki Risgaard of Neenah qualified as a freshman last year and won a match before being ousted from title contention. She returns this year as the third seed, having compiled a 26-2 record. Senior Anna Kreynin and junior Katya Mikhailenko of Homestead are seeded fourth and fifth, respectively, after teaming up to capture the State doubles title a year ago. Kreynin also was a doubles champion in 2012, and Mikhailenko was a runner-up finisher in doubles in 2013. This season, Kreynin enters play with a 22-3 record, and Mikhailenko has compiled a 23-2 mark. Senior Jennifer Skonieczny of Cedarburg has qualified for the fourth straight season. She is seeded sixth with a 21-5 record. She advanced to the quarterfinals in 2012 and again last year. Junior Catherine Lindsay of Eau Claire Memorial is the top returning finisher from last year’s State meet, having placed fourth. She placed sixth as a freshman in 2013. Lindsay was issued the seventh seed this year with a 26-5 record. Junior Alice Pacuzzi of Nicolet and freshman Logan White of Divine Savior Holy Angels both qualify for the first time. Pacuzzi earned her berth in the field with a 16-5 mark, and White has a 21-5 record in her first campaign. Other seeds with State singles experience are senior Teagan Hipp of Arrowhead (#15), who is a four-time qualifier; senior Emily Behling of Kettle Moraine (#16) and junior Emma Corwin of Brookfield Central (#10) are both three-time qualifiers. Sophomores Frankie LaLonde of Cedarburg (#11), Sasha Semina of Brookfield Central (#13) and junior Sarah Benoy of Stoughton (#12) have qualified for the second time. Senior Gina Frenette of Eau Claire Memorial is unseeded, but she joins Luetschwager as the only undefeated players in the singles field.
DIVISION 1 DOUBLES NOTES: With senior Anna Kreynin and junior Katya Mikhailenko of Homestead qualifying in singles play after winning the doubles title last year, there will be new champions this season. Seniors Sara Geschke and Kali Flesch of Arrowhead is the same duo that placed fourth last year. They are the top seed this season with a 32-2 record. Flesch qualifies for the fourth time, having advanced to the third round with a different teammate as a freshman and with Geschke in 2013. Seniors Abbey Webber and Kaisey Skibba of Middleton are seeded second with a 20-1 mark. Webber placed fifth with a different partner last season. Skibba has extensive State experience in singles play, qualifying the last three seasons. She placed sixth in singles play last year. Juniors Devon Bourget and Emily Pepperl of Eau Claire Memorial were given the third seed with a 17-1 record. Bourget qualified with a different partner in 2014 and advanced to the quarterfinals. Pepperl has switched to double play after qualifying the last two seasons in singles play. Junior Elise Gerard and freshman Annabelle Crowley of Nicolet team up to form the fourth-seeded duo with a 29-3 record. Gerard qualified for the State meet in singles play last year and fell in her opening-round match. The Neenah tandem of senior Kendra Kappes and junior Christina Price of Neenah return after advancing to the third round last season. They are seeded fifth this year with a 26-3 tally. Senior Bobbi Stricker and junior Bailey Chorney of Waunakee are the sixth seed after finishing third a year ago. The duo has compiled a 28-5 record heading into the tournament. Senior Lauren Weise of Cedarburg qualifies for the fourth year in a row and for the second time with sophomore Amanda Skonieczny. They’ve posted a 23-7 record and are seeded sixth after advancing to the quarterfinals a year ago. Senior Greta Schmitz of Verona advanced to the third round last year with a different partner after qualifying in singles play in 2013. She joins senior Lauren Supanich to comprise the eighth seed with a record of 25-6.
DIVISION 2 SINGLES NOTES: Junior Claire Czerwonka of Kenosha St. Joseph is the returning champion, but she wasn’t bestowed the top seed. That distinction goes to senior Tallie Piaskowski of Roncalli, who fell to Czerwonka in the championship match last season. It was the only defeat Piaskowski experienced last season. She enters play with a 24-1 record this season. She placed third in 2013 and finished runner-up in doubles play as a freshman in 2012. Czerwonka is the second seed with a 24-1 mark this year. She finished fifth as a freshman in 2013. Freshman Veda Sane of University School fills the third seed. She has posted victories in 22 of her 27 matches this season. Juniors Emma Sango and Jessica Inman of Edgewood are the fourth and fifth seeds, respectively. Sango is 11-3 this season after advancing to the quarterfinals the past two seasons. Inman is 15-1 on the year after qualifying for State for the first time last season. She won her first-round match before falling out of title contention. Senior Anna Mesalles of Kohler is the sixth seed with her 19-5 record, and sophomore Laura Larrain of Newman Catholic claims the seventh seed with a 19-4 mark. She qualified last season and advanced to the second round before being eliminated. The eighth seed goes to senior Anna Hemmelman of Luther. She is 27-2 this season after qualifying last season. Junior Ellie Roe of Sheboygan Falls didn’t receive a seed, but she is the only player in the field who has yet to lose a match this season at 19-0.
DIVISION 2 DOUBLES NOTES: The duo of juniors Abby Fox and Maddie Molitor of Edgewood is provided the top seed with their 21-2 record. Fox finished sixth last year and advanced to the quarterfinals in 2013 with different partners. Molitor transitions from singles play after finishing fourth last season and qualifying in her freshman season in 2013. The second seed is senior Caroline Taylor and sophomore Riley Strauss of University School with a 22-2 record. The Prairie School tandem of junior Grace Gould and senior Emilie Mettraux is seeded third with a mark of 15-3. Gould qualified as a freshman with a different partner in 2013. The Baldwin-Woodville combo of seniors Megan Jacobson and Hanna Zevenbergen qualify for the fourth consecutive season. They are the fourth seed with the only undefeated record in the field at 23-0. Their furthest advance at State in their previous three experiences was to the second round in 2013. Juniors Catherine Raster and Kate Mrochinski of Catholic Memorial have qualified for the second straight season. They are the fifth seed with a 12-2 record. Seniors Nicole Schroeder and Tia Krzykowski of Pacelli are seeded sixth. They have compiled a 19-3 record this season. Schroeder advanced to the quarterfinals with a different partner last year and won a match as a qualifier in 2013. Seniors Emily Parsons and Isabel McDaniel of Altoona return to the tournament for the second straight season. They won a match last season before falling in the second round. The pair has posted a 12-2 mark this year. Senior Alyssa Carew of Xavier qualifies for the third straight season. This year, she teams with sophomore Jennifer Niemeyer to form the eighth-seeded team. Together they have posted a 23-4 record heading into the tournament.
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 CREDENTIALS?: Media Credential requests for the 2015 WIAA Girls Individual Tennis Championships must be requested by submitting the request from the restricted media area of the WIAA website by Wednesday, Oct. 14 at noon. Credentials will be available for pick-up upon arrival at Nielsen Tennis Stadium.
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.
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