GIRLS TENNIS TEAMS COMPETE FOR WIAA STATE CHAMPIONSHIP THIS WEEK
THE TOURNAMENT: The 28th Annual Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association Girls Team Tennis Tournament will be held Friday and Saturday, Oct. 22-23. The meet takes place at the Nielsen Tennis Stadium on the University of Wisconsin campus in Madison, Wis. Action will begin at 5:30 p.m. Friday and will resume Saturday at 9 a.m. The WIAA uses GoFan Ticketing for all digital and cashless tickets. Admission is $9 plus online fees for adults and students. All tickets must be redeemed on a mobile device. To purchase tickets, visit the WIAA website at: https://www.wiaawi.org/Tickets.
TEAM TOURNAMENT SEEDING: Seeding of the State Girls Team Tournament in both divisions began in 2017. In Division 1, the eight coaches of the qualifying teams vote to seed all eight teams. In Division 2, the four coaches of qualifying teams vote to seed all four teams in the bracket.
THE DIVISION 1 MATCH-UPS:
Division 1 - Quarterfinals (5:30 p.m. Oct. 22)
Match-1: #1 Neenah (17-0) vs. #8 Hudson (18-2)
Match-2: #4 Middleton (16-1) vs. #5 Ashwaubenon (22-2)
Match-3: #3 Franklin (23-1) vs. #6 Brookfield East (10-10)
Match-4: #2 Divine Savior Holy Angels (20-2) vs. #7 Badger (16-2)
Division 1 - Semifinals (9 a.m. Oct. 23)
Match-5: Winner of Match 1 vs. Winner of Match 2
Match-6: Winner of Match 3 vs. Winner of Match 4
Division 1 - Championship (1 p.m. Oct. 23)
Match-7: Winner of Match 5 vs. Winner of Match 6
THE DIVISION 2 MATCH-UPS:
Division 2 - Semifinals (9 a.m. Oct. 23)
Match-1: #1 Catholic Memorial (19-3) vs. #4 Xavier (8-6)
Match-2: #2 Edgewood (9-2) vs. #3 Regis (18-10)
Division 2 - Championship (1 p.m. Oct. 23)
Match-3: Winner of Match 1 vs. Winner of Match 2
BY THE NUMBERS: There were 201 teams sponsoring girls tennis this fall with 133 in Division 1 and 68 in Division 2. The State tournament field of teams is determined by team points recorded at the subsectional and sectional levels.
LAST YEAR: Second-seeded Muskego won the Division 1 title with a 4-3 win over Divine Savior Holy Angels in the championship match. The Warriors won three of the four singles matches and Flight 1 of the doubles matches to secure the victory. In Division 2, second-seeded Xavier won the team title by defeating Catholic Memorial 5-2 in the championship match. The Hawks won three of the four singles matches and won at the #1 and #2 doubles flights to account for the margin of victory. In the alternate season conducted last spring for programs not able to participate in the fall because of COVID mitigation efforts, Middleton defeated Neenah 4-3 in the championship match. The Cardinals won three singles matches and at the #3 doubles flight to earn the title.
THE HISTORY OF THE CHAMPIONSHIPS: In Division 1, Nicolet has won six titles since the advent of the team championship dual format in 1994 and have won a membership-leading 17 titles. Brookfield Central, Homestead and University School of Milwaukee have won nine titles, and Whitefish Bay possesses eight team championships.
ABOUT THE DIVISION 1 FIELD: Top-seeded Neenah is making its 19th overall appearance at State and its 10th in a row, counting participation in the alternate season last year. The Rockets finished runner-up in that tournament. Their one team title came in 2015. In addition to last spring’s alternate season, the Rockets have compiled six other runner-up finishes, including 1983, 1986, 2000, 2014, 2016 and 2017. Last year’s runner-up Divine Savior Holy Angels is seeded second in the bracket. The Dashers qualify for the 10th time and for the third time in the past four years. They won the title in their first two appearances in 2001 and 2004, and they have finished runners-up three times since that time, in 2012, 2018 and last season. Third-seeded Franklin is making its initial State Team Tournament appearance. Middleton, the alternate season champion last year, is the #4 seed. The Cardinals are making their ninth appearance overall and their second in a row. They also won the Division 1 championship in 2013. Fifth-seeded Ashwaubenon qualifies for the tournament for the third time after making its initial appearance in 2019, which resulted in a defeat in the quarterfinals, and again in the alternate season last spring when the Jaguars fell in the semifinals. Sixth-seeded Brookfield East returns to State for the sixth time in the past eight seasons and for the eighth time overall. The Spartans’ most notable appearance in the State Tournament was a runner-up finish in 2015. Badger, the seventh seed, is making its third appearance in the past four seasons and its fifth overall. The Badgers’ furthest advance in the bracket was to the semifinal round in 2019. Eighth-seeded Hudson is making its second appearance after qualifying for the first time last season. The Raiders fell in the semifinals.
ABOUT THE DIVISION 2 FIELD: Catholic Memorial, the runner-up last season, has been issued the #1 seed. The Crusaders won the State title in 2019 after qualifying for the first time in 2018, making this their fourth appearance overall in the tournament. Second-seeded Edgewood is making its second consecutive appearance and its 13th overall. The Crusaders won the Division 2 championship in 2013, 2015 and 2016. They also have four runner-up finishes on their ledger. Those came in 2004, 2010, 2012 and again in 2014. Regis, the third seed, has officially qualified for the ninth time; however, last year they withdrew from the tournament during the COVID pandemic. The Ramblers’ most notable experience was a runner-up finish in 2016. Fourth-seeded Xavier won the State championship in its first-ever appearance last year.
LAST WEEK: Top-seeded Kaeda Usui of Franklin won the Division 1 State singles title with a 7-5, 6-7(8), 6-2 victory over freshman and third-seeded Parker Christensen of Elkhorn in the championship match. The third-seeded duo of Sophia Paape and Shelby Roth of Neenah defeated the top-seeded sister tandem of Christina Pan and Emily Pan of Muskego to capture the gold in doubles play in Division 1 with a 6-4, 6-0 win in the championship match. Top-seeded Lily Olson of Edgewood won the Division 2 singles championship with a 6-1, 6-0 triumph over second-seeded Lauren Lindow of East Troy. In Division 2 doubles action, top-seeded Rebecca Daskal and Isabel Werner of University School of Milwaukee earned the championship with a 6-2, 6-3 victory over the second-seeded team of Sophia Rondeau and Katie Metcalf of East Troy.
NEED RESULTS?: Results will be available online on the girls tennis tournament homepage.
ORDER STATE MEET APPAREL ONLINE: WIAA licensed apparel is available online for the State Girls Individual and Team Tennis Tournaments. To browse and purchase branded merchandise, visit the WIAA Store at: https://gppsports.chipply.com/girlsstatetennis/. Online purchases will be shipped after the online store closes prior to midnight Tuesday, Oct. 26.
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.
# WIAA #