THE MEET: The 46th Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association Girls Individual Tennis Tournament will be held Thursday-Saturday, Oct. 13-15. 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. 13
10:30 a.m. First Round Matches
Friday, Oct. 14
9 a.m. Action Through Quarterfinals
Saturday, Oct. 15
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: Top-seeded Emily Luetschwager of Stevens Point won the Division 1 singles championship by defeating #2 seed Dao Sysouvanh of Sun Prairie 6-2, 6-4 in the title match. The doubles tandem of Abbey Webber and Kaisey Skibba of Middleton claimed the Division 1 doubles championship as the #2 seed with a 6-1, 6-1 decision over fourth-seeded Elise Gerard and Annabelle Crowley of Nicolet. Claire Czerwonka of Kenosha St. Joseph successfully defended her singles title in Division 2 as the #2 seed by outlasting top-seeded Tallie Piaskowski of Roncalli for the second consecutive season with a 7-6(2), 7-6(5) win in the title match. In Division 2 doubles play, the second-seeded team of Riley Strauss and Caroline Taylor of the University School of Milwaukee notched a 6-1, 7-5 victory over the top-seeded duo of Abby Fox and Maddie Molitor of Edgewood in the final.
DIVISION 1 SINGLES NOTES: Senior Emily Luetschwager of Stevens Point is the returning champion; so its no surprise she was awarded the top seed in the bracket. The four-time qualifier has a wealth of State Tournament experience, finishing sixth in 2014 and fifth in 2013. She has not lost a match over the last two seasons, finishing 35-0 last season and boasting a 30-0 record this season. In her first season, freshman Isabelle Lee of Bay Port has burst on the scene as the #2 seed. She has a 29-2 record this season. Senior Katya Mikhailenko of Homestead is seeded third with a 28-1 record this season. She placed fourth last year after making the move from a successful doubles experience her first two seasons. She captured the State doubles title in 2014 after finishing runner-up in 2013. Sophomore Logan White of Divine Savior Holy Angels advanced to the third round last year as a freshman. This season, she is awarded the fourth seed with a 23-3 tally. Senior Emma Corwin of Brookfield East is a four-time qualifier to the State Tournament. She is seeded fifth this year with a 20-4 record. Her most notable performances the previous three seasons have been advancing to the third round in each of the past two years. Junior Sasha Semina of Brookfield Central has qualified for the third straight season and is seeded sixth with a 23-6 mark. In each of the previous two experiences, she has advanced to the third round. Amy Drame of Nicolet qualified last year as a freshman and won her first-round match before being ousted from title contention. This season, she receives the seventh seed with a 20-10 record. Sun Prairie junior Lats Sysouvanh qualifies for the third time and is seeded eighth. She enters play with a 27-2 record looking to advance past the opening round for the first time. Ninth-seeded Sarah Benoy of Stoughton also qualifies for the third straight season in singles play. She also qualified one year in doubles play. The senior has compiled a 26-7 mark. Her furthest advance at State was to the second round in 2014. Senior Catherine Lindsay of Eau Claire Memorial is a four-time qualifier. She finished sixth last season, fourth in 2014 and sixth in 2013. Lindsay rounds out the top-10 seeds this year at #10 with a 23-8 record. Sophomore Sabrina Tang of Stevens Point joins teammate Emily Luetschwager as the only undefeated players in the field. Tang is seeded 12th with a 30-0 mark.
DIVISION 1 DOUBLES NOTES: The resume of junior Frankie La Londe and freshman Sasha Shapsis of Homestead is impressive enough for them to receive the top seed. They will experience the State Tournament for the first time in doubles play with a 27-1 record. La Londe has previous State experience in singles play, advancing to the third round of play the past two seasons representing Cedarburg. The Neenah tandem of senior Christina Price and junior Kiki Risgaard possess the #2 seed with their 22-1 mark this campaign. Price advanced to the quarterfinals last season after reaching the third round of play in 2014 with a different partner. Seniors Devon Bourget and Emily Pepperl of Eau Claire Memorial were issued the third seed for the second year in a row with their 30-1 record. They placed fourth last season. Bourget qualified with a different partner in 2014 and advanced to the quarterfinals. Pepperl transitioned to doubles play after qualifying as a singles player in 2013 and 2014. It will also be the second consecutive season that senior Elise Gerard and sophomore Annabelle Crowley of Nicolet have teamed up to form the fourth seed. They enter the tournament with a 25-7 record this year. Gerard qualified for State in singles play in 2014 and fell in her opening-round match. Seniors Claire Rotherham and Mary Zakowski of Notre Dame are seeded fifth after placing sixth last year. They have won 21 of the 22 matches they’ve played this season. It is the fourth time Rotherham has qualified for State in doubles play. With different partners, she advanced to the third round in 2014 and won a first-round match in 2013. With a different partner, senior Bailey Chorney of Waunakee finished fifth last year after placing fourth the year before. She teams up with senior Autumn Facktor this season to comprise the #6 seed with a 27-3 record. Senior Marli Stellhorn and sophomore Emma Koppa of Nicolet return to the field for the second year in a row. They are seeded seventh with a 29-2 record. Last season, they advanced to the second round before being upended. The Oshkosh West duo of senior Emily Edsell and junior Erica Casper are seeded eighth with a 24-6 mark. Casper advanced to the third round with a different partner last year, and Edsell transitions from singles play where she qualified for State and won her first-round match last season after qualifying for the first time in 2014. Junior Amanda Newman and freshman Hailey Munz of Monona Grove are seeded #9 with a 12-1 record, and senior Jen Belilse and sophomore Allyson Verbauwhede of Manitowoc Lincoln are seeded 10th with an 11-1 record. Belilse qualifies for the third time, having won a match in each of the previous two years with a different teammate.There are two unseeded tandems entering play with undefeated records. Seniors Ally Bensen and Meredith Vande Zande of West Bend East are 17-0, as is senior Sammy Johnson and junior Anna Wilgren of Hudson.
DIVISION 2 SINGLES NOTES: Senior Claire Czerwonka of Kenosha St. Joseph is the two-time returning champion and the top seed entering play with a 28-0 record. She’s attempting to join the list of only three other players to win three State singles titles. There are also three players that have won four titles. Czerwonka also placed fifth her freshman season to go with the two titles. Junior Riley Strauss of University School makes the transition from doubles last season to singles this year. She formed half the duo that won the State doubles title last season. She received the #2 singles seed this year with a 21-5 record. Junior Laura Larrain of Newman Catholic claims the third seed with a 19-1 mark. She qualified the last two seasons as well, placing fifth last season and advanced to the second round before being eliminated in 2014. Claire Czerwonka’s sister, Olivia, is the recipient of the fourth seed. The sophomore placed sixth last year and returns to the State Tournament with a 23-1 mark this season. Seniors Emma Sango and Jessica Inman of Edgewood are the fifth and sixth seeds, respectively. Sango is 12-5 this season after finishing fourth a year ago and advancing to the quarterfinals her freshman and sophomore campaigns. Inman is 25-4 this season after qualifying the past two seasons. She lost her first-round match last season and won one match before falling out of title contention in 2014. Sophomore Marie Major of Brookfield Academy has been issued the #7 seed with a 14-5 record. She qualified last season but didn’t advance past the first round. Junior Rachel Anderson of Racine St. Catherine’s advanced to the quarterfinals last season after qualifying for the first time as a freshman in 2014. She qualifies for her third straight State Tournament with a 17-4 tally and is seeded eighth. Despite not receiving a seed, sophomore Giana Apostoli of Kenosha St. Joseph is the only player in the field, other than teammate Claire Czerwonka, with an undefeated record this season at 25-0.
DIVISION 2 DOUBLES NOTES: The tandem of seniors Abby Fox and Maddie Molitor of Edgewood was awarded the top seed after placing runner-up last year. They enter play with a 26-3 record. Fox finished sixth in 2014 and advanced to the quarterfinals in 2013 with different partners. Molitor transitioned from singles last season after finishing fourth in 2014 and qualifying her freshman season in 2013. The second seed is sophomore Megan Setter and junior Kaitlyn Kalinka of Kenosha St. Joseph with a 19-3 record. The Catholic Memorial duo of seniors Catherine Raster and Kate Mrochinski qualify for the State Tournament for the third straight season. They won their first-round match last season after falling in the first-round in 2014. They have posted a 20-6 record this season. Seniors Anna Koehl and Julie Grygleski of Pacelli are seeded fourth with a 22-4 record. It is their first appearance in the final field of 28. Seniors Emily Hafemann and Grace Amling of Martin Luther return to the tournament for the second straight season. They won a match last season before falling in the second round. They come into action this week as the #5 seed sporting a 16-4 record. The sixth seed went to juniors Kate Seyer and Taylor Johnson of Regis. They have compiled a 22-6 record this season after advancing to the second round a year ago. Juniors Elsie Curtin and Stephanie Sowin of Xavier have qualified for the first time with their 22-7 record. They are seeded seventh. Seniors Kate David and Hannah Meyer of Newman Catholic are also first-time doubles qualifiers. They are seeded eighth with a 6-4 tally.
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.
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Compiled by WIAA Communications