THE STATE TOURNAMENT: The 24th Annual Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association Girls Team Tennis Tournament will be held Friday and Saturday, Oct. 20-21. 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. Admission is $6 for adults and students.
TEAM TOURNAMENT SEEDED FOR FIRST TIME: The 2017 State Girls Team Tournament will be the first time the field is seeded in both divisions. In Division 1, the eight coaches of the qualifying teams voted to seed the top four teams with the remaining four teams to be randomly placed in the tournament bracket. In Division 2, the four coaches of qualifying teams voted for the top two teams with the remaining two teams randomly placed in the bracket.
THE DIVISION 1 MATCH-UPS:
Division 1 - Quarterfinals (5:30 p.m. Oct. 20)
Match-1: #1 Homestead (24-0) vs. Notre Dame (14-10)
Match-2: #4 Nicolet (15-6) vs. Brookfield East (18-3)
Match-3: #3 Madison West (19-2) vs. Sun Prairie (13-3)
Match-4: #2 Neenah (14-1) vs. Eau Claire Memorial (18-4)
Division 1 - Semifinals (9 a.m. Oct. 21)
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 (2 p.m. Oct. 21)
Match-7: Winner of Match 5 vs. Winner of Match 6
THE DIVISION 2 MATCH-UPS:
Division 2 - Semifinals (9 a.m. Oct. 21)
Match-1: #1 Kenosha St. Joseph (14-1) vs. Amery (7-2)
Match-2: #2 University School (14-5) vs. Regis (22-4)
Division 2 - Championship (2 p.m. Oct. 21)
Match-3: Winner of Match 1 vs. Winner of Match 2
BY THE NUMBERS: There were 203 teams sponsoring girls tennis this fall with 132 in Division 1 and 71 in Division 2. The State Tournament field of teams is determined by team points recorded at the subsectional and sectional levels.
LAST YEAR: Homestead won the Division 1 title with a 4-3 victory over Neenah in the championship match. The Highlanders won three of the four singles matches and added a victory at the #2 doubles flight to secure the victory. Edgewood won its second consecutive Division 2 title by sweeping Regis 7-0 in the championship match.
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 has won nine team championships and three since the beginning of the dual format. Whitefish Bay possesses eight titles–including four Division 2 titles–and University School has seven championships.
ABOUT THE DIVISION 1 FIELD: Defending champion and top seed Homestead is making its second straight State appearance and its 11th overall. The Highlanders have now won six team championships, five of them came consecutively from 2008-12. They also recorded back-to-back runner-up finishes in 2002-03. Last year’s runner-up and second seed Neenah is making its 15th overall appearance at State and its sixth in a row. The Rockets won the title in 2015. Prior to that, they compiled four runner-up finishes, which came in 1983 and 1986–prior to the team tournament format–and in 2000 and 2014. Third-seeded Madison West qualifies for the tournament for the 12th time and for the second consecutive season. The Regents best outcome in the tournament was a runner-up finish in 1997. Fourth- seeded Nicolet is making its 14th appearance overall and its eighth in the last nine seasons. The Knights have won six team championships, including three straight on two different occasions, capturing titles from 1994-96 and from 1998-2000. Including the pre-team tournament era, they have been crowned team champions a membership-leading 17 times and have finished runner-up eight times. Brookfield East returns to State for the fourth straight season and for the sixth time overall. The Spartans’ most notable appearance in the State Tournament was a runner-up finish in 2015. Eau Claire Memorial is making its eighth straight appearance at State and its 19th overall. In addition to a runner-up finish in 2013, the Old Abes have placed second four other times (1998, 1999, 2001 and 2004). Sun Prairie is making its third consecutive appearance in the team tournament, which also accounts for the Cardinals’ overall number of experiences. They fell in the quarterfinals in both their previous experiences in the State Tournament. Notre Dame is making its 11th appearance overall and its first since the Tritons moved up to qualify in Division 1 in 2014. The nine other experiences came in Division 2. They have won five Division 2 championships. A five-year run of appearances from 2007-11 produced three straight titles from 2008-10. In addition, they made three straight appearances from 2001-2003 that produced championships in 2002 and 2003. The Tritons also had a runner-up finish in 2005.
ABOUT THE DIVISION 2 FIELD: Kenosha St. Joseph earns the #1 seed in its first time qualifying for the State Team Tournament. Seven-time champion and second-seeded University School, seeks its eighth State team championship in its 12th tournament appearance. The Wildcats won four straight titles from 2004-07, back-to-back championships in 2011-12 and added another crown in 2014. They have also placed runner-up three times–in 2008, 2009 and 2013. Last year’s runner-up Regis is making its seventh appearance, all coming in the last eight years. Prior to advancing to the final last season, the Ramblers fell in the semifinal in each of its previous experiences at State. Amery is celebrating its first-ever appearance in the State Team Tournament.
LAST WEEK: At the State Girls Individual Tennis Tournament last week, third-seeded Kiki Risgaard of Neenah won the Division 1 singles title with a 7-5, 6-0 victory over top-seeded Andie Weise of Homestead. The fifth-seeded duo of Amanda Newman and Hailey Munz of Monona Grove defeated the second-seeded tandem of Frankie La Londe and Alyssa Boyer of Homestead to win the Division 1 doubles championship. Second-seeded Veda Sane of University School captured the Division 2 singles crown with a 3-6, 6-0, 6-3 triumph over top-seeded Olivia Czerwonka of Kenosha St. Joseph in the championship match. The top-seeded doubles team of Kaitlyn Kalinka and Megan Setter of Kenosha St. Joseph captured the Division 2 doubles championship with a 6-1, 6-1victory over the sixth-seeded team of Grace Drake and Kinsey Kessel of Edgewood in the title match.
NEED INFORMATION?: Rosters and records of teams in the State Tournament are available on the WIAA website at www.wiaawi.org and accessing the girls tennis homepage. Results will also be available online on the girls tennis homepage.
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, follow us on Instagram at wiaawi, and add us on Snapchat at wiaawis.