THE TOURNAMENT: The 30th 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 4 p.m. Friday and will resume Saturday at 9 a.m.
GET TICKETS: 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 and find the Tickets tab at the top of the homepage or access the Tickets directly at: https://gofan.co/app/school/WIAAWI?activity=Tennis.
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 (4 p.m. Oct. 20)
Match-1: #1 Middleton (16-2) vs. #8 Franklin (14-8)
Match-2: #4 Homestead (19-6) vs. #5 Verona (21-5)
Match-3: #3 Whitefish Bay (19-5) vs. #6 Neenah (12-5)
Match-4: #2 Arrowhead (21-3) vs. #7 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 University School (13-3) vs. #4 Aquinas (22-2)
Match-2: #2 Altoona (26-0) vs. #3 Xavier (12-4)
Division 2 - Championship (Oct. 21)*
Match-3: Winner of Match 1 vs. Winner of Match 2
* Time TBA based on first court available
BY THE NUMBERS: There were 199 teams participating in the girls tennis Tournament Series this fall with 131 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: Top-seeded Arrowhead won the Division 1 title with a 5-2 win over second-seeded Middleton in the championship match. The Warhawks won at the #2 and #4 singles flights and swept the doubles matches to post the victory. In Division 2, top-seeded University School rolled to a 6-1 win over second-seeded Xavier in the championship match. The Wildcats notched victories at all four singles matches and won at the #1 and #2 doubles flights to account for the margin of victory.
THE HISTORY OF THE CHAMPIONSHIPS: Nicolet has won six titles since the advent of the team championship dual format in 1994 and have won a membership-leading 17 titles. University School has won 10 titles, while Brookfield Central and Homestead have captured nine titles. Whitefish Bay possesses eight team championships.
ABOUT THE DIVISION 1 FIELD: Last year’s runner-up Middleton is the top seed. The Cardinals are making their 11th appearance overall and their fourth in a row. They won the Division 1 championship in 2013 and the alternate season championship in 2020-21, which was played in the spring as an accommodation for the COVID-19 pandemic. Defending champion Arrowhead returns to the State Team Tournament as the #2 seed. The Warhawks qualify for the fourth time overall and for the second year in a row. Prior to last year’s runner-up finish, their two previous experiences at State came back-to-back in 2014-15, which resulted in a team championship in 2014. Whitefish Bay, the third seed, is making its 12th State appearance and the first since 2018, when the Blue Dukes finished runner-up. They have won five State championships, including Division 1 titles in 2005 and 2007 and Division 2 championships in 1995, 1996 and 1998. They have also finished runner-up nine other times, including 1975, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1982, 1994, 1997, 1999, 2006. Fourth-seeded Homestead is making its 14th State appearance and its first since 2019, when the Highlanders completed a run of four straight State championships. They have won nine team championships with the other five of them coming consecutively as well from 2008-12. They also recorded back-to-back runner-up finishes in 2002-03. The fifth seed is Verona. The Wildcats are making their fourth appearance in the State Team Tournament and the first since the 2020-21 alternate season, which was played in the spring as an accommodation for the COVID-19 pandemic. The three previous experiences at State have resulted in quarterfinal losses. Sixth-seeded Neenah is making its 20th overall appearance at State and its first since 2021, when the Rockets won the State title. The Rockets also won the team title in 2015. They have finished runner-up seven times, including 1983, 1986, 2000, 2014, 2016, 2017 and the alternate season in 2020-21. Eau Claire Memorial is seeded seventh. The Old Abes are making their first appearance in the tourney since 2019 and their 22nd overall, which leads all schools in appearances. The Old Abes are seeking their first team tournament title. They have placed second five times, including 1998, 1999, 2001, 2004 and 2013. Eighth-seeded Franklin is making its third consecutive tourney appearance after qualifying for the first time in 2021 when they advanced to the semifinals, which represents their furthest advance in the tournament.
ABOUT THE DIVISION 2 FIELD: Defending champion University School of Milwaukee is the #1 seed in the bracket. The Wildcats seek their 11th State team championship in their 15th State appearance. They won back-to-back titles in 2017-18. In addition, they won four straight titles from 2004-07, another two straight championships in 2011-12 and one other in 2014. They have also placed runner-up at State three times–in 2008, 2009 and 2013. Altoona has been issued the second seed. The Railroaders advance to State for the second consecutive season and for the seventh time overall. Their most notable experience was a runner-up finish in 2015. Last year’s runner-up Xavier is the third seed. The Hawks qualify for the fourth straight season, which also accounts for the Hawks overall total. They won the championship in their first-ever appearance in 2020 and fell in the semifinals in 2021. Fourth-seeded Aquinas is back in the team tournament for the first time since 2006 and for the fifth time overall. The Blugolds finished runner-up in their first-ever appearance in 2000 and have been ousted from title contention in their subsequent three appearances.
LAST WEEK: Second-seeded Karlie Schock of Bay Port, won the Division 1 singles crown with a 6-1, 6-0 victory over fifth-seeded Lexie Hankel of Janesville Craig in the championship match. In Division 1 doubles play, the top-seeded tandem of Molly Jex and Lizzie Stuckslager of Divine Savior Holy Angels successfully defended the title they won last season, defeating seventh-seeded Ashley Andler and Keena Cheng of Middleton 6-1, 6-2 in the championship final. In Division 2, second-seeded Angela Wang of the University School of Milwaukee defeated two-time defending champion and top-seeded Lily Olson of Edgewood with a 6-1, 6-3 victory in the championship match. In Division 2 doubles action, top-seeded Isabel Werner and Mia Darr of the University School of Milwaukee won the crown with a 6-4, 6-2 victory over second-seeded Sophia Torke and Grace Villwock of Kohler in the title match.
STATE MEET APPAREL: WIAA-licensed apparel is available for the State Girls Individual and Team Tennis Tournaments at Nielsen Tennis Stadium during the tournaments.
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