THE STATE TOURNAMENT: The Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association Alternate Season Girls Individual Tennis Tournament featuring one division will be held Thursday-Friday, April 22-23. First-round action will begin at 9 a.m. on both days.
COVID-19 ADMISSION RESTRICTIONS: Because of the COVID-19 pandemic restrictions, only four spectators per participant will be permitted admission at the Lake Geneva Tennis Club and Badger H.S., and a ticket is required, which is only available at the venues. Essential event personnel will be permitted, and media will be allowed to the extent social distancing guidelines of six feet can be maintained.
THE SCHEDULE:
Thursday, April 22
9 a.m. First Round Matches followed by Second Round and Quarterfinal Matches
Friday, April 23
9 a.m. Consolation Semifinals followed by
Championship Singles Semifinals
Championship Doubles Semifinals
Fifth-place Matches
Third-place Matches
Championship Matches
BY THE NUMBERS: There were 42 teams that opted for the alternate girls tennis season. The alternate season opportunity this spring was provided by the Board of Control for schools opting out of the fall sports in response to participation concerns during the COVID-19 pandemic. Qualifying for the State Meet were the top four finishers in flight 1 and the top two finishers in flight 2 in singles and doubles at each sectional. Also added to the State Meet field by the WIAA seeding committee will be a maximum of eight additional singles players and doubles teams that were eliminated earlier in the Tournament Series.
LAST FALL: Top-seeded Baluck Deang of Edgewood won the Division 2 singles title for the second year in a row, defeating second-seeded Erika Curtin of Xavier 6-3, 7-5 in the championship match. The top-seeded tandem of Kala Siddalingaiah and Rebecca Daskal of the University School of Milwaukee won the Division 2 doubles championship with a 7-5, 7-5 victory over seventh-seeded Kylie McCormick and Bella Taleon of Xavier. Second-seeded Elizabeth Sobieski of Muskego outlasted top-seeded Autumn Bruno of Whitnall to win the Division 1 singles crown by scores of 3-6, 6-3, 6-2 in the final. In Division 1 doubles play, Halle Rosentreter and Gwen Hammond of Wilmot captured gold as the #8 seed in the tournament. They downed third-seeded Hannah Cady and Anna Long of Arrowhead 7-5, 6-1 in the final.
SINGLES NOTES: The alternate season singles bracket is comprised of 28 competitors. Four of the top five seeds in the tournament are freshmen. The top seed was issued to junior Ava Dunsirn of Neenah. She enters play in the State Tournament with a 15-0 record this season. Dunsirn gained State experience by qualifying last season, which resulted in a loss in the first round. Freshman Lily Olson of Madison Memorial is the #2 seed with a 5-0 record in a limited number this spring. Freshman Olivia Minikel of Manitowoc Lincoln has compiled a 14-1 record this season and is the third seed in the tournament. Freshman Annalise Yang of Madison La Follette is seeded fourth with her 6-1 record. Freshman Netra Somasundaram of Middleton is the #5 seed with her 10-2 record, and junior Molly Hower of Eau Claire Memorial is seeded sixth with a 14-3 mark this season. The seventh seed is sophomore Sophie Fergus of De Pere. She has compiled a 12-4 record this season, and senior Annika Goetz of Stoughton is the eighth seed with an undefeated 11-0 mark. Freshman Nora Paape of Neenah is also undefeated this season at 16-0, and she has been identified as the ninth seed.
DOUBLES NOTES: The alternate season bracket includes 28 duos. The top seed is the tandem of senior Grace Welhouse and freshman Alex Madjun of Appleton North. They have posted a 10-1 record this season heading into State Tournament play. Junior Sophia Paape and sophomore Shelby Roth of Neenah are seeded second in the bracket with an 11-1 record. Roth qualified with a different partner in 2019 to win her first-round match before falling in the second round. Seniors Karsen Dettman and Noor Rajpal of Middleton are seeded third with a limited number of matches on their slate this season at 5-0. Dettman advanced all the way to the championship match in 2018 with a different partner to finish runner-up. Rajpal is a four-time qualifier in doubles play. She teamed up with the same partner her first three years. They advanced to the third round in 2019 and to the second round of play in both 2017 and 2018. Seniors Tristyn Lueck and Audrey Ochsner of De Pere are the #4 seed. They qualified as a tandem last year and fell in their opening-round match. The fifth-seeded duo is sophomore Liz Risgaard and freshman Annalise Zenzick of Neenah. They enter play undefeated in a limited number of matches at 8-0. Senior Lexi Bubzinski and junior Katie Rentzepis of Eau Claire Memorial are the sixth seed with their 15-4 mark this season. Rentzepis has State experience after qualifying with a different partner last season, which resulted in a loss in the opening round. The seventh-seeded pair is seniors Elsie Steimle and Kendra Peterson of Manitowoc Lincoln with a record of 13-2. Peterson qualified for State in 2019 in the singles bracket. She fell to her first-round opponent. Senior Sophia Knigge and junior Abby Lin of Madison West are seeded eighth with a 4-2 record this season. Knigge advanced to the quarterfinals in 2019 with a different partner after advancing to the second round with the same partner in 2018. Senior Jessica Jiang and freshman Sophia Jiang of Madison Memorial are seeded ninth with a 4-1 record.
NEED THE BRACKETS?: Brackets and qualifiers are available on the girls tennis tournament page on the WIAA website at www.wiaawi.org. Live scoring by TennisReporting will also be available with links on the Girls Tennis Tournament page on the WIAA website.
NEED RESULTS?: Results of the alternate season Girls Individual Tennis State Tournament are available on the WIAA website at www.wiaawi.org by accessing the girls tennis tournament page.
STATE SOUVENIR PROGRAMS ONLINE: The souvenir programs for the alternate season State culminating events are available online and available to download and print at no cost. The complete alternate season State Girls Individual Tennis Tournament program with rosters of qualifiers, history and schedule information can be accessed at: https://www.wiaawi.org/Portals/0/PDF/Publications/Programs/2020-21girlstennisalternate.pdf.
ORDER STATE MEET APPAREL ONLINE: WIAA licensed apparel is available online for the alternate State Girls Individual Tennis Tournament. To browse and purchase branded merchandise, visit the WIAA Store at: https://wiaastategirlstennis21.itemorder.com. Online purchases will be shipped after the online store closes prior to midnight Wednesday, May 5.
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.