THE MEET: The 52nd 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. and will resume Friday at 9 a.m. with Saturday matches to begin at 8:30 a.m.
GET TICKETS: The WIAA uses GoFan Ticketing for all digital and cashless tickets. Admission is $9 plus online fees per day for adults and students. All tickets must be redeemed on a mobile device. To purchase tickets, visit the WIAA website at: https://gofan.co/app/school/WIAAWI?activity=Tennis.
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 Singles Semifinals
9:30 a.m. Championship Doubles Semifinals
10 a.m. Fifth-place Matches
11 a.m. Third-place Matches
11:30 a.m. Championship Matches
BY THE NUMBERS: There were 202 teams sponsoring girls tennis this fall with 133 in Division 1 and 69 in Division 2. The top four finishers in flight 1 and the top finisher in flight 2 in both singles and doubles play at sectionals qualify for the State Tournament in each division. Also added to the tournament field by the seeding committee will be a maximum of 16 additional singles players and doubles teams in Division 1 and eight singles players and doubles teams in Division 2 that were eliminated earlier in the Tournament Series.
LAST YEAR: Kaede Usui of Franklin won the State Division 1 singles title as the #1 seed with a 7-5, 6-7(8), 6-2 victory over third-seeded Parker Christensen of Elkhorn in the championship match. In Division 1 doubles play, third-seeded Sophia Paape and Shelby Roth of Neenah earned the gold medal by downing top-seeded Christina and Emily Pan of Muskego 6-4, 6-0 in the final. Top-seeded Lily Olson of Edgewood won the Division 2 singles title, defeating second-seeded Lauren Lindow of East Troy 6-1, 6-0 in the championship match. The top-seeded tandem of Rebecca Daskal and Isabel Werner of University School of Milwaukee won the Division 2 doubles championship with a 6-2, 6-3 victory over second-seeded Sophia Rondeau and Katie Metcalf of East Troy.
DIVISION 1 SINGLES NOTES: Sophomore Parker Christensen of Elkhorn is the #1 seed with a 26-0 record after she finished runner-up at State as a freshman last season. The #2 seed, junior Olivia Minikel of Manitowoc Lincoln, advanced to the third round of play last season after placing fourth in the 2020-21 alternate season that was played in the spring to accommodate participation during the COVID-19 pandemic. She qualifies again this season sporting a 26-0 record. Junior Carolyn Schaefer of Divine Savior Holy Angels has been issued the #3 seed with her 16-0 record this season. She advanced to the quarterfinals last season after placing fifth in 2020. Sophomore Natalie Stanula of Milwaukee Reagan is seeded fourth with a 21-2 record this season. Last year, she advanced to the third round before being ousted from title contention. Freshman Clare Schaefer of Whitefish Bay is the fifth seed with a 26-7 record. Another freshman, Caroline Raster of Brookfield East, is seeded sixth with a record of 21-2. Junior Emily Pan of Muskego transitions to singles this season after finishing runner-up in doubles play last year. She enters play this week as the #7 seed with a 22-1 record. Senior Gwen Hammond of Westosha Central is seeded #8. She was half the duo that captured the State doubles title at Wilmot Union in 2020. She qualifies in the singles bracket this year with a 31-3 record. Junior Netra Somasundaram of Middleton qualifies for the third straight season after placing fourth last season and fifth in the alternate season tourney her freshman campaign. She is seeded ninth this year with a 17-5 mark. Sophomore Naisha Nagpal of Verona is the #10 seed with a record of 26-4 after advancing to the third round a year ago. Another player of note seeded outside the top-10 is junior Annalise Yang of Sun Prairie East, who is seeded 12th with a 20-3 record. She placed fifth last season playing for Madison La Follette after she won the alternate season title in the spring of 2020-21.
DIVISION 1 DOUBLES NOTES: The top-seeded tandem in the bracket is senior Sophia Fergus and freshman Ana Cristescu of De Pere. They have compiled an unblemished mark of 29-0 this season. Fergus gained State Tournament experience the past two seasons in singles play, advancing to the second round last year after placing sixth in singles during the alternate season in the spring of 2021. Seniors Hannah Cady and Jane Berglin of Arrowhead are seeded #2 with a 25-2 mark after advancing to the third round last year. Cady is a four-time qualifier. She finished runner-up in 2020 with a different partner after finishing sixth in 2019 with yet a different partner. Seniors Emma Kappel and Amelia Ansay of Nicolet are the third seed with a mark of 21-4 this year. Kappel qualified with a different partner the past two years, advancing to the second round last season. Ansay qualified in the singles bracket last season, falling in the first round after advancing to the second round in 2020. The fourth seeded team is junior Molly Jex and freshman Lizzie Stuckslager of Divine Savior Holy Angels with a 22-4 record. Jex qualified with a different partner last year and advanced to the third round before being eliminated from title contention. Senior Gretchen Lee and Claire Jaeger of Waunakee are the #5 seed. They enter action this week with a 27-4 mark. Lee qualified with a different partner in 2020 to advance to the third round, and Jaeger qualified the last two years in singles play. The senior tandem of Zoe Larson and Carley O’Leary of Cedarburg are back after advancing to the third round in each of the past two seasons. They are the sixth seed with a 26-4 record this season. Larson also advanced to the third round with a different partner in 2019. Juniors Keagan Potter and Kate Conger of Oshkosh West are seeded seventh with a 28-3 record. Potter advanced to the second round last season with a different partner. Senior Anastasia Raykova and freshman Anya Mikhailenko of Homestead are the #8 seed with a 22-10 record. Juniors Molly Ryan and Tyra Gustavson of Madison West are the ninth seed with a 27-7 mark this year. Ryan gained experience at State last year but did not advance with a different partner. Gustavson fell in her first-round match in singles play last season after advancing to the second round in doubles play with a different partner in the 2020-21 alternate season. The #10 seed duo is senior Amy Li and junior Ashley Ander of Middleton with a 19-7 record. Andler advanced to the third round with a different partner a year ago.
DIVISION 2 SINGLES NOTES: The top seed in the bracket was issued to freshman Angela Wang of University School of Milwaukee. She enters the tournament with a 23-1 record. Defending champion Lily Olson, a junior from Edgewood, is seeded second with a 19-1 mark this season. She also placed runner-up in the 2020-21 alternate season playing for Madison Memorial. Senior Lauren Lindow of East Troy is the #3 seed after finishing runner-up last season and fifth in 2020. The four-time qualifier advanced to the second round her freshman season in 2019. She enters play this week with a 32-2 mark. Senior Olivia Pethan of Fox Valley Lutheran returns to the tournament field for the third straight season. She is the #4 seed with a 20-1 record after advancing to the quarterfinals the past two seasons. Sophomore Aubry Jayne of University School of Milwaukee is seeded fifth with a 14-2 tally this fall. She placed third a year ago as a freshman. The sixth seed is senior Maggie McGinnis of Xavier, who placed sixth last year. She is currently 20-6 entering the State Tournament this week. The seventh seed in the bracket is junior Lillian Jorgenson of The Prairie School after she advanced to the second round last season. She returns to State with a 24-5 record. Junior Jessica Jacobson of Catholic Memorial qualifies for the second year in a row. She is the #8 seed with a 19-10 record after placing fourth last year.
DIVISION 2 DOUBLES NOTES: Seniors Maia Samuelson and Ava Meyer of New Berlin Eisenhower have been bestowed the top seed in the bracket with a 29-2 record. They advanced to the third round in the Division 1 doubles bracket a year ago. Seniors Lexi Kass and Laurette Blanchard of Brookfield Academy are the second-seeded tandem with an 18-5 mark. Kass qualified last year and advanced to the quarterfinals with a different partner. Seniors Sophia Rondeau and Katie Metcalf of East Troy have qualified for the fourth time. They are seeded third with a 32-1 record after finishing runner up last year to go with a fourth-place finish in 2020. They also qualified and fell in their first-round match in 2019. Junior Isabel Werner and sophomore Mia Darr of University School of Milwaukee were issued the fourth seed with a 16-11 record. With a different partner, Werner was half the combo that won the State title last year. Senior Kallynn Sauer and sophomore Mary McCaffery of Catholic Memorial are the #2 seed with a 22-5 tally this year. McCaffery qualified last season with a different partner and advanced to the second round. Juniors Josie Rondestvedt and Bella Bauer of Altoona are seeded sixth with a 30-4 record. The pair qualified last season and advanced to the second round. Senior Gracie Niebler and freshman Madeline Dehnert of Jefferson are seeded seventh with a 12-1 record. Niebler qualified last season with a different partner and fell in the duo’s first-round match. Juniors Emily Mofle and Natalie Nolin of Rice Lake are the eighth seed with a 16-10 record.
NEED RESULTS?: Results of the Girls Individual Tennis State Tournament are available on the WIAA website at www.wiaawi.org by accessing the girls tennis tournament page.
FOLLOW STATE MEET ON SOCIAL MEDIA: Receive updates of the State Girls Tennis Individual 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.
STATE MEET APPAREL ONLINE: WIAA licensed apparel is available at the State Girls Individual and Team Tennis Tournaments at Nielsen Tennis Stadium.
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Author: David Keech
David Keech is a retired teacher and works as a sportswriter, sports official and as an educational consultant. He has reported on amateur sports since 2011, known as 'KeechDaVoice.' David can be reached at [email protected]
