The Warhawks men’s and women’s tennis teams combined to go 3-0 on the weekend. On March 10th the men’s team beat Carthage College 5-4. The men won again on March 11 when they defeated Augustana College 7-2.  Finally on March 12 the women’s team completed the weekend sweep for the tennis program when they beat Augustana College 8-1.

Men win third straight

On March 10, the Warhawks men traveled to Janesville to have a neutral sight battle with Carthage College Red Men where they were victorious with a 5-4 final tally.

In the singles matches the teams split the six matches three wins each. The winners on the Warhawks side were junior  Zane Navratil, sophomore Rory Calabria, and sophomore Branden Dechter.

Navratil won the deciding match in what coach Frank Barnes described as an exciting three setter with all eyes on him [Navratil].

“I felt pressure in the second set to try and close the match out, but I was able to play freely in the third set,” Navratil said.

In the doubles competition the Warhawks lost two and won one match. The duo of Calabria and freshman Zach Wood were able to beat Carthage’s team with a score of 8-5.

“We may not have played as well as we wanted to, but our team support was great,” Navtril said. “The people who weren’t playing brought great energy.”

The next day the men won again beating Augustana College 7-2 on a neutral sight again in Middleton at Hitter’s Sportsplex.

In the doubles competition the Warhawks completed a clean sweep winning all three matches. The winning teams include junior Grant Thompson and sophomore Jimmy Engelhardt, Calabria and Wood and Dechter and Navtril who were able to snatch the last match.

In the singles matches, the Warhawks claimed four victories out of six matches. Engelhardt, Calabria, Wood and freshman Lucas Monterrossa won the singles matches for the ’Hawks.

After beating Augustana, the Warhawks improved the team’s record to 8-4 on the season. The Hawks’ have been hot of late winning the last three matches. UW-W will look to stay in the winning column next week when they travel to California to compete in four matches as part of the team’s spring trip.

Women open spring season with win

The women’s squad dominated Augustana March 12 beating them soundly 8-1 in Middleton. This victory completed the weekend sweep for the Warhawks tennis program.

In the singles competition the Warhawks dominated and  won five out of six matches, with the five winners being junior Bridgid McGuire, junior Alexander Talyansky, junior Jillian Wallace, junior Alicia Beck and junior Brittany Goebel.

The Warhawks may have won easily but not all matches were a walk in the park.

“I had to fight hard after being down 2-5 in the second set,” McGuire said. “My opponent was much more consistent the second set, and I needed to take the initiative and be aggressive.”

In the doubles competition the woman swept Augustana three to zero. The winning duos were Megan Humphreys and McGuire, Talyansky and Wallace and Beck with Goebel.

McGuire said she was happy to win two matches on the day.

“It felt great especially because I sat out fall season due to injury,” McGuire said. “I used today as a way to shake off the cobwebs and any nerves.”

This was a big match between two high caliber teams. Augustana came in with a 15-2 record pitted against the 11-1 Warhawks.

“As a team, I think everyone did great today,” said McGuire. “Augustana is a tough team, full of big hitters, so we knew we would have to fight for our wins.”

The Warhawks will continue action in California next week as part of the team’s spring trip in California.