Tennis team wins championships 16th year in a row
The UW-Whitewater Women’s Tennis team won their 14th straight WIAC championship after defeating UW-La Crosse in the conference tournament championship Sunday April 25, 2021. Photo by Karley Garcia
October 23, 2022
The women’s tennis team competed in the WIAC Championships on Oct. 22 and Oct. 23 and came out with their 16th consecutive win. They ended up going against UW-Eau Claire on the final day of the championship to receive their 23rd title.
On the first day they played four matches.
“The first day was a little bit easier because there were only four matches that we had to play because we had byes in all the singles matches. So it was kind of a lighter day. We were able to get to the semifinals for all the singles for the byes and the finals of all the doubles. So it was really clean and we actually only lost two games,” said Head coach Frank Barnes. “It was good for us because we got out of there early. We got some food and got to the hotel early so we had a little bit of an advantage. The other teams all stayed and played singles. We were able to get some rest and get ready for the next day. The second day was historically a good day, and we only really lost one match. It was a pretty dominant experience overall.”
With the end of the second day sophomore Autumn Bruno captured the No. 1 singles title with a 6-1, 1-0 win.
“I think I played really well. I go into these tournaments being more confident with my team at my back,” Bruno said. “So that’s a motivator for me to get pumped up and whatnot.”
Senior Courtney Day also had a big accomplishment as she was named the league’s Judy Kruckman Scholar-Athlete. She and her sophomore doubles partner Gianna Nikoleit also took the number three doubles title 8-4.
“We’re always talking on the court. Talking about what’s working, what isn’t working, stuff like that. I think that was the biggest thing that we focused on today. When one of us wasn’t wasn’t playing our best we kind of just picked each other up and went from there,” Day said. “My doubles partner is also in the singles lineup so that’s kind of where we kind of just lean on each other and focus on each other’s strengths to get the win for the match.”
Overall the team adjusted and were able to ignore some of the pressure they had to get the win. With this championship victory the Warhawks move on to the four team WIAC tournament which takes place in the spring.
