The Warhawks brought out the brooms as they swept their doubleheader on a cold and windy Sunday afternoon. UW-Whitewater narrowly edged out North Central College 4-3, before taking care of business against Carthage College 6-1.
The first match against the Cardinals was a nailbiter, to say the least. Coming into the match, both teams sported nearly identical World Tennis Numbers (WTN), with North Central coming in at 23.83 and the Warhawks at 23.31. Both teams went back and forth trading blows before resulting in a narrow Whitewater victory.
“Two big turning points on the day for the North Central match: one was sealing the doubles point by getting the win at No. 3, and then Alex Repplier winning her tiebreak match at No. 4 singles to keep the team alive and make it 3-3. She was down 4-7 in her match tiebreak and came back to win it,” head coach Frank Barnes said. “Also, Gracie Ha got a signature win at the 1 singles line against Carthage whose player made it to the finals of the ITA regional tournament this past fall. That should help her seeding down the stretch as a top player in the region.”
This win was highlighted by two doubles victories and three singles wins. Molly Asfeld and Crystina Lee led the way with their decisive doubles match, winning 6-1 against the pairing of Liveta Ezerskis and Kensington Payne. Repplier and Ava Andrae also took down their opponents 6-3 to secure the doubles point for UW-W. The singles matches were highlighted by Repplier’s crucial tiebreaker win over Ezerskis, taking the match with scores of 6-0 4-6 (10-7). This victory allowed Whitewater to gain the final flight needed to win the match against the Cardinals.
“I was extremely happy with how both myself and the team performed this weekend,” Repplier said. “We made some changes at 2 and 3 doubles, and it seemed like these new teams really gave us the boost we needed to get that doubles point, which was key in the win over North Central. Beyond doubles, everyone fought the cold and wind very well and stayed steady and consistent, which allowed us to get those three extra points and clinch the match.”
The second match of the doubleheader was a lot less stressful for the Warhawks as they made quick work of Carthage College. The Warhawks went two for three in doubles and five for six in singles to ultimately defeat the Firebirds 6-1. This battle was highlighted by Abigail Weaver in one of her best performances of the year, beating her opponent Sasha Manojlovic 6-0 6-1. Repplier once again won both her doubles match with Andrae 6-2 over Giovanna Mendes and Greta Peterson, and her singles match over Peterson 6-3 6-3 to achieve a perfect record on the day.
“This performance definitely gave us a big confidence boost as we move closer to the postseason,” Repplier said. “We learned a lot about our new doubles pairings and how we can best make those work in these next few matches, as well as just giving us more match experience and confidence that we can perform and win against tough teams.”
Barnes echoed the sentiment about his team’s performance.
“It gives us great confidence heading into the WIAC Conference AQ tournament that we have in two weeks. That will determine which WIAC [team] will represent the conference at the NCAA team tournament,” Barnes said. “[We’re] continuing to focus on discipline and the basics. Also, we will continue to work hard to solidify a solid doubles lineup to help us get the momentum early in team matches down the stretch.”
The Warhawks will host the WIAC Final Four AQ Tournament on April 26. Whitewater is scheduled to play UW-Stevens Point, while UW-La Crosse is slated to match up against UW-Eau Claire. Since 2000, UWW has a 27-0 record against the Pointers, and are looking to make it 28 wins next Saturday in what looks to be a favorable matchup.
