Sports

Whitewater Soccer Wraps Up Second Week of Games

The Whitewater Boys’ Soccer team wrapped up their second week of soccer games with a win at home against Fort Atkinson on Thursday night.

Last week we kicked the season off playing up two divisions against two Division 1 teams from the Janesville high schools. Our first game was against Janesville Craig. We knew going in that we were not quite at the fitness level that we needed and we were learning a new formation for the season. We saw some good play from our team and identified some fundamentals to work on improving. While it was close, Craig was the better team and beat us 2-0.

  • Juan Cuellar Meza vs Janesville Craig
  • Sergio Zuniga vs Janesville Craig

Photos Courtesy of Bob and Peter Mischka

Next up was Janesville Parker. We’ve had good success against Parker in the past few years and this year was no different. The final score was 7-0 with goals coming from Cody Gamble (2), Juan Cuellar (2), Cody Rupke, Ignacio Cuevas, and Rafa Cortez.

Tyler Pavlik battles with Janesville Parker’s Abel Saaka, Photo Courtesy of Bob Mischka

This week we played Division 2 Waterford on Tuesday. While we felt like we were definitely playing better soccer than in week 1, and we made it to half time tied up at 1 each, Waterford managed a couple more goals in the end to beat us 3-1.

Thursday, we put in our best overall team performance of the two weeks in a home game against Division 2 Fort Atkinson. Colin Chenoweth notched his first goal of the season to give us the lead at half-time. Fort Atkinson tied it up in the second half, but Juan Cuellar gave us the game winner. Sergio Zuniga in goal made a couple of exceptional saves to close the game out for us.

  • Colin Chenoweth vs Fort Atkinson
  • Juan Cuellar Meza vs Fort Atkinson

Photos Courtesy of Bob and Peter Mischka

Next week is a busy week for us as we head on the road against Cambridge-Deerfield and then back up that direction for a game against Lake Mills. We close out our early non-conference schedule with a tournament in Milton over the weekend. We are starting to see some solid play from the whole group on our varsity roster and are looking forward to the rest of the season.

Janesville Craig 2, Whitewater 0
Craig 1 1
Whitewater 0 0

Whitewater 7, Janesville Parker 0
Whitewater 3 4
Parker 0 0

Whitewater 1, Waterford Union 3
Whitewater 1 0
Waterford 1 2

Whitewater 2, Fort Atkinson 1
Whitewater 1 1
Fort Atkinson 0 1

Article submitted by Coach John Chenoweth

Warhawks Football Celebrates Senior Day on 9/7; Zweifel Returns Coaching Dubuque

Kickoff at Perkins Stadium on Saturday is at 2:00 p.m.

(Reprinted from the Daily Jefferson County Union) By the end of this season, this senior class could be the one that gets the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater back atop the NCAA Division III mountain.

But before anyone gets the cart ahead of the horse, the Warhawks are going to recognize their seniors with Senior Day on the first game of the season instead of the standard celebration on the last home game of the regular season.

“I think it’s kind of a cool thing to change it up a little bit and be different,” said Jacob Erbs, a senior linebacker who is one of the four captains this season. “Hopefully then the parents aren’t crying because it’s our last game. Hopefully because it’s our first game we’ll hold back the tears and save that emotional thing for the parents. I’m excited for it, it’s a cool thing that we’re doing and hopefully we’ll get a win on Saturday.”

Kevin Bullis, the fifth-year head coach of the Warhawks, initially got the idea from UW-Whitewater women’s soccer coach Ryan Quamme, who considers the home opener an opportunity to launch the senior season. Bullis appreciated the logic and sees it as an advantage for seniors to declare themselves as leaders.

“Now that we’re doing that in the first game, it changes the whole perspective,” Bullis said. “It’s not about the end, it’s about the beginning of the senior year. It totally relieves any potential distraction. If anything, it gives them a little extra juice to get their senior year going. I don’t know if it gives them extra. They’ve had an entire year to think about their senior year.”

One other “byproduct,” according to Bullis is that it makes sure most of the seniors will be able to be on the field for their recognition. Last year, Jarrod Ware was injured in the first three weeks of the season. Instead of playing on senior day, Ware would have been in a boot and crutches had he not been injured early enough in the season to be redshirted.

Ware is back this year and should be in pads for Senior Day.

“That’s a great byproduct,” Bullis said. “Guys get to play on their Senior Day. … One of the biggest pieces of it from a coaching perspective, it’s showing everybody who our leaders are. It reaffirms it to our seniors that they are leaders. There’s also a sense of accountability to do that; I am a leader. In other words, watch me, because I am going to portray the characteristics that we demand of our program.”

Zweifel returns to Whitewater

Dubuque head coach Stan Zweifel will coach at Perkins Stadium for the first time since he left UW-Whitewater following the 2006 season.

Zweifel was the offensive coordinator for UW-Whitewater from 1990 until the retirement of Bob Berezowitz following the 2006 season. He has been the head coach since the 2008 season leading the Spartans to Iowa Intercollegiate Athletics Conference championships in 2011 and 2015.

“I try to keep up with how they do each week,” Berezowitz said. “It’s tough though to really talk much with coaches during the season because there is so much going on.”

Zweifel has been coaching football since he graduated from UW-River Falls in 1974. Bullis has credited Zweifel for getting him started in coaching when their paths crossed at University of Minnesota-Morris in the late 1980s.

Berezowitz laughed off the idea that Zweifel could be slowing down at this stage of his career.

“The one thing about Stan is that he always has energy,” Berezowitz said. “He looks forward to working with and teaching young people every year. With his energy, age is not a factor.”

Cross Country Hosts Annual Alumni Meet

In the 18th running of the Dirk Seibold Alumni Cross Country Meet at UW-Whitewater on Saturday, August 31, the team seared their lungs with a hard first race effort as both the boys’ and girls’ teams were able to don their new warms up and uniforms that were made possible through funds from the athletic department, fundraising, and donations.

This first race was an important step in the process to get a hard 5000m race under their belts in a low key atmosphere. In great conditions for an August day, the teams looked good and are looking to build on their successes.

  • Trenten Zahn
  • Trinity Nickels

Photos Courtesy of Bob Mischka

Thank you to all the alumni who came to not only be part of the day but especially those who came to race!

Both teams will get after it in their first real invite of the season on Saturday, September 7th, at the Verona Invitational, located at Verona High School. The first race starts at 9:00 a.m. 

  RESULTS: https://www.whs.wwusd.org/page/3155

Whippet Volleyball Opens Season with UW-Whitewater Tourney

The Whippet Volleyball Team opened the 2019 season playing in the UW-Whitewater Tournament. To begin play on Friday, Whitewater took on Catholic Central that won a state title last year. The two teams battled and exchanged point leads numerous times which led to extending play to 27 points twice. The team was led by Kacie Carollo’s 8 digs, Hannah O’Brien’s 2.0 passing, Cora Linos’s 9 assists and 2 blocks and Emme Bullis adding 12 kills, 3 aces, and 2 blocks. Despite the evenly matched play between the two teams, the Whippets fell 2-0 by the score of 25-27, 25-27.

Up next for the Whippets was Lakeside Lutheran which lost in the WIAA semi-finals in 5 sets to East Troy, and went on to win another state title last year. Once again the Whippets played tough and kept Lakeside on their heels throughout the match. Although having 25 digs against a powerful Lakeside and running a more balanced offense, Whitewater fell in two sets by the score of 20-25 and 18-25.

  • Kacie Carollo
  • Kiyla Kopecky

Photos Courtesy of Bob Mischka

On the rise, the Whippets’ next opponent was Tomahawk. Kiyla Kopecky used her powerful serve to ace the Hatchets 5 times and Kacie Carollo led the team with a hitting percentage of .500. She had 4 kills in 6 attempts with only one error and added 9 digs. Cora Linos led in the assist category with 17. Emme Bullis led with 12 kills and passing a 2.23. Additionally, Catherine Skindingsrude, Hannah O’Brien, and Amanda Tovar added pivotal digs to keep rallies alive. The combined efforts contributed to Whitewater’s first win of the day by the scores of 25-15, 19-25, and 15-10.

The last match Friday was against Milton. Milton dominated the first set and won 25-14. With the lopsided loss, the coaches decided to make a few adjustments in the lineup to match up better against Milton. Whitewater players have been coached over the course of their volleyball career to be versatile and not limit themselves or the team by being locked in to playing one position. Players need to be able to play multiple positions. All of the Whippets have embraced this mentality of doing what is best for the team. This selflessness became evident in the second set when the players were informed of the lineup changes and rationale for it. Cora Linos was asked to take on a hitting role in the front row to add more offensive weapons and to block the Milton setter when in the front row. Emme Bullis was asked to set in a few rotations and hit and block out of the middle. These adjustments rattled Milton. Whitewater went on to win the second set 29-27. In the third set Whitewater kept the pressure on but ended up losing, 15-17.

On the second day the Whippets opened up playing with confidence and passing well which led to two more wins against Beloit Memorial (2-1) and Evansville (2-0). Whitewater tallied 34 kills, 91 digs, 6 blocks, and 16 aces in the two wins. Maddie Arnett did a great job with adjustments she was asked to make. The team needed her to move to the outside to hit in a few rotations and she never batted an eye. The selflessness of this team is like no other I have coached in all my 20+ years. I am very proud of each player in the Whippet program.

In the second round of pool play the Whippets finished second and entered bronze bracket play, facing off against Lodi. Amanda Tovar recorded a personal best of 6 digs in the match. Amanda is a tremendous athlete who is a volleyball sponge right now. She is asking questions, making adjustments, and getting better each time she steps on the court. Hannah O’Brien and Catherine Skindingsrude are our key defensive and serve receive players who are asked to carry a load in the backcourt. They are raising the level of their play by being able to read opponents’ hitters, recognize holes in our block, and play scrappy defense.

Coach Kathy Bullis stated, “I’m very excited about the growth the team had this weekend and can’t wait to get back in the gym on Tuesday for another three days of opportunities to raise our level of play, before heading up to the Oshkosh Lourdes Tournament next weekend.”

Whippet Tennis Sweeps Columbus

Whippet Tennis opened up the start of their dual meet season with a 7-0 victory over Columbus on Friday, August 30. Whitewater is now 10-4 on the year as they head in to a tough conference season next Thursday against defending champion East Troy.

Coach Tim Nelson stated, “Every girl played solid tennis today, nothing flashy, just consistent basics. The Whippets did move some kids around today and were without one of their regulars, but everyone handled the changes with little difficulty. Senior Cassidy Laue led the way at 1 singles with a solid performance, and everyone followed that lead. Sophomore Anisa Dauti picked up her first ever varsity single’s win in a close three set comeback.”

Whippet Football Falls to East Troy

The Whippet football team took on East Troy in a Rock Valley Conference matchup on Friday night, August 30. 

The Whippet offense struggled to get much going and fell to the Trojans 28-2. 

The defense showed moments of playing well highlighted by their lone score – a safety in the 3rd quarter and a 95 yard interception return by Dylan DuClos. 

  • Brock Grosinske
  • Diego Tovar
  • Will Leibbrand

Photos Courtesy of Bob Mischka

The Whippets take on Clinton this week on Friday, September 6. The game will also be Parents’ Night.

Whippet Tennis Team Places Second at Delavan-Darien Quad

The Whippets took 2 out of 3 matches on Wednesday, August 28, to finish in second place at the Delavan-Darien Quad. Whitewater started the day with a 6-1 victory over Waterford, followed by a 7-0 win over Delavan-Darien, before losing 2-5 to Elkhorn. The championship match with Elkhorn was even closer than the score appears as the Whippets fell in two third-set tiebreakers to decide the match.

Coach Tim Nelson stated, “I was very pleased with the way we played today. Every player on the team improved with every match and won at least two, with Melanie Reyes and Mariana Cano winning all three and taking the championship at #2 doubles.”

Friday morning the Whippets will be traveling to Columbus to make up Monday’s rain out.

Whitewater’s Parker Earns Spot on 2019-20 UW-Whitewater Golf Roster

Billie Jo Parker, a native of Whitewater, WI, and graduate of Whitewater High School, will compete for the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater golf team during the 2019-20 season, which begins this weekend.

Parker, a sophomore at UW-Whitewater, is majoring in art (graphic design).

Billie Jo Parker (File Photo – Whitewater High School 2018, Bob Mischka)

The University of Wisconsin-Whitewater golf team will compete for an unprecedented third consecutive Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference championship this fall as it begins play for the 2019-20 season this weekend.

The Warhawks claimed their second straight conference title last season and survived the 54-hole cut at the NCAA Championship for the second consecutive year, placing 13th in the nation.

UW-Whitewater begins the fall season this Friday and Saturday at Carthage’s annual Shootout on the Border at Bristol Oaks. After a trip to Prairie Links in Waverly, Iowa, for the Wartburg Fall Invite on Sept. 7-8, the team heads to Ironwood Golf Course in Normal, Ill., for the annual Illinois Wesleyan Fall Classic on Sept. 14-15.

The Warhawks host the UW-Whitewater Fall Classic on Sept. 20-21 at Riverside Golf Course in Janesville for the team’s final tune-up prior to the 54-hole WIAC Championship, which is slated for Oct. 4-6 at Reedsburg Country Club.

The fall season ends with the Golfweek Division III Fall Invite Oct. 13-15 at Sandestin Golf & Beach Resort in Miramar Beach, Fla.

The WIAC champion will qualify automatically for the NCAA Championship, which is scheduled for May 12-15, 2020, at PGA National Resort in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.

Fourth-year head coach Andrea Wieland returns three of the team’s five participants from last year’s national tournament as well as other veteran players. UW-Whitewater also welcomes five freshmen to the program.

The team’s senior class includes Bella Barbiere (Mequon, Wis./Homestead), Kristin Bowe (Franklin, Wis./Franklin), Ashley Hofmeister (New Berlin, Wis./Eisenhower), CheyAnn Knudsen (Milton, Wis./Milton) and Kelly Storti (Deerfield, Ill./Deerfield).

Knudsen, the reigning WIAC Player of the Year and a member of the Women’s Golf Coaches Association All-Central Region team, led the team in scoring last season, averaging 78.3 strokes per 18-hole round. She led the team at the NCAA Championship with a 315, good for 34th place in the 81-player field.

Hofmeister, the 2017 WIAC Player of the Year, was named first team all-conference last season after leading the team with a runner-up finish at the WIAC Championship. She averaged a 78.9 for the season and seeks her fourth consecutive All-WIAC this fall. Hofmeister also finished among the top half of the field at the 2019 NCAA Championship, tying for 37th overall.

Storti and Bowe each enter the season with experience competing at both conference and national tournaments. Storti competed at the 2019 NCAA Championship, finishing third on the team and tied for 62nd overall, while Bowe was part of the 2018 NCAA Championship lineup, placing third on the team and 70th overall.

Barbiere played in six rounds last season and owns a career-best score of 86.

Billie Jo Parker (Whitewater, Wis./Whitewater), Ashton Sinak (St. Louis, Mo./Visitation Academy) and Lauren Winter(Johnsburg, Ill./Johnsburg) comprise the team’s sophomore class.

Sinak played in 17 rounds in 2018-19, averaging a score of 83.1 and recording a top-five finish at the UW-Whitewater Fall Classic. Parker competed in 10 rounds a season ago, and Winter played in four rounds after joining the team at the start of the spring semester.

Newcomers to the program include freshmen Jennifer Berardi (Highland Park, Ill./Highland Park), Jessica LaBerge (Bonduel, Wis./Bonduel), Madi LaPaz (Oconomowoc, Wis./Oconomowoc), Lily Sheppard (Sherwood, Wis./Kaukauna) and Grace Westerman (Oconomowoc, Wis./Oconomowoc).

For more than 150 years, UW-Whitewater has provided students with the education and training to begin their careers with a solid foundation behind them. The UW-Whitewater is committed to the development of the individual, the growth of personal and professional integrity and respect for diversity and global perspectives. These are met by providing academic and co-curricular programs that emphasize the pursuit of knowledge and understanding and a commitment to service within a safe and secure environment.

Whippets Open Football Season Against Beloit Turner

The Whippet Football Team opened up the 2019 season with a hard fought contest against the Beloit Turner Trojans on Friday, August 23. 

After a scoreless 1st quarter, the Trojans took advantage of a few Whippet mistakes and took a 21-0 lead into the half. 

  • Brock Grosinske
  • Will Leibbrand
  • Eli Kohl

Photos Courtesy of Bob Mischka

The Whippets came back and held Beloit Turner scoreless throughout the entire 2nd half of the game, and Whitewater running back Will Leibbrand found the end zone twice in the 4th quarter on runs of 14 and 57 yards.  Unfortunately, the first half deficit was too much to overcome, and the Whippets fell 13-21.

The Whippets will look to rebound on the road at East Troy on Friday, August 30th. 

Whippet Tennis Goes 4-1 at Altoona Invite

The Whippet Girls’ Tennis Team just returned from the Altoona Invite which was played in Altoona and Chippewa Falls. Whitewater went 4-1 over the two-day tournament.

On Thursday, the Whippets opened with a 2-5 loss to Ashland. Picking up wins were Josie Hintz at 4 singles, and Katelyn Lashley and Emily Scherer at 3 doubles. There were close matches at 2 singles, and 1 and 2 doubles, but the Whippets just couldn’t quite pull them out.

Coach Tim Nelson stated, “We continued to improve throughout the rest of the day and were able to carry it over into the next day as well. One of the things that we need to work on is starting out. We are notoriously slow starters, and if we are to continue to improve, this will become a key area. Most of our remaining matches are dual meets; we only play one match, and thus can’t think that we can use the first match of the day to get into it.”

Photos Courtesy of Greg Stewart

The Whippets took 11 players to the tournament, so there was quite a bit of moving positions from singles to doubles and changing of doubles teams. Several kids had a very successful tournament; Josie Hintz was 5-0, Tessa Papcke, Sophie Olson, and Katelyn Lashley were all 4-1, and Anisa Dauti was 2-0 in her varsity matches.

 Whitewater is right back at it on Monday morning, August 26, with a dual meet in Columbus.

Team Scores
Whitewater 2, Ashland 5
Whitewater 5, Chippewa Falls 2
Whitewater 7, Mondovi 0
Whitewater 4, Altoona 3
Whitewater 5, West Salem 2