Sports

Girls Open Conference Basketball Season with Victory

The Whitewater Girls’ Basketball Team won their conference opener on Tuesday night, November 21, with a 50-42 win at Delavan-Darien High School.

Katie Gillette

The Whippets jumped out to an early lead, but the game was within single digits for most of the night.

Calli Grosinske and Mayte Navejas had a few key steals late in the second half to break the game open and secure the win. 

Article Submitted by Mike Dowden
Whitewater High School Head Girls’ Basketball Coach
dowmi01@wwusd.org
Photo Courtesy of Bob Mischka

UW-W Women’s Basketball Improves to 6-0

Grand Rapids, Mich. — The No. 9 University of Wisconsin-Whitewater women’s basketball team topped Calvin University 64-55 on the road Saturday afternoon. 

Box Score
The Warhawks came back from an early deficit to take a narrow lead, 32-30 at halftime. The Knights registered the first bucket of the second half, but Aleah Grundahl responded with an old-fashioned three-point play to give UWW a 35-32 lead. A pair of Mallory Oloffson free throws extended the lead to five, but Calvin used a triple and a free throw to pull within one, 37-36, with under four to go in the quarter. 

The Knights knotted the game 41-41 with 1:59 on the scoreboard. Kacie Carollo reclaimed the advantage for UW-Whitewater with two more free throws and the Warhawks never trailed the rest of the way. Grundahl dropped in one more free throw before the teams went into the final quarter with UWW leading 44-41. 

UW-Whitewater tallied the first six points of the fourth. Grundahl hit a layup and Maggie Trautsch followed with a rare four-point play to widen the margin to 50-41. After a Calvin layin, Grundahl scored the next six points of the game to give UW-Whitewater the largest lead of the game, 56-43, with 6:25 remaining. The lead hovered near double figures the rest of the way.

The Warhawks outscored Calvin 20-14 in the final quarter bolstered by a 9-4 sway in free throws. For the game, UWW was 21-30 compared to 15-20 for the Knights. 

Grundahl led all players with 21 points on 7-17 from the field and 7-9 from the free throw line. She added nine rebounds, a block and a pair of steals. Carollo added 19 points on 6-16 from the floor and 6-8 from the charity stripe while adding eight boards and four assists. Oloffson rounded out the double-digit scorers for UWW with 10 points bolstered by a perfect 6-6 from the free throw line. 

Men’s BB Final: UWW 77, Ripon 56

By Broderick P. Frye
Asst. Sports Information Director

The University of Wisconsin-Whitewater men’s basketball team picked up their first road win of the year, improving to 5-0. The Warhawks defeated Ripon 77-56 in the Saturday afternoon match-up.

Straight out of the gates, the Warhawks jumped up to a 7-0 lead before Ripon scored their first basket. The Warhawks led by 11, at 16-5 about halfway through the first, but a string of turnovers led to the Red Hawks tying the game up at 19 a piece at the under eight media.

Ripon used the momentum to put together a 12-0 run and went up by five (24-19), their largest lead of the game, but the Warhawks battled back, regaining the lead and going up by five before the end of the half, 34-29. 

After the break, UW-Whitewater outpaced the Red Hawks, putting together a string of runs to go ahead by double digits. The Red Hawks tried closing the gap hitting three-pointers, but the Warhawk lead never dropped below double-digits, cruising to the 77-56 victory. 

Trevon Chislom (McFarland, Wis./McFarland) led the way with scoring, putting up 20 points and also pulling down 8 rebounds. James Kelley (Milwaukee, WI/St. John’s Northwestern Military Academy) added 12 points of his own, with Miles Barnstable (Sheboygan, Wis./Howards Grove) chipping in 11. Carter Capstran (Franklin, Wis./Franklin) nearly had a double-double, with 10 points and a team-high 9 rebounds.

As a team, the Warhawks shot 50.9% (28-for-55) from the floor with an impressive second half (53.8% from the floor). Ripon only shot 32.7% from the floor (18-for-55). UW-Whitewater heavily outrebounded the Red Hawks, pulling down 40 rebounds to Ripon’s 24. 

Next for men’s basketball is another road game, heading to Kenosha to take on Carthage on November 28th at 7:00 p.m. The Firebirds are ranked 18th in the D3hoops.com preseason poll, but a new poll comes out on November 27th, the day before the matchup. 

UW-W Football Defeats Wheaton to Advance to NCAA Quarterfinal

Tommy Coates runs away from a Wheaton defender for a touchdown while teammates celebrate on the sideline (Larry Radloff, d3photo)

By Angela Kelm
Asst. Athletic Director for Sports Information

The University of Wisconsin-Whitewater football team defeated Wheaton College 49-42 in the second round of the NCAA Division III Playoffs Saturday at Perkins Stadium. The Warhawks advance to face Wartburg in the quarterfinals Saturday, December 2 – location of the game has yet to be announced by the NCAA. 

Box Score

UW-Whitewater will compete in the quarterfinals for the 14th time since 2005 — the Warhawks are 13-1 in quarterfinal games in that span. Wartburg advanced with a 42-20 win over Whitworth Saturday. The other three quarterfinal matchups feature North Central and UW-La Crosse, Alma and Cortland and Johns Hopkins and Randolph-Macon. 

Wheaton won the shirtless “contest.” For much of the last quarter, 12 of their men cheered on their team while braving the chilly temperature. [Lynn Binnie photos]



Editor’s note: Virtually all of the crowd stayed through the entire cold game. At kickoff the temperature was 28 degrees with a cloudy sky and southwest winds at 6 mph.

Saturday’s game at Perkins Stadium was a back-and-forth affair that ended with a number of career highs for Warhawks in all facets of the game. Offensively, Tommy Coates had a phenomenal outing with a career-best 169 yards bolstered by a career long 56-yard reception. Quarterback Alec Ogden registered four passing touchdowns, matching his career high, for the second straight week. Tamir Thomas posted career highs in rushing attempts (28), rushing yards (224) and receiving touchdowns (2). 

Defensively, Ethan Gallagher improved his career high for tackles in a game to nine. In special teams play, Kamrin Hutt added a career-long 57-yard punt in the contest. 

It all started on the Warhawks’ first drive of the game. Similar to last week, UWW got on the board early. This time, Thomas capitalized on the good field position after a short Wheaton punt with a 56-yard run on the second play of the game for the Warhawk offense. Jeff Isotalo-McGuire split the uprights and the scoreboard read 7-0 in favor of UWW less than three minutes into the game. 

The Thunder responded with a 13-play, 73-yard touchdown drive as Wheaton punched it in from a yard out to knot the game 7-7. 

UW-Whitewater marched down the field on the next drive as Thomas had a pair of big plays to open the possession. He registered an 11-yard scamper on the first play and hauled in a 29-yard catch to set up UWW at the Wheaton 29. A couple of 13-yard gains on a Coates reception and Alijah Maher-Parr run had the Warhawks enjoying first and goal from the two. Ogden crossed the line with a big push from the offensive line for a 14-7 UWW lead. 

Wheaton continued the scoring flurry with a 55-yard touchdown pass to tie the game once again before the end of the quarter. The Thunder owned the second quarter adding two more scores while the Wheaton defense held the Warhawks off the board. WC scored on a 44-yard and 18-yard receptions to take a 28-14 lead at the intermission. 

UW-Whitewater came out of the locker room determined. The Warhawks needed just four plays to narrow the gap with Ogden hitting Coates for a 50-yard score on the first drive. 

The UWW defense held, and Mason Stepanski burst around the end of the line to block the punt on fourth-and-nine. The kick caromed out of bounds just four yards from the line of scrimmage after Stepanski got a piece of it to bring the Warhawk offense back out at the UWW 43. The Thunder defense held forcing a three-and-out, but the Warhawk coaching staff had a nifty play call on fourth. The punt team initially lined up but sprinted off the field as the offense came on forcing the Thunder to call a timeout early in the half. Hutt came on to punt after the brief break in play and his 29-yard punt hit the back of a Thunder special teams player. Karsten Libby jumped on the live ball and out came the Warhawk offense with fantastic field possession at the Wheaton 23. 

This time, UW-Whitewater capitalized as Ogden hit Tyler Vasey for 14 yards. Thomas took the handoff up the middle for five yards before hauling in a dart from Ogden from the four-yard line to tie the game 28-28. 

A pair of punts wrapped up the third quarter, but the Warhawks added on the first play of the fourth. Ogden dropped back and went deep down the middle hitting Coates in stride as two defenders upended each other leaving Coates with a wide-open view of the endzone. The 56-yard touchdown gave UWW a 35-28 lead. 

The Thunder responded with a huge 48-yard run off the right side of the line to open their next drive. A few plays later, Wheaton receiver Ben Bonga made a great diving catch in the endzone from 14-yards out to even the game, 35-35, with 12:27 to go. 

UWW went 65-yards in 10 plays to reclaim the lead as Thomas tallied his second receiving touchdown of the game, this one from six yards out. Egon Hein brought the offense right back onto the field with an interception on Wheaton’s next play. His 20-yard return set up UWW at the Wheaton 20. The handoff went to Thomas and he burst through the line and up the middle for a 20-yard score on the very next play to give UW-Whitewater a two-touchdown lead, 49-35. 

Wheaton did not fold – marching 67-yards on 10 plays to pull within seven with less than four minutes left. 

The Warhawks top hands crew went out for the probably onside kick. The call was right and Vasey reined in the bouncing kick at the Wheaton 47-yard line. A few plays later, facing third-and-four, a facemask penalty on Wheaton extended the Warhawk drive. UWW ended up turning the ball over on downs despite a personal foul call on the fourth down play giving Wheaton 21 seconds to drive 96 yards. 

On the first play, a short completion was followed by a series of laterals for a 41-yard gain leaving enough time for one last play. Gallagher broke up the deep ball to seal the win. 

Ogden was 15-25 for 239 yards and four passing touchdowns. He added 73 rushing yards and another touchdown. Coates led the receiving corps with 169 yards on eight catches including a pair of scores. Thomas averaged eight-yards a carry with 224 on 28 attempts. 

Joey Antonietti led the defense with 11 tackles. Cole Yocum had UWW’s lone sack of the day. Gallagher ended up with three passes broken up and a quarterback hurry to go along with nine tackles. 

Whitewater’s brave, shirtless men only numbered about eight

Five Warhawks representing Team USA at Parapan Games; Update: Women & Men Take Gold

Update 11/25 @ 6:45 p.m.: The men took the gold medal vs. Columbia, 81-45.

Editor’s note: The following press release was issued on Wednesday, November 22. The following is the status of the competition since that date:
Men’s: On Wednesday the team defeated Chile by a score of 88 to 14 in the quarterfinal. On Friday they defeated Argentina in the semifinal, 88 to 54. The team will compete versus Columbia at 11 a.m. on Saturday in the gold medal match.
Women’s: On Thursday in the semifinal the team defeated Brazil by a score of 60 to 30. In the gold medal match versus Canada on Friday, USA took home the gold by a score of 62 to 56.
By the way, the image on the homepage is from a competition in 2021.

By Chris Lindeke
University Marketing and Communications

Five members of the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater family continue competition on a world stage this week as they represent Team USA wheelchair basketball at the Parapan American Games in Santiago, Chile.

AJ Fitzpatrick and Talen Jourdan, current members of the Warhawk men’s wheelchair basketball team, and Jake Williams, a former Warhawk and current head coach of the men’s team, are members of the men’s team.

The Team USA men are 3-0 after group stage games and will play in a quarterfinal against Chile today [November 22] at 2:30 p.m. Central Time.

Williams, who earned a BSE in physical education in 2015, was a member of the gold medal winning Team USA at the 2022 International Wheelchair Basketball Federation (IWBF) World Championships and claimed gold medals at the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics and 2016 Rio Paralympics. He was a member of the 2019 team that won gold at the Parapan Games in Lima, Peru.

Jourdan is a senior studying general business, while Fitzpatrick is a sophomore majoring in human performance. Like Williams, Jourdan was a member of the 2022 IWBF World Championships gold medal team. Fitzpatrick is competing internationally for the first time after earning a spot on the Intercollegiate Division All-Rookie Team as a freshman at UW-Whitewater in 2022-23.

Josie DeHart and Rebecca Murray, who attended UW-Whitewater and competed for the Warhawk women’s wheelchair basketball team, will play for the women’s team. The U.S. women are also 3-0 after group play and will play in a semifinal against Brazil on Thursday at 2:30 p.m. Central Time.

DeHart, who is originally from Fruita, Colorado, attended the university from 2018 to 2022 and earned a BSE in physical education.

Murray graduated in 2014 with a BSE in special education and has enjoyed a successful career in wheelchair basketball, having previously won Parapan medals in 2007 and 2011. In 2021, the Germantown native earned an ESPY Award for Best Athlete with a Disability in Women’s Sports.

All five athletes were selected to their teams by the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee following selection camps over the summer in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

View the entire competition schedule here.

Fans can follow the games live by visiting the Parapan American Games webpage.

UW-Whitewater is recognized consistently for exceptional programming and outcomes for students with disabilities. The Warhawk men’s and women’s wheelchair basketball teams are club sports that compete nationally. 

The Warhawk men’s team has won 13 national championships since 1982, while the women have claimed three national titles. Several of each program’s alums are Paralympic medalists.

Football Preview: 2nd Round NCAA Playoff at Home vs. Wheaton – Saturday

The University of Wisconsin-Whitewater football team will host the Wheaton College Thunder Saturday, November 25 in the second round of the NCAA Division III Playoffs. Kickoff is slated for 12 p.m.

GAMEDAY INFO
Tickets can be purchased in advance or on the day of the game. $14 for Adults,  $10 Over 65 / Students and youth 5-18, Free kids under 5 (no ticket needed) Click here to buy tickets. 

Parking is cashless $10/$15 – it is recommended fans purchase parking in advance. Click here to purchase parking. 

IN THE POLLS
UWW: #5 D3football.com (Prev: 5) / #5 American Football Coaches Association (Prev: 6)
WC: #10 / #12

UWW’S PLAYOFF PATH
The Warhawks claimed one of four at-large bids into the 2023 NCAA Division III Playoffs – a 16th appearance in the postseason since 2005. With one of the toughest strengths of schedule in Division III, UWW will face a ranked (includes a team receiving votes) opponent for the eighth time this season on Saturday. UW-Whitewater, a six-time Stagg Bowl winner, is 59-12 in the playoffs in program history.

The Warhawks set the tone early in last week’s 42-14 win over Bethel. UWW needed just three plays in its first drive to get on the scoreboard as Alec Ogden (Marshall, Wis./Monona Grove) hit Steven Hein (St. Charles, Ill./North) in stride for a 49-yard touchdown. Two drives later, Ogden found Nick Wind (Downers Grove, Ill./Montini Catholic) for a 32-yard scoring strike. Then, in the first play of the second quarter, Tommy Coates (Chicago, Ill./De La Salle Institute) hauled in a pass from Ogden for a 19-yard touchdown and a 21-0 UW-Whitewater lead. The Royals were able to get on the board twice, each time the Warhawks had the response scoring three much TDs in the second half.

Ogden was efficient completing 11-of-15 for 218 yards and four passing touchdowns without throwing an interception. He spread the ball around hitting six different receivers. Tamir Thomas (Menomonee Falls, Wis./Menomonee Falls) was the leading rusher with 168 yards on 13 carries including a pair of rushing touchdowns. Hawk Heffner (Grafton, Wis./Grafton) led the defense with nine tackles.

HOW WHEATON GOT HERE
The Thunder also received an at-large bid into the playoffs. Wheaton defeated Mount St. Joseph in their first round matchup 41-34 in Wheaton. The Thunder put up 564 yards of total offense – 302 on the ground and 262 over the air.

Giovanni Weeks led the Thunder with four touchdowns in the game. He took 38 of Wheaton’s 58 handoffs running for 256 yards. Defensively, linebackers Caleb McClung, Johnny Eller and Lawson Haigler each registered six tackles.

ON THE AIR
Saturday’s game will air live online on the WIAC Network. The contest can be heard on 105.9 FM The Hog in the Whitewater area, or online at www.1059thehog.com.

SERIES
This is the fifth meeting between the Warhawks and Thunder. UW-Whitewater holds a 4-0 record over Wheaton. The last matchup was also a second round playoff game as UWW won 31-17 on November 28, 2015 at McCully Stadium in Wheaton.

UW-W WBB squeaks by Illinois Wesleyan, 82-80

By Broderick P. Frye
Asst. Sports Information Director

The University of Wisconsin-Whitewater women’s basketball team headed down to Bloomington, IL for a big non-conference match-up against Illinois Wesleyan. Trailing for most of the game, the Warhawks put together a huge run in the fourth to pull out the 82-80 victory. 

Box Score

After falling behind after the first quarter, the Warhawks closed the gap to just one point at halftime after a huge second quarter. The Titans regained their hold on the lead in the third & kept a hold on that lead for most of the fourth, but a huge Warhawk run pushed the Warhawks into the lead with just two minutes remaining. 

In the first quarter, the Titans outscored the Warhawks 27 to 17. The large lead was fueled by three-point shooting, with IWU making four of their first five shots from behind the arc. An offensive tip-in rebound by Lunden Alexander (Dolton, Ill./Thornwood) at the buzzer brought the Titan lead to only 10 at the end of the first quarter.

The Warhawks picked it up the second, outscoring the home team 21 to 12. UW-Whitewater was unable to take the lead, but the one point difference at halftime pulled the Warhawks closer.

After the break, both teams had a high-scoring third quarter, but the Titans regained some of that first quarter lead, outscoring UWW 26 to 20. 

In the fourth quarter, the Titan lead grew to 10 points with five minutes to go in the game. But the Warhawks weren’t finished, as they put together a 13-0 run to pull ahead. After the media timeout, the Warhawks outscored the Titans 18-6 on their way to the comeback. 

Aleah Grundahl (DeForest, Wis./DeForest) led all scorers with a huge 33-point outing. To go along with the scoring, Grundahl also pulled down 10 rebounds & dished out 5 assists. Katie Hildebrandt (McFarland, Wis./McFarland) also recorded her own double-double, with 12 points & 10 rebounds. Rounding out the scoring & nearly recording her own double-double, Kacie Carollo (Whitewater, Wis./Whitewater) finished with 10 points & 8 rebounds. 

UW-Whitewater dominated on the glass throughout the game, pulling down 49 rebounds to Illinois Wesleyan’s 29. The Warhawks had 24 offensive rebounds that they turned into 20 second chance points. 

After the Thanksgiving break, the Warhawks will head out on the road to take on Calvin on Saturday, November 25th. Tip-off is set for 4:00 p.m. (ET). 

UW-W MBB over Augustana (IL), 93-79

By Broderick P. Frye
Asst. Sports Information Director

The University of Wisconsin-Whitewater men’s basketball team welcomed Augustana (IL) for a basketball match before the Thanksgiving break. The Warhawks cruised to a 93-79 win despite the pressure defense from the visiting Vikings.

Box Score

For the first few minutes, the teams traded baskets, but the Vikings pulled ahead slightly, leading by 5 at the 13 minute mark. After falling behind, the Warhawks put together a huge run, outscoring the Vikings 17-0 over the next 4 minutes. After that huge run, the Warhawks’ lead never dropped below double digits for the rest of the game.

UW-Whitewater entered the break up by 16, leading 49-33 over the Vikings. In the first half the Warhawks shot lights out, going 18-for-28 from the floor (64%).

The Warhawks kept cruising, going up by 21 points halfway through the second half. Augustana looked to chip away at the lead, but every time they scored, the Warhawks had an answer. Augustana pulled the game within 10 points, but the Warhawks immediately went on a 6-0 run to give themselves a cushion.

As a team, the Warhawks finished out the game shooting 56% (31-for-55). The Warhawks assisted on 23 of those 31 makes, picking apart the Augustana zone defense.

Trevon Chislom (McFarland, Wis./McFarland) dished out 7 assists & also added 20-points of his own. 

Miles Barnstable (Sheboygan, Wis./Howards Grove) led all scorers with 23 points, making 6 three-pointers.Delvin Barnstable (Sheboygan, Wis./Sheboygan Lutheran) added 14 points off the bench, going 2-for-2 from behind the arc. Carter Capstran (Franklin, Wis./Franklin) rounded out the scoring with 10 points. 

On the glass, UWW outrebounded the Vikings 27 to 25. Isaac Verges (Franklin, Wis./Franklin) pulled down 10 rebounds of his own throughout the game. 

The Warhawks head out on the road after the Thanksgiving break, heading to Ripon for their first road game of the season. The tip off against the Red Hawks is set for 3 p.m. on Saturday, November 25th. 

Women’s Basketball: UWW 78, Carroll 64

By Broderick Frye
Asst. Sports Information Director

The University of Wisconsin-Whitewater women’s basketball team exploded in the first quarter after a slower start and kept their lead for the rest of the game off of efficient shooting. As a team, the Warhawks shot 61.2% from the floor, a Warhawk single-game record, breaking their 61.0% mark (happened 3 times: 1986 against Rust College, 1990 against UW-La Crosse, and 1991 against Wisconsin Lutheran).

Box Score

Only four minutes into the game, Carroll only led 6-3 as both teams struggled to get anything going offensively. At the first media timeout, the Warhawks regained the lead after Maggie Trautsch (Sun Prairie, Wis./DeForest) hit a step-back three-pointer to put them up 7-6. That three-ball kick-started the offense and UW-Whitewater put together a 14-0 run to enter the first break up 18-6. The Warhawks held the Pioneers to 2-for-16 from the floor in the first quarter. 

The Warhawks maintained their lead in the second quarter, bringing it up to eight to end the first half. The second quarter was fueled by three-point shooting from both teams, with UW-Whitewater nailing four out of their eight three-pointers in the quarter. Carroll went 2-for-5 from deep in the second quarter but was unable to overcome the first quarter deficit.

After the halftime break, both teams traded baskets evenly, but UW-Whitewater pulled ahead a little bit more, going up 58-44 at the third quarter buzzer.

Kacie Carollo (Whitewater, Wis./Whitewater)found the holes in the defense in the third, recording three of her seven assists. 

The Warhawks opened up the fourth quarter going 8-for-8 and not missing a shot from the floor until there was only two minutes left in the game. The Pioneers put together a 7-point scoring run as time expired but were unable to overcome the Warhawks.

Aleah Grundahl (DeForest, Wis./DeForest) led all scorers with 21 points. Grundahl also pulled down 7 rebounds, dished out 5 assists, and recorded 3 steals for an impressive all-around stat line. Carollo added 16 points of her own, with 5 rebounds and 7 assists. Traustch rounded out the scoring with 12 points of her own and was stellar on defense, rejecting 3 Pioneer shots. 

The Warhawks will head out on a two-game road stretch, facing off against Illinois Wesleyan on Tuesday, Nov. 21 and Calvin on Saturday, Nov. 25.

Girls’ Basketball Falls to Elkhorn

Whitewater Girls’ Basketball lost 66-27 Friday night, November 17, to a very talented Elkhorn team.

Although the result was less than desired, there was a huge improvement with ball movement and spacing on offense. In addition, a much more aggressive mentality on defense led to many deflections and steals.

Calli Grosinske

The Whippets return to action on Tuesday, November 21, against Delavan-Darien in the conference opener. The tip is 7:15 at Delavan-Darien High School.

Article Submitted by Mike Dowden
Whitewater High School Head Girls’ Basketball Coach
dowmi01@wwusd.org
Photo courtesy of Bob Mischka