Sports

No. 3 UW-W Women’s Basketball Falls to IWU in Top 10 Battle

Bri McCurdy brings the ball up the floor in a game earlier this season (Tim Kruse)

By Angela Kelm
Asst. Athletic Director for Sports Information

The No. 3 University of Wisconsin-Whitewater women’s basketball team battled in a fast-paced, top 10 matchup against No. 8 Illinois Wesleyan Tuesday night in Kachel Gym. The Warhawks’ fourth-quarter comeback fell just shy in the 84-78 loss to the Titans. 

The game came down to the wire in the fourth quarter with the difference coming from the free throw line. A two-point IWU lead after the first grew to six points by halftime, 40-46. On the other side of the break, UWW narrowed the gap by one to head into the fourth trailing by five, 51-56. 

The Warhawks picked up the pace and put the pressure on in the fourth. UWW opened the period on a 6-0 run to reclaim the lead, 57-56, courtesy of a pair of free throws from Katie Hildebrandt and layups from Mallory Oloffson and Bri McCurdy. The Titans responded with an old fashioned three-point play, but Kacie Carollo answered on UW-Whitewater’s end with a triple to put UWW back on top 60-59. Oloffson jumped a passing lane and found McCurdy cutting through the paint for a lay-in to push the lead to 62-59 with 7:12 on the clock. 

The teams traded buckets until just under the five-minute mark when Illinois Wesleyan’s trips to the charity stripe took hold as they scored the next seven from the line. The Titans hit a three with 2:19 to go to take a four-point lead, 76-72. UWW scored quick with Oloffson hitting a layup off a Hildebrandt assist, but a pair of free throws for IWU had the gap back to four. 

The Titans negated a single free throw with a layup to take a five-point advantage, 80-75, with just over a minute to go. McCurdy knocked down a pivotal three-pointer to pull UWW to within two 30 seconds later. Forced to foul late, Illinois Wesleyan was able to seal the game at the line. 

The Warhawks held massive advantages in fastbreak points (40-3) and points in the paint (40-28), but free throws were vital. The Titans hit 21-22 from the charity stripe while UWW was 14-16 in the game. 

Carollo led all players with 26 points playing the entire 40 minutes. She added five boards, six assists and three steals. Oloffson knocked down 8 of 10 for 16 points. McCurdy drained 3 of 5 from deep en route to a 16-point performance. 

Maggie Trautsch paced UWW on the glass with six boards while Hildebrandt added three blocks and four steals. 

UW-W’s Christian Patzka Named National Athlete of the Year; Three are All-America

Christian Patzka crosses the finish line at the 2024 NCAA Division III Cross Country Championships in Terra Haute, Indiana (Ryan Coleman, D3photo)

By Angela Kelm
Asst. Athletic Director for Sports Information

UW-Whitewater’s Christian Patzka has been named the Men’s Cross Country National Athlete of the Year by the United States Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association. 

Patzka secured the individual national title at the 2024 NCAA Division III Cross Country Championships in Terra Haute, Indiana on Saturday, November 23. The Warhawk phenom traversed the 8k at the LaVern Gibson Championship Cross Country Course in 24:01.6, more than two seconds faster than the rest of the field. 

The senior is the first Warhawk to win the national title and the first USTFCCCA Athlete of the Year for cross country in program history. 

Over the course of his illustrious career at UW-Whitewater Patzka has accumulated numerous accolades in both cross country and track and field. In cross country, Patzka is a four-time All-WIAC honoree, four-time All-Region selection, four-time All-American, the 2023 WIAC individual champion, a two-time NCAA North Region champion (2022, 2023), a two-time North Region Athlete of the Year (2022, 2023) and the 2022 WIAC Cross Country Athlete of the Year.

On the track, Patzka has stood atop the podium five times earning the national title three times in the 5,000 (2023 and 2024 indoors, 2024 outdoors) and twice in the 3,000 steeplechase (2023, 2024). In total, Patzka holds six individual national titles and is now a 14-time All-American with five honors both indoors and outdoors and four in cross country. 

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Schlender, Patzka & Anderson earn All-America for UW-Whitewater men’s cross country

Left to right: All-Americans Gunner Schlender, Christian Patzka and Dan Anderson of the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater pose with their individual plaques and the team’s fourth-place trophy following the 2024 NCAA Division III Cross Country Championships on Nov. 23 in Terre Haute, Indiana. (Photo by d3photography.com):

Gunner Schlender, a Physical Education major at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, is one of three members of the Warhawk men’s cross country team who garnered All-America accolades by finishing among the top 40 in the field at the NCAA Division III Cross Country Championships on Saturday, Nov. 23, in Terre Haute, Indiana.

The Warhawks finished fourth overall with 219 points with three runners in the top 20 for team scoring. The fourth place finish is the highest finish in Warhawk men’s cross country history.

Christian Patzka (Black Earth, Wis./Wisconsin Heights) became the program’s first-ever national champion. The national runner-up in both 2022 and 2023, Patzka crossed the line with a time of 24:01.6. In the last 200 meters, the 2024 North Regional Champion, Augsburg’s Mohammed Bati, led the pack of runners. Patzka made his move to pass on the final stretch, quickly gaining the lead he needed to finish with a national title. Patzka is the first Warhawk Cross Country runner to win the national title.

Gunner Schlender (Brillion, Wis./Brillion) kept pace with Patzka, as they were sitting just a second a part after the 5.6K mark. Schlender finished 12th overall, scoring 10 team points, with a time of 24:22.1.

Both Patzka and Schlender finish their careers as four-time All-Americans in cross country.

Dan Anderson (Eau Claire, Wis./McDonell) was the next Warhawk to cross, finishing 22nd overall with a time of 24:32.9. In the last 1.5K, Anderson jumped up 9 spots to secure 19 team points for the Warhawks and claim his first career All-America medal.

Patzka Claims National Cross Country Title; Highest Team Finish in History

Women’s Recap: De La Cerda Represents UWW at National Meet

Ari De La Cerda (Pewaukee, Wis./) from the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater women’s cross country team represented the Warhawks in the 2024 NCAA Division III Cross Country National Championship.

De La Cerda started out strong with a first half, moving up almost 30 places from 1K to 3K marks. Over the last 3K, De La Cerda worked her way to the finish line.

De La Cerda crossed with a time of 22:55.1 to finish 188th overall in the meet.

Photo credit: Ryan Coleman, d3photography.com

Men’s Recap: Patzka Claims National Title, Warhawks Highest Team Finish in History

The University of Wisconsin-Whitewater men’s cross country team finished fourth overall as a team. Christian Patzka (Black Earth, Wis./Wisconsin Heights) secured the National Championship Crown.

The Warhawks finished fourth overall with 219 points with three runners in the top 20 for team scoring. The fourth place finish is the highest finish in Warhawk Men’s Cross Country history.

Patzka, the national runner-up in both 2022 and 2023, crossed the line with a time of 24:01.6. In the last 200m, the 2024 North Regional Champion, Augsburg’s Mohammed Bati, led the pack of runners. Patzka made his move to pass on the final stretch, quickly gaining the lead he needed to finish with a national title. Patzka is the first Warhawk Cross Country runner to win the national title.

Gunner Schlender (Brillion, Wis./) kept pace with Patzka, as they were sitting just a second apart after the 5.6K mark. Schlender finished 12th overall, scoring 10 team points, with a time of 24:22.1.

Dan Anderson (Eau Claire, Wis./McDonell) was the next Warhawk to cross, finishing 22nd overall with a time of 24:32.9. In the last 1.5K, Anderson jumped up 9 spots to secure 19 team points for the Warhawks.

The fourth and fifth Warhawk scorers finished less than five seconds apart. Chris Allen (Downers Grove, Ill./North) finished 112th overall (90 team points) with a time of 25:15.6. Dan Anderson (Eau Claire, Wis./McDonell) crossed at 25:19.7 for 122th overall (99 team points).

Alex Metko (Brillion, Wis./) and Conner Murphy also represented on the National Championship Scene. Metko crossed with a time of 26:21.5 and Murphy finished with 26:39.1.

UW-W Volleyball Punches Ticket to Final 8 with Sweet 16 Sweep

Warhawks pose after winning the regional title (Michael Gouvion)

By Angela Kelm
Aast Athletics Director for Sports Information

Whitewater, Wis. — The University of Wisconsin-Whitewater volleyball team punched its ticket to Salem with a sweep in the Sweet 16 over UW-Platteville 3-0 (25-15, 25-15, 25-19) Saturday evening in Russell Arena. 

The NCAA Division III Volleyball Championship will be held at the Cregger Center in Salem, Virginia beginning with quarterfinal matchups on December 4. The championship match is slated for December 7.

It was a memorable night in Russell Arena Saturday as the Warhawks dominated to hoist the Regional Championship trophy. UWW hit .337 in the match while holding the Pioneers to just .085 – much to the credit of the Warhawks’ huge block. UW-Whitewater registered 15 blocks in the contest compared to just 3 for UWP. 

The defensive prowess at the net was a factor from the opening serve. UWW rattled off the first seven points of the match with Chloe Werner and Abbie Dix teaming up for a block and Jenna Weinfurt hammering down a pair of kills in the run. The Pioneers narrowed the gap to three, 14-11, but that’s as close as UWW would allow. A four-point run late handed the Warhawks their largest lead of the set, 22-13. A three-point spurt sealed set one as Alayna Jansky tallied a kill on each side of a Werner/Hannah Proctor block. 

Set two went back-and-forth until UW-Whitewater ran off five straight to open up a 10-4 advantage. Werner and Proctor turned away a pair of Pioneer attack attempts in the run. From that point, UWW cruised to a 2-0 advantage in the match. 

A massive triple block opened and put the finishing touches on set three. Werner, Weinfurt and Dix created a wall for the bookend blocks to send the Warhawks into the Final 8. 

Jansky and Werner paced UWW offensively with 10 kills each. Weinfurt added nine and Proctor posted eight. True to form, the blocking stats were impressive Saturday — Werner tallied nine, Dix had eight, Proctor added five while Weinfurt and Krzus each had three. 

Jaedynn Evans led UWW in the digs column with 13 while Jansky added 12. Krzus registered 35 assists adding three kills on the night. 

Following the conclusion of the match, Dix was named the Most Outstanding Player of the regional. Krzus and Jansky were also selected to the 2024 NCAA Volleyball Whitewater Regional All-Tournament Team. 

It’s no surprise that UW-Whitewater’s block was one of the main components of the regional … after all matches have gone final across all regionals, the Warhawks remain atop the national rankings with a jaw-dropping 3.14 blocks per set – the next closest in Division III is 2.85 per set. In regional action alone, UWW averaged an incredible 4.83 blocks per set. Dix became the nation’s top blocker along the way, averaging 1.59 per set. That mark ballooned to 2.67 per set in the three regional matches.

The Warhawks are one of two Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference programs to advance this weekend as UW-Oshkosh will also compete in Salem. The other six teams include Hope, Johns Hopkins, Emory, Washington & Lee, La Verne and Juniata. The Final 8 are re-seeded after the completion of all regional rounds. 

UW-Whitewater is no stranger to the postseason as the Warhawks are amid their 35th appearance in the national tournament. UWW has won two national titles, finished as the national runner-up three times, placed third twice and fourth once along the way. This will be the first appearance for the Warhawks in the Final 8 since 2007. 

More information on the national championship will be posted next week. 

No. 6 UW-W Volleyball Secures Spot in Third Straight NCAA Regional Championship

Warhawks celebrate after a point against UW-Eau Claire Friday night (Olivia Zinanni)

By Angela Kelm
Asst. Athletic Director for Sports Information

Whitewater, Wis. — The No. 6 UW-Whitewater volleyball team secured their spot in the regional championship match for the third consecutive season Friday night. The Warhawks swept league-foe UW-Eau Claire 3-0 (25-12, 25-23, 25-21) to advance to the title match. 

The regional championship will be another Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference showdown as UW-Platteville took down Washington University in St. Louis in the first match Friday to advance. The Pioneers will make their second appearance in the regional championship in program history while the Warhawks will make their seventh under Head Coach Stacy Boudreau as the teams square off Saturday at 5 PM in Russell Arena. The first 100 UW-Whitewater students (with ID) will get in free to tomorrow evening’s regional championship match. Doors open at 4 PM. 

The Warhawks were dominant early in Friday’s match against the Blugolds. Like much of the season, the UWW block provided a huge advantage for the Warhawks and continuously swayed momentum in Whitewater’s favor. 

A six-point run for UWW midset gave the Warhawks a 17-9 lead. Three blocks bolstered that run and led to a lopsided first set win. 

UW-Whitewater jumped out to a 7-1 lead in set two, but the Blugolds whittled away at the margin making it a battle late. UW-Eau Claire rattled off four in a row to knot the set at 21-21. The squads traded points with ties at 22-22 and 23-23. A Blugold service error gave UWW set point. Aubrie Krzus registered one of her six kills to cap the set and give UW-Whitewater a 2-0 lead in the match. 

The Blugolds held an early lead in set three until a four-point run for UWW gave the Warhawks a 20-17 advantage. The last three points of that run came on blocks for UWW – Chloe Werner and Abbie Dix tallied the bookend blocks while Dix teamed with Jenna Weinfurt for the second of the run. 

A few points later, with UWW leading 22-19, Dix and Krzus turned away a Blugold attack attempt. The defensive powerhouses at the net made it back-to-back blocks on the next rally for match point. UWEC pushed for an additional match point before Alayna Jansky punched UW-Whitewater ticket to the title match with a kill. 

Janky led UWW offensively with nine kills. Defense was the difference as Dix posted nine blocks in the contest. Krzus added five blocks to her six kills without an attack error and 26 assists. Werner registered four blocks, a mark that Weinfurt matched. 

Jaedynn Evans posted 19 digs with Ally Longden adding 13. At the service line, Weinfurt and Emma Bludgen each tallied a pair of aces. 


Girls’ Basketball Battles Fort Atkinson

Fort Atkinson beat Whitewater 46-38 in non-conference girls’ basketball action on Thursday night, November 21. Both teams were looking for the season’s first win, and Whitewater jumped out to an early 14-4 lead. By halftime, Fort Atkinson was back to within one point and started to pull away with a few minutes remaining in the game. Whitewater had a chance to cut it to three with just over two minutes remaining but could not take advantage, and Fort was able to seal the win.

Calli Grosinske led the Whippet scoring with 13 points

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

UW-W Volleyball Sweeps OWU, Advances in NCAA Regional

By Angela Kelm
Asst. Athletic Director for Sports Information

The Warhawks celebrate a point against Ohio Wesleyan Thursday (Olivia Zinanni)

The No. 6 University of Wisconsin-Whitewater volleyball team swept Ohio Wesleyan 28-26, 25-14, 25-15 to open NCAA Regional action Thursday night in Whitewater. The Warhawk win sets up a Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference matchup in the next round as UWW will take on UW-Eau Claire at 7 PM Friday in Russell Arena. 

Regional Webpage (Click there for the bracket and other information. Single game tickets are $10 for adults, $8 for senior adults and students, $5 for children ages 3-12, children under 3 are free. All day tickets are also available.) The game may be viewed on uwwtv.org or, presumably, on Spectrum cable.

The Warhawks found a way to take the early lead in the match despite a shaky start in set one. The teams traded small runs throughout the set with UWW grabbing the first set point, 24-23. The Battling Bishops responded with the next two points to force another set point. Alayna Jansky hammered down a kill to tie the game, but OWU responded once more for a third set point. Jansky pounded down back-to-back kills and Hannah Proctor put the finishing touches on the set to make it three straight Warhawk kills and hand UWW the 1-0 lead in the match. 

The final two sets were all UW-Whitewater. The Warhawks jumped out to an 8-3 advantage in set two. OWU whittled away at the margin, but another big run extended the lead to seven, 17-10. A six-point sway late in the set gave UWW set point, and a Battling Bishop miscue handed the Warhawks a 2-0 lead in the match. 

A few small runs added up to a big lead in set three. The Warhawks quickly built a 19-10 advantage and cruised to the finish line. Chloe Werner hammered down a kill and then teamed up with Abbie Dix on a block for the final two points of the match. 

Dix paced the Warhawks offensive with 13 kills hitting .458 in the match. Werner was the most efficient with 11 kills in 19 attempts while committing just one attack error on the evening – a hitting percentage of .526. Jansky joined her teammates in double digits with 10 kills. 

Defensively at the net, UW-Whitewater showcased why they are the best blocking team in the nation. Proctor and Dix posted seven blocks each while Jenna Weinfurt and Werner had four a piece and Aubrie Krzus added three. 

Krzus tallied 33 assists in the match while Jaedynn Evans led UWW with 10 digs. 

The Warhawks are competing in the NCAA Division III Tournament for the 35th time in program history and 18th under head coach Stacy Boudreau. UW-Whitewater is now 72-5 in matches played in Russell Arena in the last five seasons. 

UWW swept UW-Eau Claire during the conference slate this season. The Warhawks won 25-17, 25-22 and 25-11 in that match that was held October 4 in Russell Arena. Since 1995, UWW is 34-13 against the Blugolds.

No. 3 Warhawk Women’s Basketball Downs CUW on the Road

Kacie Carollo goes up for a layup in a game earlier this season (Tim Kruse)

Mequon, Wis. — The No. 3 University of Wisconsin-Whitewater women’s basketball team was impressive on both ends of the floor in an 80-37 win at Concordia Wisconsin [CUW] Wednesday night. 

The Warhawks held the Falcons scoreless for nearly eight minutes after CUW scored the opening bucket, allowing Wis.-Whitewater to lead 19-7 at the end of the first quarter. They capitalized on Concordia’s 10 turnovers while committing only two themselves. UWW was efficient from the free-throw line, making 7 of 8 attempts, and outscored the Falcons 8-3 on points from turnovers. Kacie Carollo contributed significantly for UWW, scoring a team-high with two 3-pointers and a total of 10 points in the quarter.

In the second quarter, UWW extended their lead over CUW with a 21-6 run. UWW held CUW scoreless for over seven minutes to start the period. The Warhawks dominated in the paint, scoring 12 points while also capitalizing on the Falcons’ turnovers with 5 points. The visiting team shot an efficient 9-for-17 from the field, including 3-for-5 from beyond the arc, while CUW struggled offensively, making only 2 of 12 shots and committing 7 turnovers. UWW’s defense was active, recording 5 steals and limiting CUW’s second-chance opportunities.

The second half was more of the same with UW-Whitewater holding the advantage on both sides of the ball, extending the lead down the stretch. 

The Warhawk offense was stellar Wednesday as UWW shot 54-percent from the floor (30-56) and 73-percent from three-point range (8-11). Their efficiency from deep is tied for the fourth-best three-point percentage in a single game in program history. 

Carollo led the way with 21 points hitting 7-10 from the floor, 4-5 from deep and 3-3 from the charity stripe. She added nine boards and eight assists in the contest. Mia Gillis knocked down 6 of her 8 shots for 13 points. Defensively, Logan Lowry registered four blocks in the game while Bri McCurdy added three steals. 

UW-Whitewater returns to the court Tuesday as they host Illinois Wesleyan at 6 PM in Kachel. 

UW-W to Host NCAA Volleyball Regional Beginning Thursday (Updated)

Updated 11/21/24 @ 8:10 p.m. to provide availability of television broadcast.

The University of Wisconsin-Whitewater will host a NCAA Division III Volleyball Regional beginning Thursday, November 21. 

Where: Russell Arena, Williams Center, Whitewater, WI

When: Thursday, November 21-Saturday, November 23

Regional Webpage (Click there for the bracket and other information. Single game tickets are $10 for adults, $8 for senior adults and students, $5 for children ages 3-12, children under 3 are free. All day tickets are also available.)

The Warhawks, ranked 6th nationally, are making their 35th NCAA appearance in program history and 18th under Head Coach Stacy Boudreau. Coach Boudreau was named the American Volleyball Coaches Association Region 8 Coach of the Year earlier today. 

UW-Whitewater will open play in the regional against Ohio Wesleyan Thursday. The match is slated for a 7 pm start.  The game may be viewed on uwwtv.org or, presumably, on Spectrum cable.

The Whitewater, Wis. Regional features two other Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference teams – UW-Eau Claire and UW-Platteville, as well as Washington University in St. Louis, Edgewood College, Saint Benedict and Northwestern-St. Paul.

UW-W Claims Third Consecutive WIAC Tournament Title

UW-Whitewater poses with the WIAC Tournament trophy and banner (Steve Frommell)

By Angela Kelm
Asst. Athletic Director for Sports Information

Oshkosh, Wis. — The University of Wisconsin-Whitewater volleyball team took down top-seeded UW-Oshkosh in a five-set thriller to claim the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Tournament title for the third straight season. The Warhawks secured the league’s automatic bid into the NCAA Division III Championship with the win setting blocking records along the way. The 3-2 victory featured set scores of 20-25, 25-14, 20-25, 25-18 and 15-12 for the program’s 19th league tournament title. 

It was a purple block party in Oshkosh Saturday night — UWW registered 21.0 total blocks as a team breaking the program record for blocks in a single match. That mark is also the most by any Division III team this season. Both middle hitters, Hannah Proctor and Abbie Dix, registered double digit blocks in the match with 10 and 11 respectively. 

The Titans used a 6-1 midset run to open up a 19-12 advantage leading to the first set win. 

The Warhawks responded in a big way. The offense hit .500 in set two while the defense held UWO to a .000 attack efficiency. An 8-1 run in the middle of the set gave UWW a 13-7 lead. The Warhawks capped the set scoring seven of the last eight points. The final point came on a huge Jenna Weinfurt and Proctor block. 

Set three went the Titans’ way but, once again, UWW had the response. The Warhawks held UWO to a hitting percentage of .041 in the fourth while the offense limited errors. A huge 8-0 run opened up a 19-8 lead for UW-Whitewater. Weinfurt and Dix teamed up for a block while Dix joined Aubrie Krzus on another in the run. All three added a kill in the series. Proctor put the finishing touches on the set with a kill to force the decisive fifth set. 

The fifth was a nail-biter with the Titans pushing a lead to 10-7 on a four-point spurt. Like they had been doing the whole match, the Warhawks used a big block to sway momentum in UWW’s favor. Dix teamed with Chloe Werner to spark a run. Following a Titan point, UW-Whitewater ran off the next six to force match point, 14-11. The run featured three consecutive blocks — Alayna Jansky and Dix on the first followed by a solo from Dix and finally a Krzus and Dix double that made it 12-11. A Titan miscue made it 13-11 and a Jansky kill gave UWW match point. 

UWO pushed a second match point but Dix pounded down a kill for the final point of the match. 

Jansky led UWW with 18 kills while Weinfurt added 17. Dix added 10 kills in the contest. Krzus tallied 49 assists and added six blocks. 

Jaedynn Evans bolstered the defense with a match-high 24 digs while Jansky posted 14 and Ally Longden had 10. 

The Warhawks automatically qualify for the NCAA Division III Championship and will find out where they are headed, or if they are staying in Whitewater, during the NCAA Selection Show set for noon Monday.