Sports

Alayna Jansky goes up for an attack against UW-Stevens Point Wednesday (Michael Gouvion)

The No. 5 University of Wisconsin-Whitewater volleyball team fell to UW-Stevens Point in a tight five-setter 3-2 (25-19, 11-25, 22-25, 25-23, 15-11) Wednesday night. 

The loss in Russell Arena broke a 20-match home win streak for UWW. Over the last four seasons, the Warhawks are 57-3 on their home court. 

The Pointers jumped out to a 10-2 lead in the first set. The Warhawks battled to within one, 18-17, but a late run gave UWSP the 1-0 match advantage. 

UW-Whitewater dominated set two taking a 10-2 lead of their own. Another big run in the middle of the set had the Warhawks enjoying a 20-6 lead before evening the match with a 25-11 win. UWW hit .583 in the set hammering down 14 kills without committing a single attack error. 

The Warhawks jumped out to a 6-2 lead in set three before the Pointers battled back to knot the set 7-7. The teams traded points and small runs until a string of three kills for UWW sparked the Warhawks. Alayna Jansky pounded down the first two and Hannah Proctor added the third to give UW-Whitewater a 22-17 lead. Abbie Dix put the finishing touches on the set with a kill to make it 25-22. 

UWW looked to have the fourth set in hand with an 18-11 lead before UWSP came flying back. The Pointers rattled off five straight to narrow the gap to two. Jansky stopped the run with a kill, but UW-Stevens Point responded with three more to tie the set 19-19. The squads traded points with UWW taking a 23-22 lead when the Pointers notched three consecutive kills to force a decisive fifth set. 

The Warhawks had an early lead and held an 8-6 advantage at the side-switch. UWSP evened the score 10-10 and then took the lead with a pair of kills, 12-10. Jenna Weinfurt found the floor on an attack to cut the margin to one, 12-11. The Pointers had the response once again with three straight points to take the set and match. 

Both teams registered 62 kills in the match with the Warhawks holding the advantage in efficiency hitting .301 compared to .224 for UWSP. UW-Whitewater also tallied a 16-6 advantage in blocks. 

Outside hitters Jansky (20) and Weinfurt (17) combined for 37 kills in the contest. From the middle Proctor and Abbie Dix tallied 13 kills in 20 attempts with just a pair of attack errors. 

Defensively at the net, Dix registered 11 blocks for the second consecutive contest. Now averaging 1.43 blocks per set this season, Dix is the second-best blocker in the nation. Proctor, a top-10 blocker in Division III added five more to her season total Wednesday. Libero Jaedynn Evans had a game-high 17 digs while Weinfurt joined her double digits with 15. 

Setter Aubrie Krzus posted 50 assists adding six blocks and four kills. 

With three matches left in the conference slate, the Pointers lead the WIAC with a 4-0 record. UW-Oshkosh is second at 3-1. Four teams are tied for third at 2-2 including UWW, UW-Platteville, UW-Eau Claire and UW-Stout. 

The Warhawks return to the court with a pair of matches this weekend. UWW will host Carthage Friday at 7 and Saint Mary’s (Minn.) Saturday at noon. Due to other events on campus, fans will have to pay for parking for these matches. Click here for more information. 

Whitewater Volleyball hosted East Troy in the final conference match-up of the season – in a Dig Pink Event – on Tuesday, October 15. Whitewater came out fighting and was looking for redemption from the first match-up. Whitewater battled back from down late in set 1 to take it 28-26. East Troy rebounded well in set 2 and won it 11-25. Sets 3 and 4 were a back-and-forth battle with East Troy eventually winning 20-25 and 19-25. 

Whitewater Stat Leaders for the night were:

• Kills – Falyn Krahn (senior) – 11; Ava Alvarado (senior) – 8
• Assists – Calli Grosinske (senior) – 25
• Digs – Calli Grosinske (senior) – 18, Ella Spear (senior) – 16
• Blocks – Ayden Clark (senior) – 2, Falyn Krahn (senior) – 2
• Aces – Calli Grosinske (senior) -3, Ella Spear (senior) – 3

The Whippets close out the regular season Thursday night at home when they host Johnson Creek for Parents and Senior Night. The Whippets (12 seed) will open post-season play on Tuesday, October 22nd at Edgerton High School (5 seed). The match is set to begin at 7 pm. 

Article and Photo Courtesy of Caitlin Dowden
Whitewater High School Head Volleyball Coach
dowca01@wwusd.org

By Angela Kelm
Asst. Athletic Director for Sports Information

Menomonie, Wis. — The University of Wisconsin-Whitewater football team [D3football.com #10] fell to UW-Stout [D3football.com unranked] 29-27 on the road Saturday afternoon marking the Warhawks’ first loss to the Blue Devils since 2001. 

Turnovers proved costly for UW-Whitewater in the game as a fumble led to a UW-Stout touchdown early in the second and an interception played into a Blue Devil field goal in the third. 

The Warhawks won the toss and deferred but gained possession on the third play of the game courtesy of a fumble. Dyson Klubertanz was covering on a short completion, forcing a loose ball as he hit the receiver. The fumble was picked up by Deven Magli at the Stout 37. The early turnover led to the first score of the game, a 25-yard field goal from Jackson Fox. 

The Blue Devils came back with a field goal of their own to knot the game before Tyler Vasey responded with his second kickoff return for a touchdown. Vasey hauled in the kick at the five and cruised through a pack of UWS special teams players before bolting up the sideline for the touchdown. The sophomore now holds the UWW record for kickoffs returned for touchdown in a career with three. 

The back-and-forth battle continued with the Blue Devils marching 70 yards to even the score 10-10, but the Warhawks had another big-play response.

On the first play of UWW’s next drive, Jason Ceniti hit Brian Wilterdink on a deep ball for the 73-yard touchdown. Fox’s extra point made it 17-10 Warhawks as the game headed into the second quarter. 

UW-Stout narrowed the gap with a 38-yard field goal early in the second. The Blue Devils secured their first lead of the game after a fumble recovery on the UW-Whitewater’s next drive led to a Stout touchdown and a 20-17 advantage for the host institution. 

Fox knotted the game once again with a 39-yard field goal on the team’s next drive, but UW-Stout would tally the final score of the half on a 26-yard field goal to make it 23-20 Blue Devils at the break. 

The lone score of the third quarter came on another Blue Devil field goal, this time from 25-yards out. Stout’s kicker hit another early in the fourth, a 40-yarder, to give the Blue Devils a 29-20 lead. 

Late in the fourth, the UWW defense came up with a big stop to force a punt. Pinned inside their own 20, with less than four minutes to go, the Warhawks got to work. Ceniti hit Wilterdink for 15, then Nick Wind for 12 more. On the next play, Ceniti found Tamir Thomas on a short completion that led to a 57-yard touchdown. The extra point narrowed the gap to two, 29-27 with less than three to play. 

A flag on the first onside kick attempt pushed UWW back five yards. The second attempt did not go the full 10 needed as the Blue Devils took over at the Warhawks’ 37. 

The UW-Whitewater defense stiffened forcing a field goal attempt that missed the uprights and brought the Warhawk offense back onto the field at their own 29 with just 70 seconds left in the game.

UWW opened the drive with an 18-yard completion to Wind. After a sack led to a loss of eight, a five-yard pass was caught in bounds as seconds ticked away. A deep pass fell incomplete to stop the clock, but the Warhawks took a delay of game before getting off the next play. On the final play of the game, an illegal forward pass was called as Ceniti tried to elude defenders and get the ball downfield ending the game. 

Ceniti was 16-27 for 281 yards with a pair of touchdowns and two interceptions. Thomas led the rushing attack with 36 yards on 14 attempts. Wilterdink was the top target on the day. He hauled in five passes for 113 receiving yards and a touchdown. 

Ethan Gallagher paced the defense with 11 tackles including 2.5 tackles for a loss of six yards. 

On Tuesday, October 8, the Whippet Swim Team competed in a triangular meet against PSC and Elkhorn. 

Makayla Bazeley, Emerson Dunham, Maggie Maas, and Charlotte Hajewski started off the meet with a 1st place finish and a best time of 2:10.25 in the 200 Medley. 

Caitlin Alford took on the 200 Freestyle for the first time and competed well. We are excited to see her compete in this again soon! 

Atreya Wilson went a best time in the 200 Freestyle with a 10 second time drop (2:46.23). Grace Coleman also went a best time with a 6 second time drop (2:53.27).

Charlotte Hajewski went a best time in the 200 IM with a time of 2:49.16. That is an over an 8 second time drop! 

Maria Pena took on the 50 Freestyle since the beginning of the season. She dropped close to 4 seconds with a time of 49.16.

In the 100 Butterfly, all our Whippet athletes went a best time! Makayla Bazeley placed first with a best time of 1:00.77, Georgia Esch went a best time of 1:37.84, and Marijose Verduzco went a best time of 1:46.16.

Georgia Esch also went a best time in the 100 Backstroke with a time of 1:35.14.

Atreya Wilson went a best time in the 100 Breaststroke with a time of 1:37.94. That is a 4 second time drop! 

The Swim Team is back in Whippet Territory on Tuesday, October 15 against Delavan-Darien. We would love to see you all there!

Article and Photo Submitted by Sarah Reynolds
Whitewater High School Head Swim Coach
ReynoldsSM07@uww.edu

Congratulations to Stephanie Wence and Maritza Vidales, who advanced to the WIAA Sectionals in Tennis with a first-round win over Burlington Catholic Central 6-1, 6-0 and a second-round win over Jefferson 6-1, 6-0. Stephanie and Maritza will be traveling to East Troy for the WIAA Sectional.

Article and Photo Submitted by Greg Stewart
Whitewater High School Assistant Tennis Coach
gstewart@wwusd.org

Coach Bartlett commented, “The Homecoming day and night were filled with a lot of fun and excitement. The game ultimately did not go our way, but there were a lot of positives and firsts for some of our players. Our defense played well for a lot of the downs, but a few key lapses on fourth downs allowed Jefferson to score. Jefferson was prepared to battle through the adversity of those three 4th down scores they had. Ultimately, we made them work for the points they scored. Offensively, for much of the game, we could not get the ball moving. Ty Bucholtz stepped in at Quarterback and did an amazing job of helping us get moving through the air. He threw his first two Varsity touchdowns in the game! Another first was for Senior WR/RB Connor Friend who scored his first Varsity touchdown in the game. We were able to finish the game on a positive note with those scores. We look forward to competing at Edgerton this upcoming Friday!”

Article Submitted by Sam Bartlett
Whitewater High School Head Football Coach
barsa01@wwusd.org 
Photo Credit: Damon Jay Photography

Both the Boys’ and Girls’ Whippet Cross Country Teams wrapped up their regular season schedule on Friday night, October 4, competing under the lights at the Nightfall Classic. This event is held in Lake Mills on the golf course. The terrain was rolling, which keeps a runner honest, but is also fun to run fast on. This is a truly unique event where the entire race course is illuminated by large light towers and light strings that show the way around the course. Our team competed in the D1/D2 race which had around 350 runners in it in total. However, the results separate the runners by division. Despite being homecoming week and the team being very involved in organizing events, participating in powderpuff, lip sync, and the afternoon games that were featured on Friday, the team rose to the occasion and crushed their races in a very thunderous way. The conditions were right, our training had been going well, and the team was primed to let it rip, and boy did they ever!

The girls’ race went off first at 8:25 PM and was led by Athena Soto who ran the second-best time of her career, running 21:26. This allowed her to finish in 19th place and earn a medal. The next four girls had the tightest spread of the season between Carley Boudreau, Mady Hefty, Virginia Nelson, and Nola Coburn. Eleven seconds separated them and only six places. Carley ran her lifetime best of 22:05 and placed 35th, Mady looked the best she has all season and finished 36th in 22:09, Virginia was 37th in 22:14 and Nola was 40th in 22:16. Virginia ran her lifetime best, and Nola ran her season best time. This wave of red was fun to see come across the finish so close together. Sami Van Daele ran her lifetime best of 23:34 and placed 62nd. Rounding out the top seven for varsity was Ema Aranda who also ran a lifetime best of 23:41 in 65th. The team placed 6th with 167 points out of 12 Division 2 teams in the field. 

Leading the JV team was Delaney Hammack who cut over a minute off her previous personal best and placed 87th with a time of 24:10. Lucy Troxel shaved 11 seconds off her previous best time to place 91st. Payton Brautigam cut over a minute off her current season’s best time to run 27:49 and place 131st. Mya Graves-Koran battled through her cold to stop the clock at 28:20 and place 133rd. 

On the boys’ side, Jack Hefty continued to put on a clinic and ran another lifetime best of 15:43, once again in convincing fashion. By winning this race, it was his third invitational win of the season. Xavier Zei ran with authority and was close to his lifetime best with a time of 17:09 and placed 11th, with a medal. Miles Nicklesburg has stayed steady as the team’s third runner and ran 17:45, strong enough for a medal as well as he finished 19th overall. The next three boys ran so well as a pack and fed off that energy. Onyx Thompson was a leader in this effort as he crushed his race and ran a new lifetime best by 33 seconds and placed 27th in 18:07. Andrew O’Toole battled with him to the finish in 18:08 and 28th overall, also a lifetime best. Luc Pomazak was just two places behind in 30th and ran 18:16. Quinton O’Toole dipped under 20:00 for the first time in his career and ran 19:52. Quinton placed 63rd. Isaiah Mendez rounded out the top 7 and also ran a lifetime best of 20:34 in 77th. The varsity team placed 2nd overall with 86 points and brought home a trophy!

Marcus Roselle led the JV team as he ran his third straight lifetime best of 20:46 in 82nd. Angel Kilar ran out of his mind shaving nearly two minutes off his season best time and ran a lifetime best of 23:23 to place 110th. Alex Clarksen also uncorked an incredible effort and ran a new lifetime best of 23:50, good enough for 116th. Sam Nickelsburg cut several minutes off his season best time to finish just behind Alex in 23:54 and placed 117th. 

As you can see, it was a great day for the team and a nice confidence booster as we look to get a good solid training block in before we lace up our spikes for the Rock Valley Conference Meet which will be held at UW-Whitewater on Thursday, October 17th. 

Full Results: https://my.raceresult.com/309457/results

Article and Photo Courtesy of Chad Carstens
Whitewater High School Head Cross Country Coach
ccarstens@wwusd.org