Jenna Weinfurt hitting a ball during a match earlier this season (Tim Kruse)
By Angela Kelm Asst. Athletic Director for Sports Information
The No. 5 University of Wisconsin-Whitewater picked up another win over a ranked opponent with a 3-0 (25-11, 25-12, 25-10) sweep over No. 21 North Park University in Russell Arena Saturday evening.
The Warhawk offense was efficient hitting .500 in the contest with at least 14 kills in each set while the defense held the Vikings to single digits in the kill column the entire match. The .500 attack percentage tops the Warhawk record book for a single match. Individually, Jenna Weinfurt hit .700 – ranked third in the UWW records books.
UW-Whitewater jumped out to a quick 9-0 lead with Alayna Jansky at the service line and never looked back. That initial 9-0 run was bolstered by three aces and three Weinfurt kills. Set two saw the Warhawks burst out of the gate to a 10-2 advantage and set three opened with a big 9-1 run for UWW.
For the match, Weinfurt tallied 15 kills in 20 attempts while committing a single error for the .700 attack percentage. She added a pair of aces and four blocks on the evening. Jansky registered 12 kills in 23 attempts with one miscue from. The fellow outside hitter posted three aces and eight digs on the night. Ally Warburton hit over .500 with 8 kills in 11 attempts while only committing a pair of errors on the right side. She added four blocks in the contest.
Aubrie Krzus led the offense to the phenomenal attack efficiency with 31 assists.
Defensively, Abbie Dix enters the Warhawk record book with 11 blocks in a single match – a mark that ties for second-most in program history. Jaedynn Evans added 13 digs to lead all players.
UWW returns to WIAC play next week with a home match against UW-Stevens Point Wednesday at 7 p.m. The Pointers currently sit atop the league standings with a 3-0 record while the Warhawks are currently tied for second at 2-1.
Brian Wilterdink hauls in a 73-yard passing touchdown from Jason Ceniti Saturday (Olivia Zinanni)
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.
Whippet Swim Team
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.
Maritza Vidales and Stephanie Wence
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
The Warhawks won the WIAC for the eighth consecutive season following a three-day tournament at Reedsburg Country Club. (Alisha Markley)
Reedsburg, Wis. — The Warhawk women’s golf team claimed the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference title for the eighth consecutive season Sunday. UW-Whitewater shot a 958, tied for the seventh-best 54-hole score in program history, in the three-day tournament held at Reedsburg Country Club.
On a windy day on the links, UWW shot a 333 to seal the title by nine strokes. Four Warhawks finished among the top ten to lead the way. Kallie Lux bolstered the Warhawks Sunday with a phenomenal third round. Lux was even through the front nine and shot a 77 for the second straight day. She jumped three spots to finish as the individual runner-up. Her total of 236 is tied for the eighth-best 54-hole score in program history.
Haley Myers finished three-strokes back from Lux to secure a tie for third with a 54-hole total of 239. Ellie Johnson ended with a 242 to tie for fifth and Payton Schmidt came in with a 244 to tie for ninth. Abbie Reiser rounded out the Warhawks’ scoring five with a 254 to finish tied for 26th.
Jessica Velent led the UWW golfers competing as individuals at the tournament. She tied for 17th with a 250. Emily Akers carded a 252 followed by Kellie Shanahan’s 254, a 260 from Norah Berken, Megan Honn’s total of 261, a 279 from Breezy Roman and Natalie Kammer’s 286.
For the tournament, UW-Whitewater was the best on par 4s with an average of 4.55 strokes and on par 5s with a 5.43 stroke average. The Warhawks tallied the most birdies with 16 over the course of the 54-hole championship. Myers shared tournament-high honors with five birdies over three days.
With the title, UW-Whitewater earns an automatic bid to compete in the NCAA Division III Championship to be held May 13-16, 2025 at Bay Oaks Country Club in Houston, Texas.
Senior Ellie Johnson was named the Judy Kruckman Scholar Athlete of the Year at the championship. A release regarding this honor will be published Monday.
UW-Stout finished second behind the individual champion Julia Imai. UW-La Crosse finished third followed in order by UW-Oshkosh, UW-Platteville, UW-Eau Claire, UW-River Falls and UW-Stevens Point.
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!
Boys’ and Girls’ Teams Celebrate Together at the Finish of the Nightfall Classic
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.
Dyson Klubertanz tackles a Titan during Saturday’s game (Olivia Zinanni)
By Angela Kelm Asst. Athletic Director for Sports Information
Box Score | The UW-Whitewater football team [#11 d3football.com] opened Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play with a 21-14 win over UW-Oshkosh [#17] in front of a record crowd at Perkins Stadium Saturday afternoon.
The Warhawks set the Division III record (for games played on a college campus) and WIAC attendance record for the third consecutive season with 21,233 visiting The Perk Saturday. The mark breaks last year’s record by more than 1,000 fans.
The Titans struck first scoring on their first drive of the contest on a 33-yard touchdown pass. From that point, the Warhawk defense shut out the UWO offense until early in the fourth.
It took a few drives for the UWW offense to settle in, but the Warhawks got on the board early in the second quarter. In the team’s third drive of the game, Jason Ceniti found Steven Hein for a 16-yard gain up to the Warhawk 38. Tamir Thomas burst up the middle for a seven-yard gain on the next play – the final of the first quarter. On the first play of the second quarter, a late hit by the Titans on Ceniti resulted in a 15-yard gain to put the Warhawks in UWO territory. Three plays later, UWO was flagged once again, this time for a late hit out of bounds on Ceniti that gave UWW a 1st-and-10 at the Titan 14. Thomas was tapped for back-to-back carries before Drake Martin punched it in from two yards out. Jackson Fox split the uprights on the extra point to knot the game 7-7.
UW-Whitewater added seven on a long drive before the end of the half. The drive started with a 50-yard Ceniti to Brian Wilterdink connection. Ceniti capped the five-minute drive with his feet and the help of a big push from the backfield for a one-yard touchdown run. Fox’s point after made it 14-7.
The Warhawk defense came up with a quick stop to give UWW 46 seconds before the break, but the drive stalled near midfield as the teams went into the intermission with the seven-point margin.
UW-Oshkosh gained some momentum early in the third with an interception followed by a punt that rolled out of bounds at the UWW one-yard-line. Deep in their own territory, the Warhawks got some breathing room off of the goal line but were still forced to punt. Kamrin Hutt booted a 65-yard bomb to flip the field and push the Titans back to their own 25.
After a pair of short completions, Jakob Simmons burst through the line and got his hand on the Titan quarterback pulling him to the ground for a sack and a loss of nine on third down. The UWO punt was downed at the UWW 43.
The Warhawk backs in Thomas and Brian Stanton took over with six consecutive carries to end the quarter. Martin was tabbed for the carry to open the fourth and burst up the middle for five yards. Thomas broke loose on the next play making Titan tacklers miss before leaping over a defender at the goal line for the 16-yard touchdown. Fox nailed the extra point to give UWW a 21-7 advantage.
Oshkosh responded on their next drive with a touchdown as a short reception turned into a big gain and a score to narrow the gap to seven, 21-14.
The defense stole all of the momentum from the Titans on UWO’s next, and final, drive of the game. On 2nd-and-10, Paul Kim came flying off the edge for the sack, jarring the ball loose on the hit. The Titans recovered but faced 3rd-and-19. Simmons nearly got to the quarterback on the next play, forcing him to throw the ball away to avoid a sack.
Following a 45-yard punt, the Warhawks took over at their own 10 with 4:41 on the clock. UWW pounded the rock picking up a first down and forcing a UWO timeout. Another seven-yard gain had the Titans calling their final timeout with 2:42 remaining. Martin took the handoff on 3rd-and-1 and was stood up at the line of scrimmage as the clock ticked down to the two-minute warning.
Martin got the call again and this time he carried defenders forward for a three-yard gain and a first down. From there UWW was able to kneel out the clock to secure the win.
Ceniti was 8-18 for 119 yards. Thomas paced the Warhawks on the ground with 123 yards on 26 carries with a touchdown. Six receivers hauled in passes from Ceniti in the game with Steven Hein and Tyler Vasey recording a pair of catches each.
Defensively, Kim was phenomenal with seven tackles, two tackles for a loss, a sack and a forced fumble.
UW-Whitewater will be on the road at UW-Stout next Saturday. Kickoff is slated for 2 p.m. in Menomonie. The Warhawks return to Perkins for a Friday game under the lights on October 18 when UWW will host UW-Stevens Point for a 7 p.m. kickoff
Libero Jaedynn Evans digs a ball against UW-Eau Claire Friday night (Olivia Zinanni)
Box Score | The No. 4 University of Wisconsin-Whitewater volleyball team swept UW-Eau Claire 3-0 (25-17, 25-22, 25-11) on the team’s annual Dig Panici Night in Russell Arena Friday.
The nation’s top blocking team registered a hefty advantage at the net with 12 total blocks in the match compared to just three for the Blugolds. Hannah Proctor and Abbie Dix, the Warhawk middles, combined for a solo and ten block assists. Setter Aubrie Krzus turned away seven UWEC attack attempts with a solo and six assist blocks in the match.
UW-Whitewater jumped out to early leads in each of the three sets. In the closest set of the evening, the Blugolds were able to pull within one, 22-21, but the Warhawks grabbed the next two points on UWEC miscues to push set point. Alayna Jansky hammered down a kill for the 25-22 set two victory.
Jansky put the finishing touches on the match in the third. On match point, a tough UWEC serve went to Jansky. Krzus was able to push the difficult pass back to Jansky on the outside off of the net. Her roll shot hit the tape and sneaked over the net and down to the floor for the final point of the match.
Dix and Jansky shared team-high honors with nine kills each. Jansky hit .348 in the match with just one attack error. Fellow outside Jenna Weinfurt pounded down seven kills.
Krzus tallied 26 assists and added 4 kills to her 7-block night. Jansky also led UWW in digs with 15 followed by 14 from libero Jaedynn Evans.
Each year, the UW-Whitewater honors former Warhawk Lisa Panici with the annual Dig Panici Night. Lisa was an integral part of the team from the moment she set foot on campus. Sadly, she was diagnosed with brain cancer her freshman year and lost a two-year battle with the disease in 2012. To read more about Lisa and her story click here.
The Whitewater High School Girls’ Tennis Team hosted the 2024 Rock Valley Conference Championship Tournament at Whitewater High School and UW Whitewater on Tuesday, October 1.
Medalists
The tournament produced three medalists in two events for Whitewater High School. Liz Servin finished in 3rd place at number 3 singles. Berma Vubumuh and Isabel Aranda also finished in 3rd place at number 2 doubles. The Whippets finished as a team in 4th place overall.
Berma Vubumuh and Isabel ArandaLiz Servin
Next up for the Whippets will be the WIAA Subsectionals on October 6th at East Troy High School.
Article and Photos Submitted by Greg Stewart Whitewater High School Assistant Tennis Coach gstewart@wwusd.org
