Sports

Updated 11/13/23 @ 8:40 p.m. – WIAC section added at end of article.

By Lynn Binnie
Whitewater Banner volunteer staff
whitewaterbanner@gmail.com

At the NCAA DIII Selection Show on November 12, UW-W (9-1 overall) was selected for the tournament and slated to play the first round at home vs. Bethel (MN) on Saturday, November 18 at 12 p.m. CST.

The Warhawks finished the regular season with five wins against nationally ranked opponents under first-year head coach Jace Rindahl.

UW-Whitewater is a six-time national champion (2007, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2013, 2014).

The championship field consists of 32 teams in a single-elimination tournament. Twenty-eight of the 32 spots are filled by teams that win their conference, earning an automatic bid. The remaining four spots are given to at-large teams. UW-W was granted one of those at-large spots, as it was the runner-up in the WIAC conference.

The Amos Alonzo Stagg Bowl, the national championship, will be played on Dec. 15, 2023 at Salem Stadium in Salem, Virginia.

North Central (IL) is the reigning champion. The Cardinals have played in three straight Stagg Bowls (the DIII national championship game), winning two of them.

From WIAC:

INDIANAPOLIS–For the third consecutive season, University of Wisconsin-La Crosse and UW-Whitewater have received bids into the NCAA Division III Football Championship.
 
UW-La Crosse (9-1) earned an automatic bid into the 32-team field by winning the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference title, while UW-Whitewater (9-1) claimed one of four at-large bids.
 
UW-La Crosse is making its 14th NCAA appearance and will host University of Minnesota Morris (7-3) in the first round. The winner will face either Aurora University (Ill.) (10-0) or Coe College (Iowa) (9-1) in the second round.
 
UW-Whitewater, appearing in the NCAA championship for the 19th time in program history, will host Bethel University (Minn.) (8-2) in its first round contest with the winner meeting either Wheaton College (Ill.) (9-1) or Mount St. Joseph University (Ohio) (9-1) in the second round.
 

By Broderick P. Frye
Assistant Sports Information Director

The University of Wisconsin-Whitewater Men’s Basketball team led for nearly the whole game on November 11 as the Warhawks picked up their second win of the season over the visiting Saint Mary’s University Cardinals. 

Box Score

The Cardinals led 4-2 after the first two minutes, but after a Jameer Barker (Racine, Wis./St. Catherine’s) 3-pointer gave the lead back to the Warhawks, UW-Whitewater never looked back as they took the 71-53 victory in their second game of the season. 

The Warhawks put together a 10-0 run midway through the first half to give themselves a 25-10 lead. In yesterday’s game, Gustavus Adolphus kept with the Warhawks on their first half three-point shooting. However, the Warhawks emphasized the perimeter-defense against the Cardinals, holding them 0-for-6 in the first half and keeping them out of the game. 

The 9-point lead at half only expanded for the Warhawks, with UW-Whitewater securing the game with solid defense and efficient offense. The Warhawks led by as much as 24 points with 4 minutes left to go in the game, and held on in the final minutes to secure the victory.

Barker was a perfect 5-for-5 from deep, leading all scorers with 19 points. James Kelley (Milwaukee, WI/St. John’s Northwestern Military Academy) added 16 points of his own, including seven rebounds. Carter Capstran (Franklin, Wis./Franklin) and Trevon Chislom (McFarland, Wis./McFarland) also helped the Warhawks dominate the glass. Capstran had a game-high 10 rebounds and Chislom pulled down eight. Chislom also added eight points and two blocks. 

The Warhawks pulled down 47 (17 offensive) rebounds to SMU’s 25. With those 17 offensive rebounds the Warhawks scored 19 second chance points. 

The Warhawks continue their season-opening home stand on Wednesday, November 15th in a double-header with the women’s program. The Women tip-off at 5 p.m. against Ripon with the men to follow against Carroll.

By Angela Kelm
Asst. Athletic Director for Sports Information

The University of Wisconsin-Whitewater football team shut out UW-Eau Claire 59-0 in the team’s regular season finale at Perkins Stadium Saturday. The Warhawks honored 13 seniors prior to the game as part of UWW’s annual Senior Day sponsored by Educators Credit Union. In addition to the seniors, UW-Whitewater recognized current and former military members and a special captain presented by Shriners Hospitals for Children. 

Box Score

UW-Whitewater wrapped up the regular season with a 9-1 record. As the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference runner-up, the Warhawks will await word on postseason play. The NCAA Division III football selection show will be aired live on ncaa.com Sunday (Nov. 12) at 4 p.m.

The Warhawks put up over 660 yards of offense while the defense held the Blugolds to just 175 in the game. In a phenomenal regular season finale, well over half of UWW’s 107-player roster saw the field in the game. 

UW-Whitewater won the toss and elected to receive, a choice that allowed them to set the tone early. On the second play from scrimmage, Tamir Thomas (Menomonee Falls, Wis./Menomonee Falls) took the handoff and burst through the middle of the line untouched. He ran away from the defense for the 85-yard touchdown run — his career long. The drive took less than 20 seconds – and it wasn’t the shortest for UWW. 

After UWEC turned the ball over on downs at the UWW32, the Warhawks ran the same scoring play with the exact same result. Thomas burst through the line and pulled away from defenders for a 68-yard scoring run. Just over five minutes into the game, UW-Whitewater held a 14-0 lead and the Warhawks never looked back. 

UWW added two more scores in the first quarter with Brian Stanton (Plainfield, Ill./South) hauling in a 32-yard pass from Jason Ceniti (Madison, Wis./Madison Memorial) for his first career receiving touchdown and Thomas registering his third rushing TD of the game, this time on a 17-yard carry. 

In the second, Jeff Isotalo-McGuire split the uprights on a 34-yard field goal to extend the lead to 31-0. Alec Ogden (Marshall, Wis./Monona Grove) added an 11-yard rushing touchdown and Stanton capped the first half with a career-long 70-yard touchdown run to give the Warhawks a 45-0 lead at the intermission. 

Ceniti found Patrick Lippe (Port Washington, Wis./Port Washington) wide open in the end zone from 22-yards out for the lone score of the third and Darrick Hill (Stoughton, Wis./Stoughton) rounded out the scoring with a 14-yard run late in the fourth for the final. 

The Warhawks held true to their tradition of pounding the rock – accumulating 472 rushing yards in the contest. Thomas posted 191 on seven carries while Stanton added 99 on six rushes. Nine Warhawks tallied carries in the game. 

Ceniti and Ogden combined to go 15-24 for 189 yards and two touchdowns. Lippe was the top target with 60 yards on four catches. Eight Warhawks registered at least one catch in the game. 

Defensively, Joey Antonietti (La Grange, Ill./Lyons Township) led UWW with seven tackles while 28 Warhawks wrote their name in the defensive stats with at least one tackle. 

By Angela Kelm
Asst. Athletic Director for Sports Information

The No. 2 University of Wisconsin-Whitewater men’s basketball team opened the 2023-24 season with a big win at home, defeating Gustavus Adolphus College 88-59. The win marked the first at the helm for head coach Jarod Wichser. The Warhawks will wrap up the Tip-Off Classic sponsored by Holiday Inn – Fort Atkinson against Saint Mary’s (MN) Saturday at 7 p.m. in Kachel Gym. 

Box Score

Attached Photo: Warhawk bench celebrates a three-pointer (Dane Sheehan)

The first half was a battle. The Warhawks opened up a 10-point lead early as Miles Barnstable dropped in nine to lead UWW to a 15-5 lead six minutes into play.

The Gusties worked their way back into the game with a 14-4 run that knotted the contest 31-31 with three minutes remaining. Gustavus Adolphus ended up taking the lead 36-33. 

Trevon Chislom knocked down a floater for the final score of the half to cut the deficit to one, 36-35, at the intermission. 

The Warhawks regained the lead and widened their advantage in the first few minutes of the second half. By the 11:29 mark, UWW had reclaimed a double-digit advantage, 55-44. The gap never dipped below seven the rest of the way.

The UWW faithful were loud throughout but especially late in the second half as the Warhawks held the Gusties scoreless for nearly three minutes while the offense went on an 11-0 run. The burst gave UW-Whitewater an 82-56 lead with just over three minutes remaining. 

Barnstable led all scorers with 24 points on 8-10 from the field including 3-4 from beyond the arc and 5-7 from the free throw line. He added a pair of assists and three blocks. Kelley posted 21 points, also hitting 8-10 from the floor with 2-3 from three-point range. He added a team-high nine rebounds. 

Chislom and Delvin Barnstable rounded out the Warhawks who registered double figures in the scoring column with 16 and 11 respectively. Jameer Barker ran the offense dishing out eight assists with a block and three steals. 

By Angela Kelm
Asst. Athletic Director for Sports Information

Stevens Point, Wis. — The University of Wisconsin-Whitewater women’s basketball team opened the 2023-24 campaign with a gritty 65-62 win over Concordia-Moorhead in their first game of the Tip-Off Classic hosted by UW-Stevens Point Friday. The No. 9 Warhawks return to action Saturday in Stevens Point against St. Norbert College at 1 p.m. 

Box Score

Senior forward Aleah Grundahl (DeForest, Wis./DeForest) got UW-Whitewater off to a great start hitting seven of her first eight shots to post 14 points in the first quarter. The Cobbers narrowed the gap by outscoring the Warhawks each of the next two quarters to bring the score to 44-43 in favor of UWW heading into the fourth. 

By the fourth, fouls became a big issue for both teams. In the final period of play, the squads sent a player to the line a total of 20 times with 17 of the 40 points in the quarter coming from the charity stripe. 

The teams traded buckets through the first half of the final quarter until UWW went on an 8-0 run to take a 60-55 lead with 3:17 remaining. Concordia whittled the lead away by way of the free throw line and tied the game at 62 with 25 seconds left. The Warhawks ran 18 seconds off the clock until the Cobbers fouled. Kacie Carollo (Whitewater, Wis./Whitewater) knocked down both from the charity stripe with seven seconds left. 

Concordia called timeout and advanced the ball to center court. Their final possession ended in a charge call with two seconds left. One final trip to the line for Grundahl gave the Warhawks the final, 65-62. 

Fouls were a big part of the game with 25 whistles on UWW and 20 on Concordia. The Warhawks hit 14-17 from the line while the Cobbers were 19-23. UW-Whitewater held a hefty advantage in points in the paint, 36-26. 

Grundahl led all players with 21 points on 9-13 from the floor. She added three rebounds and four steals. Carollo ended with 15, bolstered by a perfect 6-6 from the charity stripe adding seven assists and four steals in the contest. Katie Hildebrandt (McFarland, Wis./McFarland) wrapped up the double-digit scorers with 14 on 4-7 from the field, 2-3 from beyond the arc and 4-4 from the free throw line. Mallory Oloffson (Normal, Ill./Normal Community) led UWW under the rim with six boards. 

By Angela Kelm
Assistant Athletic Director for Sports Information

Stevens Point, Wis. — Warhawk Football Recap Sponsored by Premier Bank – Game 9: The University of Wisconsin-Whitewater football team rolled to a 48-0 win over UW-Stevens Point on the road Saturday. The shutout is the Warhawks’ 14th in the series against the Pointers that dates back to 1895. 

Box Score

The UW-Whitewater defense limited UWSP to just six first downs and 115 total yards of offense in the entire contest. Offensively, UWW put up over 500 yards of offense with 354 on the ground and 173 through the air. 

The Warhawks scored at least twice in each of the first three quarters with quarterback Alec Ogden getting UWW on the board in the team’s first possession of the game. Ogden punched it it from four yards out to cap a five-play, 40-yard drive. 

A second straight three-and-out for the Warhawk defense quickly brought the offense back on to the field. Once again, it was Ogden hitting paydirt with a three-yard run to end an 11-play, 65-yard scoring drive. Jeff Isotalo-McGuire’s kick made it 14-0. 

Isotalo-McGuire added to the team’s total with a 36-yard field goal early in the second quarter. Later in the quarter, Ogden found Tommy Coates from nine yards out for the first passing touchdown of the game. Following a quick three-and-out, the Warhawks had 2:23 left to try and add to their total before the intermission, starting the drive from the UWSP 41 – and that’s exactly what they did. Ogden hit Tyler Vasey for a 14-yard gain. The senior quarterback got another first down with his feet on a 25-yard scamper up to the UWSP two-yard line. Tamir Thomas punched it in from there to make it 31-0 at the break.

On the other side of the half, Brian Stanton tallied his first collegiate touchdown run on a 30-yard burst. Isotalo-McGuire split the uprights on a 32-yard field goal and Mike Ryan hauled in his first touchdown reception for the Warhawks on a one-yard pass from Jason Ceniti for a 48-0 lead. 

Ogden was 10-15 for 97 yards and a touchdown while Ceniti was 9-12 for 76 yards in the game. Patrick Lippe and Drake Martin each caught three passes to lead a contingent of 10 Warhawks that registered at least one reception in the game. 

On the ground, Ammiel Jackson and Stanton took on the brunt of the workload with 12 and 10 carries respectively. The pair combined for 179 rushing yards. 

Defensively, Mason Stepanski paced the Warhawks with eight tackles while Joey Antonietti had seven. Each posted a tackle for a loss in the game. 

UW-Whitewater will wrap up the 2023 regular season campaign next Saturday at Perkins Stadium. The Warhawks will host UW-Eau Claire for the team’s annual Military Appreciation and Shriner’s game, as well as Senior Day sponsored by Educators Credit Union.