Sports

Thursday night, September 2, the Whippet Volleyball Team defeated Johnson Creek in a thrilling five set match. After dropping the first set 19-25, Whitewater found their rhythm and won the next two sets 25-21 and 25-23. In the 4th set, Kindyl Kilar led the Whippets with 17 kills, but the team couldn’t pull out the win, losing 23-25. Whitewater came out in the 5th set on fire, led by Avery Hintz’s 2 serving aces, and went on to win 15-6. Whitewater displayed their offensive firepower and relentless defense in this marathon of a match, setting themselves up to enter conference play next week with great confidence. 

I am proud of the resilience and aggressive play of the whole team. Sophomore Aidyn Amundson was asked to step up as a middle and played her role beautifully. She put up a strong block and ran her routes confidently. The Whitewater JV and JV2 teams along with a great fan base, provided a lot of cheering which made the loud Johnson Creek Dome even louder! Thank you to all who attended the match! 

Stat Leaders:
Aces: Avery Hintz-7
Kills: Kindyl Kilar-45
Blocks: Jenna Pope-3
Assists: Avery Hintz-24, Calli Grosinske-22
Digs: Caleigh Yang-38, Kindyl Kilar-28, and Cali Kopecky-23

Article Submitted by Kathy Bullis
Whitewater High School Head Volleyball Coach
kbullis@wwusd.org

The Whitewater Girls’ Swim Team started the season by competing at Conference Relays in Elkhorn on Thursday, September 2. Everyone was excited to compete in their first events of the season.

Some highlights include the following:

5th place in both the 200 Medley Relay and the 500 Freestyle Crescendo Relay was earned by Grace Foucault, Emerson Dunham, Makayla Bazeley, and Brooke Bazeley.

The 200 Butterfly Relay of Ashly Xochipa, Skylar Staebler, Josie Treder, and Karime Velazquez bettered their seeded time all while Ashly swam with her goggles around her neck!

The 100 Freestyle Relay of Grace, Emerson, Brooke, and Makayla took home some hardware with a second place finish and a time of 58.42. Our second 100 Freestyle Relay of Skylar, Aileen Perez, and Michelle Abarca got to do some fast swimming in a unique event (each swam 25 meters). Shout out to Michelle for competing in her first race, ever!

The 400 Backstroke Relay of Makayla, Brooke, Emerson, and Grace took some more hardware home with a 3rd place finish and a time of 5:11:36.

The night was finished off with the 400 Freestyle Relay crew of Ashley, Skylar, Josie, and Karime who all swam some great times.

Way to go Whippets! What an impressive way to start off the season!

Article and Photo Submitted by Sarah Reynolds
Whitewater High School Head Girls’ Swim Coach
sreynolds@wwusd.org

The Whitewater Whippets celebrated their seniors at last night’s match against Wilmot. Before the game players shared reflections on how the seniors Nikita Hartheim, Avery Hintz, Lexi Juoni, and Savannah Hill have impacted the program with their work ethic, dedication, leadership, ability to have fun, and most importantly, how each of them have become such good friends. The celebration was topped off by a 3-1 victory over the Panthers by the scores of 25-10, 23-25, 25-17, and 25-11.

Thursday night the Whippets travel to Johnson Creek. Game times are slightly different than our typical Rock Valley start times. The JV and JV2 play at 6:00 and the varsity takes the court at 7:30. 

Stat leaders:
Aces: Avery Hintz with 3
Kills: Kindyl Kilar with 18 and Avery HIntz with 7
Blocks: CC Alexander with 2
Assists: Calli Grosinske with 12, Avery Hintz with 7, and Caleigh Yang with 5
Digs: Avery Hintz with 18, Cali Kopecky with 15 and Kindyl Kilar with 14

Congratulations, Reese Brantmeier! The Mixed Doubles draw was announced last night to the public at the 2021 US Open Tennis Championships. Reese Brantmeier of Whitewater will be teaming up with Nicholas Monroe of Austin, Texas, as one of the 32 mixed doubles teams competing in the US Open. Her partner is also playing men’s doubles with Francis Tiafoe.

You can find more information on the match by going to the official US Open site at https://www.usopen.org/en_US/draws/index.html?event=XD.

Article Submitted by Greg Stewart

The Whippets competed in the 2-day UWW Warhawk Invite this past weekend. Whitewater finished 12th out of 27 teams. On Friday, Whitewater finished 2nd in their pool with a record of 3-1, which punched their ticket to the Gold Bracket on Saturday. The Whippets defeated Kenosha Tremper, Beloit Memorial, and Palmyra-Eagle each two games straight. To finish pool play on Friday, the Whippets took on the Division 3, 2021 Regular Season Runner up, Waterloo. The Whippets battled by serving tough and playing solid defense, but Waterloo was able to push through and beat the mighty Whippets 20-25 and 16-25. 

On the second day of the tourney, the Whippets learned they are right there with the top teams. Even though Whitewater went 0-4 on the day, they played Union Grove, Bloomer, and Catholic Central very close. The young Whippets went toe to toe with Bloomer losing 24-26 and 21-25. Bloomer went on to take second place overall.

I am extremely proud of the team and how they competed through a physically demanding tournament. We had some struggles that we worked through and improved our communication.  

Whitewater is actually a young team even though we return five players from last year’s team which won the RVC title and the Regional Title. In our 8-9-person rotation we are starting two setters who have never set before. Calli Grosinske (9th grader) and Avery Hintz (12th grade right side hitter converted to setter) are growing leaps and bounds each time they step on the court. They are quickening up our offense and are committed to the process of developing a smartly run offense.

On the outside we have returner Kindyl Kilar who was a First Team All-Conference Selection and Second Team All-State last season. She plays at such a high level with her physical skills and mental skills. She is our leader on the court. Cali Kopecky, Second Team All-Conference player, who played defensive specialist last year has converted to being our second outside hitter. She amazes me with the growth she displays each day with her shot selection and understanding of front row nuances.  She is learning when she can swing away and when she should use finesse to put the ball down.

In the middle we have Junior Jenna Pope who is new to the faster tempo of varsity. She is such a great athlete that she is making some really great plays and learning what it feels like to play fast and aggressive. Another Junior, CC Alexander, is a returner from our team last year but saw limited play due to some health-related issues, but this year she is finally able to contribute in the way we knew she was capable of. She is a very smart player and is continuing to work on her connection with our new setters. She is providing a strong, smart block and is transitioning nicely off the net to make herself available each time for our setters.

On the right side we have senior Savannah Hill. She is doing very well learning the intricacies of the game and improving each day. Our offensive development is a work in progress and she too has bought into the process of developing our scheme with our young setters. She continues to be selfless and has a positive voice within our team.

Caleigh Yang is another junior who is a returner from last year and was also a Second Team All-Conference selection. Caleigh has taken over our libero spot. She is coming into her own through playing more confidently and taking control/command in the back row. 

At the UWW Invite, the Whippets went 3-5 in matches and 7-10 in sets for a 12th place finish. Whitewater is currently 4-6 overall in match play and 10-13 with sets. Tuesday, August 31^st, the netters return to play honoring the seniors before the match against Wilmot. JV and JV2 begin at 5:00, and the Varsity has first serve at 6:30. Seniors will be recognized before the varsity match, which will take place at 6:05.

Results and Stat Leaders from UWW Invite:

Defeated Kenosha Tremper 2-0 by the scores of 25-18 & 25-23
Aces: Kindyl Kilar and Jenna Pope each had 2
Kills: Kindyl Kilar-10 and Cali Kopecky-3
Blocks: Cali Kopecky and CC Alexander each had 1.
Assists: Avery Hintz-11 and Calli Grosinske-7
Digs: Caleigh Yang-6 and Kindyl Kilar-5

Defeated Beloit Memorial 2-0 by the scores of 25-16 & 25-10
Aces: Avery Hintz-7
Kills: Kindyl Kilar-10, CC Alexander and Savannah Hill-2
Blocks: Kindyl Kilar-1
Assists: Avery Hintz- 8 and Calli Grosinske- 5
Digs: Kindyl Kilar-5 and Cali Kopecky-5

Defeated Palmyra-Eagle 2-0 by the scores of 25-16 & 25-10
Aces: Jenna Pope and Kindyl Kilar with 4 and Avery Hintz- 3
Kills: Kindyl Kilar-10 and CC Alexander-6
Assists: Avery Hintz- 7 and Calli Grosinske- 4
Digs: Caleigh Yang, Cali Kopecky, Kindyl Kilar and Calli Grosinske all had 4

Lost to Waterloo 0-2 by the scores of 20-25 & 16-25
Aces: Avery Hintz-3 Jenna Pope-2
Kills: Kindyl Kilar-10
Blocks: Jenna Pope and Kindyl Kilar both had 2
Assists: Avery Hintz-5 and Calli Grosinske- 5
Digs: Avery Hintz- 7, Caleigh Yang- 9 and Cali Kopecky- 6

Lost to Union Grove 0-2 by the scores of 25-27 & 16-25
Aces: Jenna Pope and Cali Kopecky each with 1
Kills: Kindyl Kilar-12
Blocks: Jenna Pope and Kindyl Kilar both with 1
Assists: Avery Hintz- 3 and Calli Grosinske- 8
Digs: Kindyl Kilar- 9, Avery Hintz- 8, Caleigh Yang- 7

Lost to Catholic Central 1-2 by the scores of 22-25, 25*-21 & 15-17
Aces: Caleigh Yang, Jenna Pope & Cali Kopecky each had 2
Kills: Kilar- 12 and Cali Kopecky- 3
Blocks: Avery Hintz and CC Alexander both with 2
Assists: Calli Grosinske-12, Avery Hintz-4
Digs: Kindyl Kilar- 12, Cali Kopecky-11 and Caleigh Yang with 12

Lost to Bloomer 0-2 by the scores of 24-26 & 21-25
Aces: Savannah Hill and Cali Kopecky both had 1
Kills: Kindyl Kilar-12
Blocks: Avery Hintz-2
Assists: Calli Grosinske-11 and Avery Hintz-2
Digs: Caleigh Yang-11, Avery Hintz-6 and Cali Kopecky- 6

Lost to Merrill 0-2 by the scores of 17-25 & 15-25
Aces: Caleigh Yang, Jenna Pope and Kindyl Kilar each had 1
Kills: Kindyl Kilar with 8
Assists: Avery Hintz-5 and Calli Grosinske- 3
Digs: Kindyl Kilar- 8 and Caleigh Yang- 4

Article Submitted by Kathy Bullis
Whitewater High School Head Volleyball Coach
kbullis@wwusd.org

In the 19th running of the Dirk Seibold Alumni Cross Country Meet, the WHS CC team won both the boys’ and girls’ events with solid efforts on a very steamy Saturday morning at Whitewater High School. The effort put on by every person that competed today was nothing short of pure grit as the conditions were hot, with full sun, and little wind to speak of.

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The WHS boys finished in the top three spots. The trio was led by freshman Jack Hefty in 20:08, sophomore Nate Holden in 20:35, and senior Cooper Hammond in 20:49. Junior CJ Tomomitsu was the team’s 4th runner placing 5th with a time of 22:05, and freshman Miles Nickelsburg rounded out the top scorers by placing 13th in 25:49. The Alumni Men were led by Aidan Coburn and Nathan Barrett finishing in 4th and 7th place overall. The WHS team beat the Alumni and WUSD Staff by a score of 23-34.

The WHS girls were led by senior Sophie Walton in 27:37, good enough for 3rd. Senior Gwen Truesdale was 4th in 28:29, junior Caelyn Caputo was 5th in 28:41, junior Emma Weigel was 6th in 31:34 and freshman Isabella Aranda rounded out the top five scoring runners to place 7th in a time of 31:35. The Alumni Women were led by Allison Barrett who finished in 2nd overall, just 0.1 seconds behind WHS Head Soccer Coach Maddy Blain, as they both ran side by side together for the duration of the race. The WHS girls were the only team with a complete score and finished with 15 points for the win.

Many alumni and even some head coaches of other WHS programs came to participate in the event. Although the boys’ race was pretty hot, the girls’ was even hotter even though their start time was only 35 minutes after the boys. The coaching staff would like to thank all those that came out to not only participate in the event but also be there to spectate, visit, or cheer on the runners. It was truly an awesome event!

This was the team’s first meet and they will look to compete against other programs for the first time as they travel to West Allis on Friday, September 3rd, to compete in the Bulldog Invite. The first race starts at 4:10 at McCarty Park. Go Whippets!

Girls’ Results, Boys’ Results

Article Submitted by Chad Carstens
Whitewater High School Head Cross Country Coach
ccarstens@wwusd.org
Photo Courtesy of Tammy Tomomitsu

Editor’s note: The following information is from WIAC.com.

Per WIAC.com, University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, winner of 12 of the last 15 titles, is the favorite to secure the 2021 Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) football championship, according to a preseason poll conducted by the league’s head coaches and sports information directors.
 
The 2020 season was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic for all eight WIAC teams.
 
The Warhawks, ranked second nationally in a preseason poll by Lindy’s Sports and fourth by both D3football.com and College Football America, have claimed a league-best 37 conference titles. UW-Whitewater brings back nine starters on offense and three starters on defense from the 2019 campaign. The defensive unit will be led by defensive lineman Mackenzie Balanganayi, who was chosen the 2019 WIAC Defensive Player of the Year.

The headline on Gazettextra.com reads “Portage starts fast and doesn’t slow down in steamrolling Whitewater.” Further details will be posted when submitted to the Banner.