Sports

Kilar Named AVCA Player of the Week for Wisconsin

Each week MaxPreps and the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) recognize deserving student-athletes at the high school level who have demonstrated outstanding play on the court throughout the week of competition. The MaxPreps/AVCA National Player of the Week for Wisconsin for August 22-28 is our very own Kindyl Kilar! Kindyl is a senior outside hitter for the Whippets.

Kilar was recently named to the All-Tournament Team at the UW-Whitewater tourney as well.

Kindyl’s Stats for the Week:
Kills: 144 
Kills/Game: 6
Digs: 96
Digs/Game: 4
Receptions: 91
Rcpt/Game: 3.79
Assists: 1
Aces: 19
Blocks: 7

Article Submitted by Mary Kilar
Whitewater High School Head Volleyball Coach
mkilar@wwusd.org

Whippet Football Falls to Jefferson in Close Game

The Whippet Football Team lost a heartbreaking game to Jefferson by the score of 13-14 on Friday night, September 2.

The Whippet offense, especially the run game, took control from the opening kickoff. On their first drive, the Whippets marched right down the field, 63 yards, capped off by a 5-yard touchdown run by Nate Black to take the early 7-0 lead. Jefferson eventually responded with a touchdown in the 2nd quarter to tie the game at 7. Throughout the first half the Whippet offense, powered by their run game, continued to move the ball well but unfortunately couldn’t capitalize and put any more points on the board.

The 3rd quarter went scoreless, and Jefferson finally broke the tie with a touchdown to take the 14-7 lead with 8:52 left in the game. Not willing to give up, the Whippet offense responded with another impressive drive, going 80 yards in roughly 4 minutes, finished off by a 7-yard touchdown run by Aaron Porras. Unfortunately, Whitewater was unable to get the extra point attempt off and trailed 13-14 with just under 5 minutes left to go in the game.

The Whippet defense got the stop they needed, but without having any timeouts, Jefferson was able to run the clock down to under 2 minutes before they had to punt the ball away to Whitewater. Although they were able to move the ball down the field, the Whippets’ two-minute offense stalled on a close 4th down play, turning the ball back over to Jefferson with 30 seconds to go, and the Eagles were able to run out the clock and end the game.

The Whippets offense had an impressive night on the ground with 53 carries for 362 yards resulting in 6.8 yards/carry.

Statistical Leaders:
Aaron Porras: 22 carries, 153 yards, 1 TD
Nate Black: 11 carries-108 yards, 1 TD, 3 receptions-68 yards
Mason Nobs: 10 carries-72 yards
Eli Rodriguez: 10 carries-29 yards, 3/10 passing-68 yards

Article Submitted by Jason Bleck
Whitewater High School Head Football Coach
jbleck@wwusd.org
Photo Courtesy of Bob Mischka

Warhawks Open Football Season vs. St. John’s on Sat., 9/3

“St. John’s University football hopes to start strong against playoff rival Whitewater” is the headline in the SC [St. Cloud] Times article about the Warhawks’ away game on Saturday, September 3rd.

Quoting from the article, “It was Mark Twain who once said ‘if it’s your job to eat two frogs, it’s best to eat the biggest one first.’ The Johnnies find themselves facing a hefty tadpole as they host the University of Wisconsin Whitewater for their season opener Saturday at Clemens Stadium.

Whitewater is ranked fourth in the D3football.com preseason poll. St. John’s is No. 5. The Johnnies won 42-18 in 2002, the only other regular season matchup between the two teams. Since then, Whitewater has hosted St. John’s four times in the playoffs, winning all four games.

In 2021, St. John’s went 11-1 overall, winning their 35th conference title and seventh consecutive trip to the NCAA Division III playoffs. Their season ended Nov. 27 with a 31-28 loss to Linfield at Clemens stadium in the second round.”

Here’s the view on the game from UW-W’s website:

The University of Wisconsin-Whitewater football team opens the 2022 campaign this Saturday, September 3, at Saint John’s University in Collegeville, Minnesota. Kickoff is slated for 1 p.m. at Clemens Stadium.

The Warhawks enter the season after advancing to a national semifinal game in 2021 and capturing the program’s 38th Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference title. Head Coach Kevin Bullis, a three-time WIAC Coach of the Year, led the 2021 squad to a 13-1 record. He enters his eighth year at the helm. 

UW-Whitewater is a consensus fourth nationally in three preseason polls including d3football.com, College Football America, and Lindy’s Sports.

The Johnnies, a member of the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, are ranked among the top 15 in the three polls with their highest mark, fifth, in the d3football.com release. SJU won a record 35th MIAC title last season.  

ON THE AIR

Saturday’s game will air live online on Saint John’s streaming portal. The contest can also be heard on 105.9 FM The Hog in the Whitewater area, or online at www.1059thehog.com.

SERIES

This is the sixth meeting between the Warhawks and Johnnies. UW-Whitewater leads the all-time series 4-1. SJU won the first game of the series on their home field, 42-18 in 2002. The Warhawks rattled off the next four at Perkins Stadium winning 34-7 in 2005, 17-14 in 2006, 37-7 in 2008, and 35-32 in 2019.

NOTABLE

  • UW-Whitewater has been unbeaten in its non-conference slate three consecutive seasons. UW-W’s most recent regular season, non-conference loss at Perkins Stadium came against Buffalo State in 2012.
  • Since the start of the 2004 season, UW-Whitewater is 49-4 in regular season non-conference games, good for a .923 winning percentage. Two of those losses came during the 2017 season and another came against Division II St. Cloud State (2007).

Whippet Swimmers Open with SLC Conference Relays

The 2022 Whippet Girls Swim season started out with Conference Relays on 9/1! 

Ashly Xochipa, Josie Treder, Charlotte Hajewski, and Karime Velazquez competed in the 200 Medley and the 200 Freestyle Relay where they swam some impressive splits. We are looking forward to them swimming even faster times this season! 

We had some new Whippet swimmers compete in their first ever high school swim meet. We were excited to see Georgia Esch, Atreya Wilson, Sanibel Fox-Simes, and Lucy Davis compete in the 200 and 100 Freestyle Relay. It was awesome to see them swim best times since the start of our practices! 

The Whippets took on the 1000 Freestyle Crescendo with a lineup of Emerson Dunham, Brooke Bazeley, Grace Foucault, and Makayla Bazeley. They took home some new hardware with a 2nd place finish! The same group placed 1st in the 100 Freestyle Relay with a time of 51.84. Now that’s some fast swimming! 

In the 400 Breaststroke Relay, Grace Foucault as the lead off swimmer was able to get a best time in the 100 Breaststroke. That time landed her a spot on the Whitewater High School Top 10 list at #9! 

We are so excited to see what the rest of the season holds for each of our Whippet swimmers!

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

Soccer Falls to Milton, 7-1

It was tough going on Thursday night, September 1, for the Whitewater Whippets Boys’ Soccer Team, falling to Milton by a score of 7-1.

Victor Hernandez scores the lone Whippet goal.

The boys started off incredibly strong by controlling possession, pressing high, and scoring a goal in the 3’ minute. Placing the ball in the lower left-hand corner of the net and giving Whitewater the lead was Victor Hernandez with a beautiful assist from Avery Janovec. Milton then proceeded to score 5 goals in the next 13 minutes. After the 5-0 run from Milton, the Whippets responded well and kept the score at 5-1 until the break.

The second half was much stronger, and the Whippets only allowed 2 goals.

The team has a week break until our next game and we are hoping for some more hard-fought competition. 

Article Submitted by Sam Burns
Whitewater High School Assistant Varsity Boys’ Soccer Coach
dburns@wwusd.org
Photo Courtesy of Bob Mischka

Brantmeier Doubles Team Scores Round 1 Victory at US Open

Congratulations to WHS Class of 2022 graduate Reese Brantmeier and her doubles partner Clervie Ngounoue for their first-round straight-set win (6-3,6-4) at the 2022 U.S. Open over Allison Van Uytvanck and Rosalie Van Der Hoek on August 31.

Reese Brantmeier and her doubles partner Clervie Ngounoue sign autographs after their first round victory.

The doubles team of Brantmeier/Ngounoue will now move on to the second round to play Nicole Melichar-Martinez (USA) and Ellen Perez (AUS). For more information about the second-round match go to the 2022 US Open official website.

Match Highlight Video

Article Submitted by Greg Stewart
Photo Courtesy of Becky Brantmeier

Volleyball Downs Wilmot, Plans for Youth and Educator Celebration September 8

The Whitewater volleyball program traveled to Wilmot for a contest on Tuesday night, August 30.

The JV2 team played a hard-fought battle but fell to Wilmot. Despite the loss, the team is doing some great things. We are seeing athletes begin to understand the game of volleyball, working hard on both offense and defense.

The JV1 team came out and played hard, putting some nice things together, and won the first set, lost the second set, and came back and won the third set to win the match. The JV team is finding their balance, and we’re seeing some great plays defensively and offensively. They’re learning new plays every day, and we’re proud of the growth they have made so far this season!

Capping off the night, our varsity team swept Wilmot in three straight sets. It was definitely a team effort; everyone saw playing time, and I was proud of the way we came together and finished the match. Stat leaders included Kindyl Kilar with 12 kills, Caleigh Yang and Ella Spear each with nine digs, Cali Grosinske with 15 assists and Jenna Pope with four aces and two blocks.

We will now kick off our conference play with our first home match on Thursday, September 8. This is our special event night, with our youth night and educator appreciation night. We invite everyone out to the Whitewater High School gym to help us kick off our conference season! We will face Big Foot- let’s pack the gym! JV teams start at 5 p.m. and Varsity follows at 6:30 p.m. Hope to see you all there as we honor our youth and educators who have impacted our lives!

Article Submitted by Mary Kilar
Whitewater High School Head Volleyball Coach
mkilar@wwusd.org

Whippet Soccer Plays to 3-3 Tie with Fort

The Whitewater Boys’ Varsity Soccer Team played a competitive back and forth game against Fort Atkinson that ended in a 3-3 draw on August 29.

The Whippets started out strong with an early goal from Victor Hernandez giving us a 1-0 lead until the half time interval. Shortly after the half, our midfield collapsed allowing Fort Atkinson a clear-cut path to goal, and they tied the game. Heavy contact in the box led to a Fort Atkinson penalty that was converted. Minutes later, following some great build up play from the Whippets, Zoheb Rakhangi played an amazing through ball to Sebastian Cuellar that was beautifully converted. Following a questionable call, Fort Atkinson was awarded another penalty that beat keeper Henry Mortimer, who had 11 saves on the day, bottom left corner. Whitewater fought back aggressively and through a defensive mistake, and high soccer IQ play from Sebastian Cuellar, the game was all tied at 3-3.

Henry Mortimer (File Photo)

Chris Cortez played the full 80 minutes at center back and was the driving force defensively for the Whippets. Leading the midfield was Ethan Dugan who, with his teammates, was able to help dictate the pace of the game.

We look forward to more great performances at our game on Thursday vs Milton. 

Article Submitted by Sam Burns
Whitewater High School Assistant Varsity Boys’ Soccer Coach
dburns@wwusd.org
File Photo Courtesy of Bob Mischka

Brantmeier Wins USTA National Doubles Championship, Earns Spot in US Open

Reese Brantmeier, WHS class of 2022, punched her ticket to the 2022 U.S. Open with her doubles partner Clervie Ngounoue of Washington with a 6-3,4-6,6-2 win over Natalie Block of Florida and Charney Piper of South Carolina to win the Girls 18 2022 the United States Tennis Association (USTA) National Championship.

14 August 2022: The 2022 USTA Billie Jean King Girls’ 16s & 18s National Championships held at Barnes Tennis Center in San Diego, California. (Credit: Derrick Tuskan)
14 August 2022: The 2022 USTA Billie Jean King Girls’ 16s & 18s National Championships held at Barnes Tennis Center in San Diego, California. (Credit: Derrick Tuskan)
14 August 2022: The 2022 USTA Billie Jean King Girls’ 16s & 18s National Championships held at Barnes Tennis Center in San Diego, California. (Credit: Derrick Tuskan)

Brantmeier (second from left) is also making USTA tennis history in Wisconsin. The last players from Wisconsin to win the USTA doubles title were Tami and Teri Whitlinger of Neenah, Wisconsin, in 1986. 

Brantmeier, a native of Whitewater, Wisconsin, was the No. 1 ranked player in the class of 2022, according to tennisrecruiting.net. She will be playing tennis at the University of North Carolina this fall. 

This USTA tournament appearance will not be Brantmeier’s first appearance at a major. Brantmeier competed at the U.S. Open Women’s Singles in 2019 and 2021 and mixed doubles in 2021 with Nick Monroe.

You can follow the U.S. Open Women’s double tournament using ESPN plus- and this U.S. Open website. While the draw is currently found on the website, the date and time of the match have not been released. Venus and Serena Williams are also in the U.S. Open doubles as a wild card entry.

Reese Brantmeier is the daughter of Scott and Becky Brantmeier and has two older brothers, Justin and Zach. All three attended Whitewater High School.

Article and Photos Submitted by Greg Stewart

Editor’s note: Revised on 8/29 @ noon to add that Brantmeier is a WHS 2022 graduate.