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Brianna Zimdars from Whitewater, WI, who is studying Business at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, has earned a roster spot on the Warhawk women’s swimming and diving team for the 2023-24 season.
The Warhawks finished fourth at last year’s Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Championships. UW-Whitewater is coached by Elise Knoche, who enters her sixth season at the helm of the program. The team garnered the College Swimming Coaches Association of America Scholar All-America Award for the 10th straight season in 2022-23.
For the full 2023-24 schedule, visit https://uwwsports.com/sports/womens-swimming-and-diving/schedule.
Editor’s Note: The following was provided by Deb Weberpal.
For November National Caregivers Month, the Whitewater Dementia Friendly Community Initiative recognized local caregivers with gift cards, flowers and cards of thanks. Pictured are some of the caregivers from Rockin’ Respite.
It’s time once again for #FlashbackFriday with the Whitewater Historical Society. This week it is Flashback Friday on a Thursday as we use this opportunity to offer everyone a Happy Thanksgiving via one of the penny postcards in our collection. We hope you are all having a wonderful holiday.
Join us next week for more from the Whitewater Historical Society.
By Broderick P. Frye
Asst. Sports Information Director
The University of Wisconsin-Whitewater women’s basketball team headed down to Bloomington, IL for a big non-conference match-up against Illinois Wesleyan. Trailing for most of the game, the Warhawks put together a huge run in the fourth to pull out the 82-80 victory.
After falling behind after the first quarter, the Warhawks closed the gap to just one point at halftime after a huge second quarter. The Titans regained their hold on the lead in the third & kept a hold on that lead for most of the fourth, but a huge Warhawk run pushed the Warhawks into the lead with just two minutes remaining.
In the first quarter, the Titans outscored the Warhawks 27 to 17. The large lead was fueled by three-point shooting, with IWU making four of their first five shots from behind the arc. An offensive tip-in rebound by Lunden Alexander (Dolton, Ill./Thornwood) at the buzzer brought the Titan lead to only 10 at the end of the first quarter.
The Warhawks picked it up the second, outscoring the home team 21 to 12. UW-Whitewater was unable to take the lead, but the one point difference at halftime pulled the Warhawks closer.
After the break, both teams had a high-scoring third quarter, but the Titans regained some of that first quarter lead, outscoring UWW 26 to 20.
In the fourth quarter, the Titan lead grew to 10 points with five minutes to go in the game. But the Warhawks weren’t finished, as they put together a 13-0 run to pull ahead. After the media timeout, the Warhawks outscored the Titans 18-6 on their way to the comeback.
Aleah Grundahl (DeForest, Wis./DeForest) led all scorers with a huge 33-point outing. To go along with the scoring, Grundahl also pulled down 10 rebounds & dished out 5 assists. Katie Hildebrandt (McFarland, Wis./McFarland) also recorded her own double-double, with 12 points & 10 rebounds. Rounding out the scoring & nearly recording her own double-double, Kacie Carollo (Whitewater, Wis./Whitewater) finished with 10 points & 8 rebounds.
UW-Whitewater dominated on the glass throughout the game, pulling down 49 rebounds to Illinois Wesleyan’s 29. The Warhawks had 24 offensive rebounds that they turned into 20 second chance points.
After the Thanksgiving break, the Warhawks will head out on the road to take on Calvin on Saturday, November 25th. Tip-off is set for 4:00 p.m. (ET).
By Broderick P. Frye
Asst. Sports Information Director
The University of Wisconsin-Whitewater men’s basketball team welcomed Augustana (IL) for a basketball match before the Thanksgiving break. The Warhawks cruised to a 93-79 win despite the pressure defense from the visiting Vikings.
Box Score
For the first few minutes, the teams traded baskets, but the Vikings pulled ahead slightly, leading by 5 at the 13 minute mark. After falling behind, the Warhawks put together a huge run, outscoring the Vikings 17-0 over the next 4 minutes. After that huge run, the Warhawks’ lead never dropped below double digits for the rest of the game.
UW-Whitewater entered the break up by 16, leading 49-33 over the Vikings. In the first half the Warhawks shot lights out, going 18-for-28 from the floor (64%).
The Warhawks kept cruising, going up by 21 points halfway through the second half. Augustana looked to chip away at the lead, but every time they scored, the Warhawks had an answer. Augustana pulled the game within 10 points, but the Warhawks immediately went on a 6-0 run to give themselves a cushion.
As a team, the Warhawks finished out the game shooting 56% (31-for-55). The Warhawks assisted on 23 of those 31 makes, picking apart the Augustana zone defense.
Trevon Chislom (McFarland, Wis./McFarland) dished out 7 assists & also added 20-points of his own.
Miles Barnstable (Sheboygan, Wis./Howards Grove) led all scorers with 23 points, making 6 three-pointers.Delvin Barnstable (Sheboygan, Wis./Sheboygan Lutheran) added 14 points off the bench, going 2-for-2 from behind the arc. Carter Capstran (Franklin, Wis./Franklin) rounded out the scoring with 10 points.
On the glass, UWW outrebounded the Vikings 27 to 25. Isaac Verges (Franklin, Wis./Franklin) pulled down 10 rebounds of his own throughout the game.
The Warhawks head out on the road after the Thanksgiving break, heading to Ripon for their first road game of the season. The tip off against the Red Hawks is set for 3 p.m. on Saturday, November 25th.
Paul Jhona writes, “A no fly zone exists around Holy Hill for drones. You reach a point in height and closeness where you are stopped by an invisible barrier from going any higher or closer. What an impressive Religious Site!”
Our thanks to Paul Jhona AKA “A Bird’s View” for another beautiful drone photo.
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“3 – 2 – 1 – LEGO!” These words could be heard over and over from the announcers at Mukwonago High School on Saturday, November 18, as they counted down to the start of a match for the 36 FIRST Lego League (FLL) Teams from around southeastern Wisconsin who had gathered for their regional tournament. The Whitewater Unified School District (WUSD) was well represented with five teams participating – the Lakeview BrickLayers, Lincoln BrickLayers, Washington BrickLayers, and two teams from the middle school: WMS Iron Dragons – Silver and WMS Iron Dragons – Red.
Earlier this fall, teams learned the details of this year’s season theme – Masterpiece! All of the FIRST Robotics games this year are celebrating STEAM, adding Art to the traditional STEM acronym for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math. FLL teams were asked to prepare an Innovation Project where they explored the use of art and technology to solve a problem related to one of their hobbies. They were also presented with a playing field that celebrated all aspects of art, music, and theater. The playing field had 15 missions for the students to complete, and teams could choose which missions they wanted to try and accomplish in each 2-minute 30-second robot run with their Lego Spike Prime robot, designing attachments for the robot that would be appropriate for the variety of missions.
Sara Brautigam at Lakeview, Lisa Kaminski at Lincoln, and Chris Nate, Val Troxel, and Michelle Marshall at Washington formed their teams of 4th and 5th graders soon after the school year started. Teams have been meeting up to two nights after school each week ever since in order to prepare for the Mukwonago event. The Washington team was also able to participate in a scrimmage in Muskego in early October to get the feel for what a competition would be like. With so many students interested in joining FLL, Lincoln also created two additional teams that were able to compete in-house at an event at Lincoln Elementary on November 16. Kerry Ramsden at the middle school was able to register two teams officially with FIRST, and both were able to travel to Mukwonago.
When the teams arrived in Mukwonago, they were able to set up a display of their materials in the pit, the area where teams can go to work between judging sessions and robot runs. This pit also provides an opportunity for teams to check out each other’s work.
During an event, each team spends a 30-minute period with a panel of three judges. This time is divided into two 5-minute presentations (one for the project and one for the robot design) with question and answer periods with the judges in between. Teams are also allotted time to discuss the core values of FIRST (discovery, innovation, impact, fun, inclusion, and teamwork) with the judges. The judges love to hear about how everyone on the team worked together to solve problems throughout the season!
In addition to the judging session, teams were each scheduled for four robot runs in the gym. The first of these was a practice match to allow the students to work with the referees to make sure they understood what they could and couldn’t do during a match. Scores for each of their three official robot runs were compiled and only their best score counted in the final rankings. The Washington Bricklayers earned the top robot score of any Whitewater team, increasing their score from 200 in their first run to 220 in their second run, and finally to 250 in their last run. Everyone was incredibly proud of how the middle school red team responded after dropping their robot on the way to their first match and needing to rewrite all of their code on the fly between matches. In addition to recording their robot scores, referees also rated each team on their gracious professionalism (think sportsmanship) during matches, which factored into each team’s core values rankings.
A team’s final ranking was calculated by weighting scores from each of four areas: 25% from the project rubric, 25% from the robot explanation rubric, 25% from the best robot run, and 25% from the core values rubric/gracious professionalism score. While the judges deliberated the final awards and decided which teams would advance to sectionals, students and mentors participated in a team parade in the gym, followed by a dance party! Washington Elementary was nominated by the judges for both the Rising All-Star Award and the Break-through Award. None of the Whitewater teams will advance to the next level this year, but the students learned an incredible amount about teamwork, organization, documentation, and coding and are already talking about next year.
If you have questions about robotics programs in the Whitewater Unified School District, please reach out to one of the following:
- Lakeview Elementary – Sara Brautigam
- Lincoln Elementary – Lisa Kaminski
- Washington Elementary – Chris Nate or Val Troxel
- Whitewater Middle School – Kerry Ramsden
- Whitewater High School – Laura Masbruch
Article Submitted by Laura Masbruch
Whitewater High School Robotics Advisor
lmasbruch@wwusd.org
Photos Courtesy of Numerous Parents, Ferradermis Members, and FIRST Wisconsin
Obituaries
Marion Jauch Burrows (Feb. 2, 1930 – June 5, 2026) Her sparkling eyes, warm laugh, and generous ways were gifts Marion brought into this world, touching family members and friends alike over the ninety-six years of her life. She was born and raised in Lombard, IL, and in the course of her life lived with her husband and growing family in Abilene, TX, St. David’s, PA, Arkadelphia, AR, Ada, OK, and Colorado Springs, CO, before settling in Whitewater, WI, in 1965. Generosity of heart, compassion toward those in need in and beyond her community, and an unwavering commitment to fairness … Read more
Patricia “Pat” Lynn Bailey, age 70, passed away peacefully on June 1, 2026 with her daughter by her side. Pat was born February 21, 1956 in Ann Arbor, Michigan to John and Ruth (Hudock) Prentice. After a brief time in Ann Arbor, the Prentice family moved to Whitewater, Wisconsin, where Pat grew up as part of the University of Wisconsin – Whitewater community, where her father served as University Registrar. Pat attended the University School and later graduated from UW Whitewater with a degree in Elementary Education. Although she did not pursue teaching, she built a meaningful career in Human … Read more
Gemelino Paris Esperante, 83, long time resident of Whitewater, passed away on Thursday, June 4th, 2026. He was born on January 10, 1943, to his late father and mother, Evaristo and Carmen in Spain. In 1973 he moved to the United States as a sheep herder. On August 21, 1981, he was united in marriage to Cyndie Esperante in Colorado. Gemelino also worked in Mining and construction for many years. He enjoyed the outdoors, fishing, raising sheep and growing things in his garden, and flowers. He will be missed by all who knew him. He is survived by his wife … Read more
Mary Ann Warner died peacefully on Wednesday, May 27, 2026 at Crestridge Assisted Living in Dodgeville. Her physical heart failed, but her actual, loving heart never did. Ann was born June 28, 1939 to Mary and Charles Kearns in Iowa. She moved to Whitewater, Wisconsin and graduated with many dear friends in the class of 1957. Ann married John Warner on September 19, 1959. They lived in Whitewater, Sturgis Michigan, and finally settled in Janesville where they built a beautiful life and raised their family. Together, they ran a business, traveled, played cards, and enjoyed their lives. When they became … Read more
Patricia Ann Jacobson (Bureau), age 81, of Whitewater, WI, passed away peacefully on Tuesday, May 26, 2026, at St. Mary’s Hospital in Madison, WI. Born on September 2, 1944, in Marquette, MI, to the late Donald and Margaret Bureau, Pat grew up in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. She graduated from Graveraet High School, attended Michigan State University, and later earned her bachelor’s degree from Northern Michigan University. Pat dedicated her professional life to shaping young minds, working as an elementary and junior high school teacher in both Flint, MI, and Whitewater, WI. At the heart of Pat’s life was a beautiful, … Read more
In loving memory of Lois Lauritzen, age 92, who passed away on June 1, 2026 at Lakewood Memory Care in Brookfield. Lois led an active life full of devotion to family and friends. Born July 14th, 1933 in Silvis, IL, daughter of Harry and Elsie Wilson, she grew up in the Quad Cities with older brother Harry Wilson Jr. Lois graduated from Augustana College in Rock Island, IL with a degree in physical education. She met her husband Paul Lauritzen on the college tennis team. Their marriage on June 12th, 1955 lasted 59 years until Paul’s death on September 26th, … Read more
Donald Walter Triebold passed on to his eternal home on May 21, 2026. Don was born on April 23, 1935, in Evanston, IL, to the late Frederick W. and Mildred (nee Stecher) Triebold. Through his teen years, Don lived and worked on the family’s dairy farm, where he developed a life-long work ethic. His first eight years of education were in a one-room country schoolhouse, in which all eight grades were taught by one teacher. He graduated from Whitewater City High School in 1953 and then graduated from UW Whitewater in 1958 with a degree in Business Education. He continued his education, and earned a Master’s … Read more
William Kincaid Davis, age 84, passed away on Tuesday, May 19 at Agrace Hospice Center in Fitchburg. He was born on November 1, 1941, in Madison, Indiana, the second son of Salvation Army Officers Agnes (Dixon) and William C. Davis. He attended several schools in Indiana and Illinois, including University of Illinois Experimental High School (Champaign), and graduated from Galesburg High School in 1958. He earned his bachelor’s degree from UW-Eau Claire in 1964 and his master’s degree from UW-Whitewater in 1972. He had an expansive career in education, beginning as an English teacher in Whitehall, Thornton Township (IL) and … Read more
Magdalene “Maggie” Stetter (nee Fritz), 79, of Whitewater, Wisconsin passed from this life onto the next on Monday, May 4, 2026. She was born on January 16, 1947, to the late John and Mary (Presser) Fritz in St. Stefan, Austria. Maggie immigrated from Austria with her parents and brother, became a US citizen, and grew up and attended school in West Allis, WI and then graduated with a teaching degree from University of Wisconsin – Whitewater. Maggie served as a substitute, English, and German language teacher in the Whitewater, Elkhorn, Delavan, and Palmyra schools and at Divine Word Seminary. Maggie … Read more
Lawrence “Larry” C. Hartung, a proud Marine Veteran of the Vietnam War, and longtime resident of Fort Atkinson, WI, passed away peacefully at his home on May 1, 2026. Larry was born June 7th, 1949, to Levon and Charles Hartung in Chicago, IL. Larry enlisted in the US Marine Corps in 1968 and served 3 consecutive tours in the Vietnam War. During this time, he became pen pals with his future wife, Candy, via a connection through his father. In 1970, he came home on leave to marry Candy. They celebrated 55 years of marriage on October 31st, 2025. During … Read more
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