Today is Saturday, June 27, 2026
By Lynn Binnie
Whitewater Banner volunteer staff
whitewaterbanner@gmail.com
In last week’s d3football.com poll, UW-W was ranked #8 and St. John’s University (SJU), #4. After the Warhawks’ 56-28 victory over SJU on September 9, this week’s rankings have changed dramatically:
UW-W #4
St. John’s #9
The complete poll may be viewed here.
Defending champion North Central (IL) continues to be the strong favorite, garnering 23 out of 25 votes.
This coming Saturday UW-W plays University of Mary Hardin-Baylor in Texas, a team now ranked #19 after two season opening losses.
The Whitewater Volleyball team traveled to Dodgeland for a tournament this past weekend. Teams we played were Naconia, Cambridge, Belleville, and St. Mary’s. Our win loss record (1-7) did not tell the story, however.
“This was by far the best we have played to date. We are so strong defensively and in serve receive, we just don’t have enough offensive threat yet to win the battles. Our defense and serve receive kept us in games all day, and we battled with every team,” commented Coach Mary Kilar.
We have so much to be proud of on the day. Ella Spear was an absolute defensive threat at libero all day. “Ella has been working so hard in practice to learn and fine tune the technique and mindset of a libero. She passed an outstanding 2.4 on the entire tournament and had 34 digs, 5 assists, and an ace. She is such a student of the game, and I love to see when it comes together for her!”
Other outstanding passing performances came from Falyn Krahn, Zoe Kohl, and Ava Alvarado. Falyn and Zoe passed a 2.0 and Ava passed a 2.7! Falyn added 9 kills, 25 digs, and an ace, Zoe had 16 digs and an ace, and Ava added 15 digs. “The collective defense of Ella, Zoe, Ava, and Falyn brings us so much in the backcourt. They are beginning to read hitters at a higher rate and it is fun to see their grit on defense.”
Marina Linos played a solid tournament and dished out 36 assists, 2 kills, 3 aces, and 12 digs. “Marina just continues to work hard. She knows her strengths and understands where she needs to continue to give effort to get better. She continues to lead positively.”
Calli Grosinske led us throughout the tournament in many statistical categories. She finished with 27 kills, 6 aces, 10 assists, and 35 digs. “Calli knows the game, and how to help us get a side out offensively. Her shot selection continues to improve, and when she gets a ball she can connect on, she puts it away with force. It is nice to see the hitter/setter connection continue to improve.” Calli battled through a slight blocking injury and was out for two sets. Stepping in for her was Kaia Jones. “Kaia had a tough role; she was pulled off the bench for an injured player to play outside hitter, and she did so with confidence. Kaia hit and served for us with 100% accuracy. We were all proud of Kaia’s efforts!”
Sydney Schilt is playing opposite hitter for us and has really improved her knowledge of the off-blocker defense and making smart shot selections. “Sydney wants to soak in as much training and feedback as she can, and it shows. She works hard and is putting it all together on the court.” She posted 4 kills and 6 digs for us.
Our middle blockers Emmanuella Mbifi and Meg Roselle continue to work hard in the middle for us. “Probably the hardest position in the front row is middle blocker; you are asked to laterally block every hitter and run a fast offense. Manny and Meg are becoming great forces for us! Meg posted 3 kills and 3 blocks, and Manny added 7 kills.”
Savannah O’Neal “serves” her team as a serving specialist and posted 2 aces and only 1 error serving 96% accuracy. “This is the leadership in serving we need. I was proud of Savannah’s focus behind the line!”
I was so proud of our team today. We battled through some ups and downs and played some solid team volleyball. Playing tough offensive teams sets us up to be prepared for future matches. I am looking forward to continued progress!
Next up, the Whippets travel to Monroe for a conference match up on Tuesday and travel to Jefferson on Thursday.
Article and Photo Submitted by Mary Kilar
Whitewater High School Head Volleyball Coach
mkilar@wwusd.org
The Whitewater Girls’ Swim Team competed at the Elkhorn Invite on Saturday, September 9.
We had some impressive Top 16 finishes (top 8 medal for each event) including:
- 200 Medley Relay – Maggie Maas, Emerson Dunham, Makayla Bazeley, and Charlotte Hajewski with a 9th place finish
- 200 Freestyle – Makayla Bazeley with a 1st place finish
- 100 Butterfly – Makayla Bazeley with a 1st place finish and Charlotte Hajewski with a 12th place finish
- 400 Freestyle – Emerson Dunham with a 6th place finish
- 200 Freestyle Relay – Atreya Wilson, Payton Peacock, Marijose Verduzco, and Lucy Davis with a 15th place finish
- 100 Breaststroke- Emerson Dunham with a 11th place finish
- 400 Freestyle Relay – Makayla Bazeley, Maggie Maas, Charlotte Hajewski, and Emerson Dunham with an 8th place finish
- Marijose Verduzco, Sanibel Fox-Simes, Zoe Zei, and Payton Peacock with a 16th place finish
- A huge shout out to Zoe Zei for finishing 1st in her heat in the 100 Freestyle!
We are incredibly proud of our Whippet Swimmers! The Whippets are home on Tuesday, September 12, at 5:30 against Burlington Co-Op. We hope to see you all there!
Article and Photos Submitted by Sarah Reynolds
Whitewater High School Head Girls’ Swim Coach
sreynolds@wwusd.org
Editor’s note: Attendance was reported to be a very strong 15,236. Last year’s high attendance was 15,406 against UW-Platteville on Oct. 9.
By Angela Kelm
Assistant Athletic Director for Sports Information
The No. 8 University of Wisconsin-Whitewater football team defeated No. 4 Saint John’s 56-28 in the Warhawks’ home opener Saturday.
UW-Whitewater registered 500 yards of offense for the second straight game. Tamir Thomas registered four touchdowns in the game for the third time in his career while posting a career-high in rushing yards, 179. Jason Ceniti posted a career-high 175 yards on 11-16 passing with three touchdowns. He added a fourth on the ground.
The first half was a back-and-forth affair with the teams heading into the intermission knotted at 21. UWW took the early lead with quarterback Ceniti punching it in from two yards out to cap a six-play, 63-yard opening drive. Jeff Isotalo-McGuire’s kick made it 7-0 UW-Whitewater just over three minutes into the contest.
Saint John’s responded before the end of the quarter on a seven-yard touchdown through the air to make it 7-7.
The Warhawks posted back-to-back scores in the second quarter. The big play in the next UWW scoring drive was the one that hit pay dirt as Ceniti dropped a dime to Drake Martin who took it all the way into the endzone from 45 yards out for a 14-7 lead.
The next UW-Whitewater drive took just one play as Thomas took the handoff, burst through the middle of the line and ran away from the Johnnie defense for a nearly untouched 59-yard scoring scamper. Isotalo-McGuire’s kick made it 21-7.
Once again SJU responded – the first scoring drive was capped by a one-yard touchdown pass. The Johnnies capitalized on an interception deep in Warhawk territory with a touchdown with just four seconds remaining in the half to make it 21-21.
After the break, SJU took their opening drive 71 yards for the go-ahead touchdown on a 29-yard pass play. After that play the defense stiffened and gave the Warhawks great field position the rest of the way.
In UWW’s first possession of the second half, Ceniti hit Steven Hein in stride from 35 yards out for the tying touchdown with 5:21 left in the third. The Warhawks added another seven before the end of the quarter on Thomas’ 10-yard run off the left side of the line to make it 35-28.
Halfway through the fourth, it was Thomas crossing the goal line again, this time on a reception from Ceniti to cap a 9-play, 61-yard drive. The kick made it 42-28 UW-Whitewater.
Alijah Maher-Parr wrote his name into the scoring column with a 30-yard bull rush through the middle for another rushing touchdown.
On the defensive side of the ball, Joey Antonietti jumped a passing lane for the pick to hand the ball back to the Warhawks’ surging offense. UWW capitalized with Thomas bouncing it off the right side of the line for a nine-yard touchdown run, his fourth score of the game. Isotalo-McGuire made it 56-28.
Defensively, Hawk Heffner led the Warhawks with nine tackles including partnering with a teammate for a sack. Matt Burba posted three tackles including 1.5 for a loss of 23 yards adding a forced fumble. The defensive backs were stingy with three passes broken up and an interception while the line pressured the Johnnies quarterback with eight hurries.
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