The UW-Whitewater women’s volleyball team swept UW-Stevens Point 3-0 (25-20, 25-16, 25-22) in the first round of the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Tournament Tuesday evening in Russell Arena.

With the win, the No. 11 Warhawks advance to face fourth-ranked and top-seeded UW-Oshkosh on Thursday in Oshkosh. The winner of that match will advance to the WIAC Tournament Championship to battle for the league’s automatic bid into the NCAA Division III Tournament. 

The first was a set dominated by big runs for both teams. The Pointers scored the first four of the contest. The Warhawks ran off the next six before UWSP tallied eight in a row to reclaim the lead 12-6. The Pointers maintained their six-point advantage later in the set, 18-13 when UWW went on a tear. The Warhawks tallied 12 of the last 14 points in the set to win 25-20. 

UW-Whitewater strung together runs of four and five before capping set two with a 6-0 spurt to take a two-set advantage in the match. 

The Warhawks battled in set three, coming from behind for the sweep. UWSP held the lead early until a 4-0 run knotted the set 13-13. A few points later, UWW strung together five in a row to open up a 22-17 lead. The Warhawks held off a late surge to take set three 25-22. 

Abbie Dix paced the Warhawk offense and defense at the net. The junior middle hammered down 13 kills and registered eight blocks in the match. Fellow middle Amanda Hillmann was efficient tallying six kills on eight attempts – an attack percentage of .750 in the contest. 

Aubrie Krzus recorded 33 assists adding four blocks. Meanwhile, libero Natalie Lawton held down the backcourt with 16 digs. 

The Whippet Swim Team finished out their season at the WIAA Sectional Meet at Sauk Prairie High School on Saturday, November 8th. The girls went 100% on best times, ending the season on an incredible high note! 

Meet Highlights:

• The 200 Medley Relay (Charlotte Hajewski, Atreya Wilson, Lucy Davis, and Emma Maas) dropped over 6 seconds from their seed time to go a 2:18.35! Lucy Davis had an impressive fly split of 34.73. The girls finished 11th overall!
• In the 200 Freestyle, Grace Coleman dropped 6 seconds to go a 2:31.10, Charlotte Hajewski dropped 2 seconds to go a 2:29.85, and Grace Smith improved her time to a 2:22.50, placing 13th overall!
• In the 50 Freestyle, Laken DePorter swam a fast 32.50, Lucy Davis broke the 30-second mark with a 29.60 and won her heat, and Maggie Maas hit a lifetime best of 28.78!
• In the 100 Freestyle, Emma Maas dropped 7 seconds to go a 1:08.43, Storm DePorter continued her time-drop streak with a 1:13.32, Atreya Wilson bettered her time to a 1:08.89, and Grace Smith continued to improve with a 1:05.17!
• In the 500 Freestyle, Charlotte Hajewski won her heat and dropped over 15 seconds to go a 6:33.47! Lucy Davis followed with a lifetime best, dropping 9 seconds to go a 6:40.77!
• The 200 Freestyle Relay (Maggie Maas, Emma Maas, Grace Coleman, and Grace Smith) dropped 2 seconds from their seed to finish at 1:59.62 and place 10th overall! Grace Smith anchored with a strong 29.57 split.
• In the 100 Backstroke, Georgia Esch capped off her season with a 2-second best time (1:32.60), Grace Coleman dropped nearly 3 seconds to go a 1:22.86, and Maggie Maas finished 12th overall with a best time of 1:13.81!
• In the 100 Breaststroke, Maya Davis dropped 4 seconds to go a 1:29.81, Emma Maas dropped over 3 seconds to go a 1:29.10, and Atreya Wilson won her heat with a best time of 1:26.51!
• The 400 Freestyle Relay (Grace Smith, Lucy Davis, Atreya Wilson, and Maggie Maas) bettered their seed time by 1 second to go a 4:29.89! Lucy Davis had a standout split of 1:06.33!

The Whippets closed out their season full of energy, smiles, and personal bests. Every swimmer finished stronger than they started — showing the hard work, determination, and team spirit that defines this group! 

Thank you to everyone who came out to support the Whippets this season — it’s been one to remember!

Article and Photo Submitted by Sarah Reynolds
Whitewater High School Head Swim Coach
ReynoldsSM07@uww.edu

31-point Second Quarter Lifts Warhawk Football to Victory

The University of Wisconsin-Whitewater football team bounced back with a dominant win over UW-Eau Claire on a cold Saturday afternoon. The Warhawks started clicking in the second quarter, exploding for 31 second quarter points to enter the halftime up 41-3. The Warhawks kept the Blugolds at bay, taking the 51-10 victory as it started to snow on Perkins Field.

After a three-and-out on their first drive, the Warhawks put together a promising 10-play, 50-yard drive to get the ball moving early in the game. The Blugolds managed to hold UWW out of the endzone, but Hunter Liszka (St. Charles, Ill./St. Charles North) hit the field goal from 30-yards out to add the first three points on the board.

UW-Eau Claire drove down the field their next drive and was able to match the field goal to tie the game 3-3.

From there, the flood gates opened. UW-Whitewater kept stringing together big plays and scored 38 unanswered points with a huge help from the defensive turnovers.

During the stretch, Ty Schultz (Lockport, Ill./Lockport) ran for three touchdowns, including a 67-yard touchdown to kickstart the run. Schultz then ran it twice more after Kaden Sleets (Oak Park, Ill./Oak Park River Forest) and Ethan Gallagher (Homer Glen, Ill./Lockport Township) each grabbed an interception on back-to-back Blugold drives.

The Warhawks then decided to showcase the passing game. Justin Klinker connected with Jacques Brooks (Franklin, Wis./Franklin) on a 41-yard pass in the endzone to add another score on the board. The following drive, Hunter Liszka (St. Charles, Ill./St. Charles North) made his field goal from 43 yards out to put the Warhawks up 34-3.

The Blugolds managed to get the ball away from the Warhawks after five straight scoring drives with an interception but then threw an interception to Efrein Ramirez on UWEC’s very first offensive play of the drive. UWW marched down the field to give Justin Klinkner (Two Rivers, Wis./Two Rivers) a rushing touchdown before the end of the half. 

In the first half alone, the Warhawks put up 357 total yards of offense (206 rushing, 151 passing) while holding UW-Eau Claire to just 83 total yards (1 rushing, 82 passing).

The Warhawks’ big plays slowed down in the second half, as they were controlling the clock and their large lead. UW-Eau Claire scored their first touchdown of the game with five minutes left in the third, set-up by good field position after recovering a Warhawk fumble.

Hunter Liszka (St. Charles, Ill./St. Charles North) capped off his perfect day with a 25-yard field goal to add another three points to the board. The Warhawks forced another punt, and gave Ty Schultz (Lockport, Ill./Lockport) his fourth rushing touchdown of the game, tying the Single Game Rushing Touchdown mark in the Warhawks’ record book. Schultz finished with 171 yards in 20 carries.

UW-Eau Claire started to drive down the field again, but Ashton Maney (Three Lakes, Wis./Three Lakes) yanked the ball out of the receiver’s hands to get the interception and stop the Blugolds from adding another touchdown at the end of the game.

The Warhawks finished the day with over 311 yards rushing and 210 yards passing. The defense held UW-Eau Claire to just 214 yards with 87 yards on the ground. Kartsen Libby led the team with 10 tackles, including two tackles for a loss.

The Warhawks will head out to Oshkosh to face the Titans next weekend in the regular season finale. Kick-off is set for 1 PM on November 15th.