UW-Whitewater Golf Wins Fourth Straight WIAC Championship
By Chris Lindeke
Assistant Athletic Director, Strategic Communications and Branding
The University of Wisconsin-Whitewater golf team claimed its fourth straight conference title and sixth overall Sunday on the third and final day of the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Championship Presented by Culver’s at Reedsburg Country Club in Reedsburg, Wis.
The Warhawks carded a three-day total of 925 (303-312-310) to earn the league’s automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Championship, which is scheduled for May 11-14 at Forest Akers Golf Course in Lansing, Mich.
UW-Whitewater is the only program in WIAC history to win four consecutive conference championships.
Kristin Bowe led the Warhawks and the 55-player field to become the team’s sixth medalist in program history and third in the last five seasons. Bowe fired a 223 (71-73-79) for the weekend to win the tournament by four strokes and set a program record for lowest individual 54-hole score in program history. Her first-round 71 tied the school record for 18-hole score.
Bowe was also named the WIAC Judy Kruckman Scholar-Athlete for women’s golf following play. Head coach Andrea Wieland joined her as an award winner, garnering WIAC Coach of the Year accolades for the first time in her career.
CheyAnn Knudsen, the 2017 medalist, placed third with a 228 (77-76-75). Ashton Sinak and Kelly Storti tied for fifth with matching scores of 238. Sinak posted her best round of the weekend on Sunday (79-84-75), and Storti tallied a sequence of 76-81-81 for the weekend.
Playing in her first conference tournament as part of the lineup, Lily Sheppard finished the weekend with a 253 (79-82-92), good for a tie for 15th.
Grace Westerman led all individuals by tying for 11th place with a 243 (82-76-85) for an impressive conference tournament debut. Madi LaPaz tied for 15th with her 253 (83-85-85), and Lauren Winter totaled a 254 (84-82-88) to tie for 17th.
Sydney O’Hearn finished 28th overall with a 266 (84-96-86) in her first WIAC Championship.
UW-Whitewater will make its third appearance in the NCAA Championship. The Warhawks finished 12th in 2018 and 13th in 2019.
UW-W also qualified for the national championship in 2020, but the tournament was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Saturday, May 1, 2021
Warhawk Softball Takes Two on Senior Day
The University of Wisconsin-Whitewater softball team moved into sole possession of second place in the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference standings Saturday afternoon with back-to-back victories over UW-Eau Claire on Senior Day at van Steenderen Softball Complex.
The Warhawks (22-8 overall, 8-4 WIAC) bested the Blugolds 4-1 in the opener before posting a 3-0 shutout in the second game.
UW-Whitewater honored seniors Marissa Adams, Alexis Addante, Taylor Briehl, Meg Cohrs, Sam Lattner, Nikki Mikosz, Kaleigh O’Brien and Vera Pflugradt following the final home regular season games of the year. The team also recognized 2020 graduates Dani Biesiada, Mattie Klingenmeyer, Bella Matthias and Nicole Neitzel.
In Game 1, UW-Eau Claire (21-13, 7-5) took the early lead with a run in the top of the first, but the Warhawks responded with four unanswered runs over the next three frames.
Cohrs tied the game at 1-1 in the bottom of the first on a run-scoring groundout, and Krista Sbarra hit an RBI single to put UW-W ahead for good in the second.
UW-Whitewater added two in the third on a sacrifice fly by O’Brien and a wild pitch.
Pitcher Kate Cleveland scattered five hits and one walk over seven innings for the complete-game win. She improved to 8-3 on the year.
O’Brien and Sbarra led the offense with two hits apiece, and shortstop Meghan Dunning scored two runs and posted one hit.
In the nightcap, pitcher Mallory Hollatz tossed a three-hit shutout with four strikeouts to move to 3-0 on the season.
The Warhawks grabbed the lead with a run in the bottom of the first on a bases-loaded walk by designated player Sophia Kinjerski.
Pflugradt doubled the UW-W lead with one out in the fourth on an RBI single through the right side, and two batters later, Cohrs made it a three-run game with a two-out, RBI hit near the left field line.
Pflugradt finished 2-for-4 with one run scored, while Dunning reached base three times with one hit and two walks. Cohrs totaled two hits, and Mikosz collected one hit and one walk.
UW-Whitewater visits UW-Platteville for a non-conference doubleheader Tuesday at 3 p.m.
Saturday, May 1, 2021
The No. 8 ranked University of Wisconsin-Whitewater baseball team maintained its first-place standing in the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference standings Saturday with a pair of conference victories at UW-Stout.
The Warhawks (25-4 overall, 17-3 WIAC) defeated the Blue Devils 12-1 in seven innings in the first game before tallying 11 unanswered runs for an 11-5 triumph in the nightcap.
In Game 1, UW-Whitewater broke open a 0-0 game with eight runs in the top of the fourth inning, and Warhawk pitchers combined to strand nine UW-Stout runners.
Left fielder Matt Korman drove home three runs to lead the offense and socked a two-run homer in UW-W’s big fourth inning.
Right fielder Jacob DeMeyer, catcher Ryan Norton and shortstop Nick Santoro each tallied two runs batted in. DeMeyer reached base three times with two hits and one walk and scored two runs, while Norton posted two hits and one run scored. Santoro knocked a two-run double in the fourth and scored one run.
Second baseman Sam Vomhof totaled three hits, one run scored and one RBI, first baseman Ben Wilkins reached base three times with two walks and one hit while adding two runs scored, and designated hitter Taylor White registered one hit, one walk, one run scored and one RBI.
Pitcher Donovan Brandl recorded the win to improve to 4-1 on the year. He scattered five hits over six innings and struck out four in the outing. Trey Bretl pitched the seventh.
In Game 2, the Warhawks trailed 5-0 through three frames before plating two in the fourth, four in the fifth and five in the seventh. Santoro mashed a two-run homer to left to put UW-W ahead for good in the fifth. He finished with three RBIs.
Norton finished 2-for-4 with one walk, one run scored and three RBIs, and Vomhof collected two hits, one walk, one run scored and two RBIs.
White reached base four times with three walks and one hit while scoring two runs, and Wilkins and Korman each tallied two hits and one run scored.
Pitcher Connor Spear improved to 3-0 with the victory, allowing only one hit and one walk over 3 1/3 innings of relief. Kade Lancour and Connor Moroder tossed scoreless relief outings of two innings and one inning, respectively.
UW-Whitewater hosts Finlandia (Mich.) for a WIAC doubleheader Friday at Prucha Field at James B. Miller Stadium. First pitch is slated for 1 p.m.
Article submitted by Michael Hookstead
Whitewater High School Head Baseball Coach
mhookstead@wwusd.org
The Varsity Baseball Team was handed their second loss on the season on Thursday night, April 29. Beloit Turner defeated the Whippets 10-0 in 6 innings.
Marc Jones was the starting pitcher and threw a solid game.
The team is still growing and learning what the expectations are.
The Whippets will be in action again on Friday, April 30th, against the Jefferson Eagles at Whitewater High School.