Correction 2/27/25 @ 2:35 p.m. – The player in the above photo was misidentified. This has now been corrected.

The UW-Whitewater women’s basketball team topped UW-River Falls 66-52 in the first round of the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Tournament Tuesday in Kachel Gym.

With the victory, the Warhawks advance to play UW-Stout on the road Thursday. The WIAC semifinal game is set for a 7 PM tipoff in Menomonie. The conference
tournament championship will be hosted by the highest remaining seed on Saturday.

Senior guard Kacie Carollo (Whitewater, Wis./Whitewater) etched her name atop the WIAC record book in three-pointers Tuesday. Carollo needed just one to break the conference record with her 231st career three-pointer and she got it with the first bucket of the fourth quarter.

The game started on a different note, with the Falcons taking an early 7-3 lead less than four minutes in. UW-Whitewater responded in a big way holding UWRF scoreless the rest of the period while scoring 16 unanswered to take a 19-7 lead into the second quarter.

The Falcons cut the margin to six, 26-20, with just under two to go but the last minute of the first half featured a flurry of action. Maggie Trautsch (Sun Prairie,
Wis./DeForest) knocked down a three off a Carollo assist. Carollo hauled in the defensive board and that led to a Mia Gillis (Mundelein, Ill./Carmel Catholic) layup with 15 seconds remaining. UWRF got down the floor quickly for a buzzer-beater layup to make it 31-22 at the break. The Falcons coach was whistled for a technical following contact on the play. With the choice to shoot the free throws immediately or wait until the other side of the intermission – the Warhawks chose the latter and headed to the locker room.

Carollo went to the line before the start of the third and hit both free throws to push the lead back to double digits. The gap dipped back into single digits just once the rest of the way – on the final bucket of the third.

Trautsch paced the Warhawks with 18 points bolstered by a 3-8 night from downtown. Bri McCurdy (St. Croix Falls, Wis./St. Croix Falls) hit 6-9 from the floor and 5-8 from beyond the arc for 17 points – all career bests for the sophomore. Carollo posted 11 points and added 9 rebounds, 7 assists and 5 steals. Gillis registered 10 points on 5-7 shooting from the field with 5 assists in the contest.

Source: UW-W Athletics website
Copyright ©2025 University of Wisconsin-Whitewater Athletic

Update 2/25 @ 3:55 p.m. – The team plays in the first round of the conference championship tonight, Tuesday 2/25 @ 7 p.m. – UW-W (#3) vs. UW-RF (#6)

Unconditional love and basketball: Warhawk Kacie Carollo builds on family legacy

Written by Chris Lindeke
Photos by Craig Schreiner, UW-Whitewater Athletics

The Carollo family name is synonymous with women’s basketball — and winning — at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater.

For more than two decades the family has been deeply associated with a team that has a strong legacy at the university and is a household name in NCAA Division III women’s basketball.

Keri Carollo was hired as head coach in April 2002. In 2008, her husband, Joe Carollo, joined her on the sidelines to be an assistant coach.

Fast forward to 2025, and their daughter, Kacie, is helping the family build on that exceptional success.

A two-time All-American, Carollo, an integrated science-business major, has been a linchpin in one of the strongest four-year stretches in the program’s history.

The run has included two Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference championships, one conference tournament title, and three trips to the NCAA Tournament, including the Final Four in 2022, the Sweet 16 in 2023, and the Elite Eight in 2024.

Carollo has thrived on and off the court — she is a recipient of multiple scholarships and is a five-time member of the Dean’s List — and enjoys the small-town, community-like atmosphere and the caring faculty.

“The professors have been very understanding of our schedules and the demands,” she said. “They understand the time and energy commitment to sports, which I’m very grateful for.”

With just four games remaining in the regular season, Carollo is cherishing every remaining moment as a part of the team.

“It’s basketball, so it’s not the most important thing in the world, but it is to our family, and it is to my teammates,” she said. “Valuing every single day — and the people around me — has been super important for me, because it goes by really fast.”

Carollo’s journey to becoming a Warhawk started more than two decades ago.

Raised to be a Warhawk

Carollo’s first memories of being involved in the program include “picnics” packed by her parents that included snacks, puzzles and games — all things to keep her occupied during the team’s practices and games.

She recalled being pushed around in the ball cart and being on the bus with her “big sisters” on the team.

“She was very outgoing, strong-willed, and personable,” Keri Carollo said. “You could tell she was a lot like me — she wasn’t afraid to speak her mind and had a very strong personality but was also very caring and always looking out for everyone else.”

In 2008, when Carollo was just a small child, the Warhawks experienced their first big success under her mother’s leadership. The team made its first-ever trip to the Division III Final Four, where they went on to finish in third place.

More national success followed for UW-Whitewater. The team made back-to-back appearances in the Final Four starting five years later, finishing as national runner-up in 2013 and in third place in 2014.

Recruited to be a Warhawk

A three-sport athlete at Whitewater High School, Carollo worked closely with her parents to explore opportunities to compete in college basketball.

After a trip to St. Louis for a college visit as a high school senior, she realized that her home for the next four years may be right in her backyard.

Carollo was recruited closely by then-assistant coach Kirsten Hammer and then-graduate assistant Brooke Trewyn, who each earned a BSE in physical education and an MSE in professional studies from UW-Whitewater and were members of the Warhawk women’s basketball team as undergraduates.

“They asked me a lot of questions, and I could tell they really cared about me as a person,” she said.

Carollo enrolled at UW-Whitewater in the fall of 2021, joining a veteran-laden team that was poised for a big season after enduring a COVID pandemic-shortened 2021 campaign.

Four years of success

Carollo was an immediate fit with the Warhawks during the 2021-22 season. She played a supporting role in helping UW-Whitewater capture the regular season league championship and make a run through the NCAA Tournament to the championship game.

After the team punched its ticket to the Final Four with a victory over conference rival UW-Oshkosh, Carollo embraced her mother and coach with tears in her eyes.

“Everything happened so fast, and none of it was expected,” Carollo said. “It was just so huge for everybody in that moment … I know how hard my parents have worked, so it was cool for me to be an actual, tangible piece of it rather than just supporting them.”

Most importantly, she showed her ability to blend in both on and off the court — a characteristic that’s stuck with her over the last three-plus seasons even with her parents as coaches.

“I have to give Kacie a lot of credit — she’s made it easy — and I would also give credit to the teams she’s played with,” Coach Carollo said. “They have been very understanding of that dynamic, and we’ve never had teams that Kacie’s played with give us any pushback.”

Carollo evolved into a central leader on the team starting with the 2022-23 season. The team captured its second straight conference title, won the WIAC Tournament and reached the second weekend of the NCAA Tournament.

In 2023-24, UW-Whitewater, led by Carollo and another All-American — 2024 Jostens Trophy (National Player of the Year) recipient Aleah Grundahl — made a second straight run to the second weekend of the national tournament. The Warhawks finished one game away from a trip to the Final Four.

This year’s team is currently ranked #25 in the nation. The postseason begins the week of February 24, and the Warhawks are hopeful for another deep run.

“We value opportunity,” Coach Carollo said. “When you’re gifted an opportunity — not everybody gets to play college basketball — you make the most of that opportunity and try to get the most out of that experience. That goes for academics and social life, too, as not everyone gets to go to college. A lot of people take it for granted.”

Looking back (and ahead)

The Carollos have grown closer because of their basketball experiences inside of Kachel Gymnasium and around the country.

“We’ve always been close, but I think this has brought us closer, just seeing her go through the highs and lows and challenges of being a student-athlete and a woman,” Coach Carollo said.

The couple are also firmly embedded as leaders in other spaces around the Williams Center. Keri Carollo serves Warhawk athletics as senior woman administrator and assistant athletic director for compliance, while Joe Carollo is an assistant director for business affairs and event operations and a lecturer of kinesiology, teaching classes in the sport management minor.

“I know how much they care and how involved they are — it is literally their life,” Kacie Carollo said. “When they get after me or someone else, I know at the end of the day, it’s not personal — it’s just because they care.”

Carollo is on track to graduate in May 2025. She plans to remain in the area and pursue a career in health care administration.

Carollo’s focus remains on basketball as she hopes to help extend the season deep into March. She has already etched her name into the program record book, currently ranking second in both career points and rebounds, and now looks to add even more team success to an already sterling career ledger.

No result will break a mother and daughter bond that has only grown stronger after more than 20 years of bleeding purple together.

“I tell her at the start of every year that no matter what happens — wins, losses, whatever — I’m always going to be proud of you and love you unconditionally,” the coach (and mom) said.

On Saturday, February 22, the Boys’ Wrestling Team was represented by five individuals competing to advance to the WIAA State Individual State Wrestling Tournament in the Sectional Tournament hosted by Waupun. When the day ended, the boys were 12-4 with four of them punching their ticket to the Kohl Center this coming Thursday night.

Jarvis Porcaro started things off for the Whippets, winning the sectional championship, being the 3rd one to do so since 2007. Jarvis dominated his competition, wrestling extremely well all day. He started the day with a technical fall 19-2. He followed that up with a first period pin in :57.  For the finals, Jarvis wrestled very well getting a takedown, which would have ended the match with a technical fall, but due to taking down two students back he was able to secure the pin.

Jasen Porras was our second student to reach the finals with a very strong day of wrestling. He started the day off with a strong victory over a young man that proved to be a tough opponent on top, but Jasen secured a second period pin. In the semifinals, Jasen weathered a little bit of a storm early but was able to just wrestle very smart and was able to secure a 8-2 decision. In the championship match, he ran into the number one student in the state and fell against a young man that proved he is worthy of the ranking. Jasen had to wrestle back to hold onto his 2nd place finish. This can be a tough task coming off a loss and the opponent coming off a win. Jasen controlled him early and secured a first period pin, thus holding onto 2nd place!

Connor Friend followed, bringing home the 2nd championship of the day. He started off with a very nice win against a student who was physically quite strong. Connor ended up getting a 3rd period pin. In the semifinals, Connor was taken down earlier which was maybe a little bit of a wakeup call as he ended up controlling the rest of the match and secured a 20-4 technical fall win. In the championship, Connor had a young man who had some nice height and length, but Connor was patient and took control early on his feet. Connor was able to secure the championship with a 9-1 major decision.

Traysen Thomason was next up for the Whippets. Traysen started the day strong with a 18-3 technical fall win. In the semi-finals, Traysen had a very good match, and with a little bit of a scramble that didn’t quite go his way he ended up dropping the match 7-4. This put him into the wrestle backs where he would need to piece together two wins to advance. His first match was against a familiar opponent from the last couple of weeks, and Traysen continued a strong game plan pinning his opponent in 1:05. This put Traysen one win from a state berth against a tall young man from Lake Country Lutheran. Traysen did very well, wrestling a smart match, and was able to secure his state berth with a 19-9 major decision. 

Richi Kalra was our 5th competitor on the day. In both of his matches, he wrestled very well. In the first match he came out and got the opening takedown and then was in on a second, but the opponent made a throw as a counter, pinning Richi. In the wrestle back match, Richi had a familiar foe from Delavan. Richi wrestled extremely well on his feet, holding good position. Unfortunately, Richi saw his season end with the loss. Both of the opponents Richi lost to qualified, with the student from the first match winning the tournament and the student from the second match taking 3rd, so Richi went down and competed well against the best!

The four boys will all be competing on Thursday night, February 27, at 6:00 pm at the Kohl Center in Madison.

Article and Photo Submitted by John Schimming
Whitewater High School Head Wrestling Coach
jschimming@wwusd.org

On Friday night, February 21, Whitewater Girls’ Wrestling had three ladies competing in the Sectional hosted at Whitewater High School for their opportunity to place in the top 2 and advance to the WIAA State Wrestling Individual Wrestling Championships at the Kohl Center. To note, girls’ wrestling is all one division so it can be the smallest schools in the state vs. the largest schools in the state.

Leading the way for the girls was Marianna Kubicz who wrestled her way into the championship match by starting off with a bye and then getting a strong first period pin after two great takedowns against her Janesville Craig foe. Marianna has been working hard on some technique on her feet and it showed in the semifinal match. In the championship, Marianna came out strong but ended up getting pinned. She did not have a wrestle back so she was able to hold onto her runner up finish and her ticket to Madison.

Payton Taylor was next up. Payton started the night off strong with a very nice first period pin against her Janesville Craig foe. She came out and got the early takedown and then showed her improvement over the course of the season, securing the pin. In the semi-finals, Payton dropped the match against a girl who really wrestles well. Payton was not out of the running for state just yet, but she would need to win her next match and then get some help and hope to get a wrestle back. She wrestled an outstanding match for 3rd as she just kept holding good position and wore her opponent down. Both girls were really tired, but Payton was able to dig deeper and secure the bronze medal with an 11-7 victory. Payton then got the help that she needed and the girl who had defeated her did win the championship, so Payton got a true second wrestle back to try to get to state. In this match she came out and got the opening takedown and was very close to turning the girl with just a slight movement of her body position but unfortunately went the wrong way and got pinned. This was Payton’s first year of wrestling, so with another year of experience that positioning will improve.

Closing out our girls competing was A’Lani Ross who had a difficult first round draw. Her opponent had taken 3rd at state as a freshman and was a state champion last year. This was unfortunate, as with the girls and division 1 boys if you lose your first round, you are eliminated. The Milton girl proved that she is one of the best in the state getting the first period takedown. A’Lani had a strong senior season and has nothing to be ashamed of; it was just unfortunate with the “luck of the draw.”

Marianna will be competing in Madison at the Kohl Center. Wrestling will begin at 2:00 pm on Thursday afternoon, February 27.

Article and Photos Submitted by John Schimming
Whitewater High School Head Wrestling Coach
jschimming@wwusd.org