Kacie Carollo’s career-high 33 points paced the No. 8 University of Wisconsin-Whitewater women’s basketball team to a 65-58 win over Wheaton (IL) Wednesday night. 

The Warhawks capitalized on the pace of play, pushing the ball forward to outscore the Thunder 22-4 on fast break points. The free throw line became pivotal late in the contest as UWW hit 20-25 in the contest compared to Wheaton’s 14-16. 

UW-Whitewater pushed the pace early, tallying 10 fastbreak points in the first 10 minutes to build a 20-14 lead after the first period. Carollo took over in the second quarter, scoring 12 of the Warhawks’ 16 points in the period. She was 4-8 from the field, 2-4 from three-point range and 2-2 from the charity stripe. At the intermission, UWW held a 36-29 advantage heading into the locker room. 

The Thunder whittled away at the lead on the other side of the break eventually pulling to within two, 42-40. A bucket by Renee Rittmeyer followed by a pair of Carollo free throws quickly pushed the margin back to six, 46-40, with 4:17 left in the third. Carollo added another free throw about a minute later before Wheaton capped the scoring in the period with a pair of free throws. Heading into the fourth, UWW held a 47-42 lead. 

The Warhawks scored the first four points of the fourth from the charity stripe – all four made by Katie Hildebrandt – to extend the gap to nine, 51-42. Over the next seven minutes, Wheaton cut into the margin eventually tying the game 56-56 at the 1:43 mark. 

On the offensive end, Carollo knocked down one of the biggest triples of the game to put UWW back on top. The Thunder countered with a step back jumper that dropped to narrow the lead to one and the Wheaton coach immediately signaled for a timeout. UW-Whitewater perfectly executed a play with Hildebrandt hitting a cutting Carollo perfectly in stride for the layin and another three-point UWW advantage with 29.4 seconds to go. 

Wheaton forced up a three-pointer on their end and Bri McCurdy chased down the board drawing a foul in the process. She hit both free throws to add a cushion with 11.1 to go. Carollo came up with a big block on the defensive end before capping the game with the final two points of the contest on a pair of free throws for the seven-point win. 

Carollo tallied a double-double with 33 points and 10 boards. She added three assists, three blocks and three steals in 39 minutes played. Hildebrandt added 13 bolstered by a perfect 7-7 from the charity stripe while hauling in five boards. Rittmeyer was active on defense with five steals while dishing out three assists on the offensive end. 

UW-Whitewater will head south for a pair of games at Daytona Beach on December 20 and 21. The Warhawks will wrap up 2024 against Calvin at 1 PM on December 30 in Kachel Gym before opening 2025 with conference play. 

The Whippet swimmers started off conference duals with a win against Edgerton/Evansville with a score of 112 to 46 on Tuesday, December 10th. The night was filled with a lot of really good swims!

Most notable swims include:

• Medley Relay of Miles Nickelsburg, David Enns, Myles Morse and Caleb Kluck out touched the Tide at the wall to secure a 1st place finish. Caleb Kluck had an impressive split in the 50 Freestyle going a time of 26.98.
• Langdon Coburn and Miles Morse finished 1st and 2nd in the 200 Freestyle. Langdon swam a lifetime best with a time of 2:08.24
• Isaac Straight dropped over 6 seconds in his 50 Freestyle going a time of 40.08, and Sam Nickelsburg continues to drop time in his 50 Freestyle going a time of 32.34
• Mateo Bazeley made his way onto the Whippet Top 10 List in the 100 Freestyle with a time of 53.93. He is now 10th overall.
• Xavier Ortiz dropped 6 seconds in his 100 Freestyle with a time of 1:11.55.
• Miles Nickelsburg swam a lifetime best in the 500 Freestyle with an impressive time of 6:07.13.
• In the leadoff spot of the 200 Freestyle Relay, Cruz Aranda went a 23.93. With that time he now sits 7th on the Whippet Top 10 List.
• Angel Kilar dropped over 30 seconds in his 100 Backstroke to go a time of 1:40.97.
• Jack Hefty and David Enns both swam great races in the 100 Breaststroke.

The Whippets are back in the water on Saturday, December 14th at the Elkhorn Invite. The meet begins at 10 am; we hope to see you there!

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

The Whippet Boys’ Swim Team had a great meet at the Tom Lieder Invite in Milton on Saturday, December 7th. The boys finished 3rd out of 11 teams and brought home 6 medals! 

Top 16 finishes include:

• 200 Medley (3rd – 1:54.72) Langdon Coburn, Jack Hefty, Cruz Aranda, Myles Morse
• 200 Freestyle – 
  • 2nd – Cruz Aranda (1:55.97)
  • 6th – Miles Nickelsburg (2:11.39)
  • 9th – Myles Morse (2:16.25)
• 50 Freestyle –
  • 4th – Mateo Bazeley (24.83)
  • 8th – Jack Hefty (25.26)
• 100 Freestyle – 
  • 4th – Mateo Bazeley (56.16)
  • 8th – Jack Hefty (57.66)
• 100 IM – 
  • 2nd – Langdon Coburn (1:02.82)
  • 5th – Miles Nickelsburg (1:11.08)
  • 13th – Andrew O’Toole (1:17.11)
  • 14th – Caleb Kluck (1:20.97)
• 500 Freestyle – 
  • 2nd – Cruz Aranda (5:19.11)
  • 3rd – Myles Morse (6:03.70)
• 200 Freestyle Relay (6th – 1:47.52) – Wyatt Esch, Miles Nickelsburg, Andrew O’Toole, Mateo Bazeley 
• 100 Backstroke –
  • 5th – Langdon Coburn (1:03.06)
• 100 Breaststroke –
  • 13th – David Enns (1:27.09)
• 400 Freestyle Relay (This race is a little different at this meet it is an 8×50) 2nd place finish with a time of 3:27.59 – Cruz Aranda, Miles Nickelsburg, Langdon Coburn, Wyatt Esch, Myles Morse, Mateo Bazeley, Caleb Kluck, Jack Hefty

There were many best times on the day! Angel Kilar dropped nearly 10 seconds off his seeded time in the 50 Freestyle going a 35.62. Isaac Straight started right where he left off last season crushing the 100 Breaststroke! Xavier Ortiz got to experience some individual racing for the first time; he had a great 100 Breaststroke time. 

The Boys will have their first home meet on Tuesday, December 10th against Edgerton/Evansville. The meet starts at 5:30 pm. We hope to see you there!

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