By Angela Kelm
Asst. Athletic Director for Sports Information
Madison, Wis. — The University of Wisconsin-Whitewater women’s tennis team claimed the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference title for the 18th consecutive time Sunday. The Warhawks won four singles flights and swept the titles in doubles play en route to the championship.
The WIAC champion is determined by using a combination of the regular season dual meet standings and the WIAC Championship results. The Warhawks entered the championship tied for first with six points from dual meet results. UW-Whitewater added 14 points from the championships for a total of 20 to claim the title by two points over UW-La Crosse.
SINGLES
No. 1: Gracie Ha secured her second straight singles title (No. 2 singles champion in 2023) after defeating UW-Eau Claire’s Samantha Fuchs 6-2, 6-1 in the title match. To get to the title, Ha received a bye before defeating UWO’s Mana Usui 6-3, 6-3 in the second round.
No. 2: Molly Asfeld battled back from a 6-2, 6-4 loss in round two to eventual champion Shelby Roth (UWL) to secure bronze. In the third place bout, Asfeld took down Maya Kunze (UWSP) 6-3, 6-4. Her first round win was a 6-0, 6-1 victory over Alexis Budzinski (UWRF) Saturday.
No. 3: Abby Weaver picked up a pair of wins Sunday to claim gold in the third singles flight. After topping Morgan Dekan (UWEC) 6-0, 6-2 in the second round, Weaver bested UWL’s Lauren Lindow 6-1, 7-5 for the championship. She was 3-0 in singles play with a first round win over Ella Lamppa (UW-Stout) 6-1, 6-2 on day one.
No. 4: Alex Repplier won her second consecutive title in singles play Sunday. The top seed defeated Brianna Owens (UWO) 6-1, 6-1 before securing the title with a 6-4, 6-3 win over Maia Samuelson (UWL). She adds the 2024 championship to a No. 5 singles gold from 2023.
No. 5: Sarah Ferguson went 2-0 after receiving a first round bye for the title. She took down Allie Brosteau (UWSP) 6-0, 6-1 in the second round and defeated Emma Heinert (UWL) 6-4, 6-0 in the championship.
No. 6: Crystina Lee battled hard in the No. 6 singles championship match. After taking the first set against top-seeded Hannah Cady (UWL), she dropped set two 6-4. Lee finished as the runner-up after the tiebreak went to the Eagles 10-2. On her way to the title match, Lee defeated Lexie Stein (UW-Stout) in straight sets and Tea Armstrong (UWEC) 3-6, 6-1, 10-5 in the second round.
DOUBLES
No. 1 – Gracie Ha & Abby Weaver: The Warhawk tandem in the top doubles flight came in as the No. 1 seed and punched their ticket into the championship with an 8-1 win over a UWSP pair. Ha and Weaver took down UWL’s Tasha Bailey and Roth 8-5 for the title. The championship is the second consecutive at No. 1 doubles for Ha.
No. 2 – Molly Asfeld & Alex Repplier: As the top seed in the second doubles flight, the Warhawks received a first round bye. In round two, Asfeld and Repplier defeated Morgan Dekan and Liv Herzog (UWEC) 8-6 to secure their spot in the championship. UW-Whitewater won the title with an 8-5 victory over UWL’s Samuelson and Cady. The doubles title is the second straight for Asfeld.
No. 3 – Ava Andrae & Crystina Lee: The Warhawks’ pair in the third doubles flight entered as the No. 2 seed. The duo defeated Hailey Reuvers and Mykela Hanson (UWRF) 8-1 and the UWEC tandem of Armstrong and Aubrey Wittwer 8-3 to punch their ticket to the title match. Andrae and Lee won a thrilling battle for the championship defeating Lindow and Heinert (UWL) 8-7(4).
Following the completion of the championship, the WIAC announced Cassie Lee as the Judy Kruckman Scholar Athlete. A full release on Lee’s accomplishments will be published in a separate story. She is the fourth Warhawk to earn the honor in the last five seasons and thirteenth in program history. Gracie Ha was selected as UW-Whitewater’s representative on the All-Sportsmanship Team.
UW-Whitewater has now won 25 WIAC titles in program history. The top four teams from the conference championship (UWW, UWL, UWEC, UWSP) advance to the team tournament that will determine the league’s automatic qualifier to the NCAA Division III Championship. The team tournament will be hosted by UWW on April 26, 2025.
