WIAA BOYS STATE TEAM TENNIS TOURNAMENT
What: the 24th-annual WIAA boys state team tennis tournament. When: Friday-Saturday. Where: Nielsen Tennis Stadium, Madison. Tickets: $6 per session Schedule: Division 1 quarterfinals, 5:30 p.m. Friday – (1) Marquette (20-2) vs. Badger (12-3); (4) Verona (19-3) vs. Green Bay Southwest (27-2); (3) Arrowhead (22-4) vs. Eau Claire Memorial (19-7); (2) Brookfield East (18-4) vs. Oshkosh West (16-7). Division 1 semifinals, 9 a.m. Saturday – Marquette/Badger winner vs. Verona/Green Bay Southwest winner; Arrowhead/Eau Claire Memorial winner vs. Brookfield East/ Oshkosh West winner. Division 2 semifinals, 9 a.m. Saturday – (1) University School (10-7) vs. McFarland (11-0); (2) Madison Edgewood (12-4) vs. Kohler (19-2).. Finals: Division 1 and Division 2, 2 p.m. Saturday.
THE FIELD
DIVISION 1 Arrowhead: The Warhawks, ranked third in the final state coaches poll, return to state for the second straight season. They were eliminated in the quarterfinals last year. They qualified senior Brendan Pietila and the doubles teams of freshmen Quin Dubofsky and Sam Kredell and senior Jace Hipp and Jared Pietila for individual state. Marquette: The three-time defending champion is stacked. Three of its four singles players played at individual state, including senior Nick Yang and sophomore Richard Balistreri who won two matches. All of its doubles teams reached the quarterfinals with seniors Noah Guillermo and Rob May winning the state title. Badger: This is the first time since 1999 that the Badgers have reached state. The top of the singles lineup, with state qualifiers Mason Sniatynski, a junior, and Jordan Lauer, a sophomore, has been a strength of the team. Brookfield East: The second-ranked Spartans return to state after a two-year absence. They qualified for individual state in two spots. Seniors Alex Fisher and Cole Johnstone were seeded No. 11 in doubles and won two matches at individual state. Eau Claire Memorial: The Old Abes are making their 12th straight appearance. They reached the semifinals last year. Junior Sam Rechek (No. 13) and the team of sophomores Grant Wolfe and Max Loon (No. 14) were seeded at individual state. Green Bay Southwest: The sixth-ranked Trojans return to state for the second straight season. Junior Johnny Zakowski reached the quarterfinals in singles at individual state. Sophomore Jayden Wartman and Ben Fredeen won two matches there. Oshkosh West: The Wildcats qualified for state for the first time since 1999. They have one of the state’s top players in senior Neel Raut, who was the state singles runner-up. Verona: The Wildcats are making their second appearance in three seasons. They had one singles player and one doubles team seeded for state with junior Will Tennison earning the top singles seed. DIVISION 2 Kohler: The third-ranked Blue Bombers are making their second straight appearance. Senior Casey Johnson was the state runnerup at the individual meet, one of three individuals/doubles teams to qualify from the team. Madison Edgewood: The Crusaders’, last year’s runner-up, finished the regular season ranked No. 1 in the state. They qualified three individuals and two doubles teams to individual state. McFarland: The program, which is making its first appearance since 2000, had two singles players and a doubles team at state last week. University School: The Wildcats return to state after a one-year absence. Prior to that the school made 11 straight appearance. This year’s team is led by sophomore Daniel Taleghani, the No. 3 seed in singles last week.