WIAA STATE BOYS TENNIS PREVIEW
What: The 27th WIAA boy team tennis tournament.
When: Friday and Saturday.
Where: Nielsen Tennis Stadium, Madison.
Tickets: $9 per day plus online fees. They can be purchases at GoFan. Results: Go to wiaawi.org.
2021 champions: Division 1 – Brookfield East; Division 2 – Catholic Memorial
Schedule Friday
Division 1 quarterfinals
(1) Brookfield East (23-3) vs. (8) Green Bay Notre Dame (17-6), 5:30 p.m.
(4) Marquette (15-3) vs. (5) Madison West (16-9), 5:30 p.m.
(3) Neenah (17-2) vs. (6) Eau Claire Memorial (16-6), 5:30 p.m.
(2) Middleton (18-2) vs. (7) Menomonee Falls (14-3), 5:30 p.m.
Saturday
Division 1 semifinals
Brookfield East/Green Bay Notre Dame winner vs. Marquette /Madison West winner, 9 a.m.
Neenah/Eau Claire Memorial winner vs. Middleton/Menomonee Falls winner, 9 a.m.
Division 2 semifinals
(1) Brookfield Academy (14-4) vs. (4) St. Mary Catholic (13-0), 9 a.m.
Sam Klein and his Brookfield East teammates are scheduled to open the tournament vs. Green Bay Notre Dame at 5:30 p.m. Friday. (2) Catholic Memorial (9-7) vs. (3) La Crosse Aquinas, 14-3), 9 a.m.
Finals follow semifinals
A look at the field Division 1
Defending champion Brookfield East has reached the final in the past three seasons. The team returns seven of the players who were in its state tournament lineup last season. The team qualified two singles players – sophomore Oscar Corwin and junior Sam Klein – and two doubles teams – seniors Henry Irwin and Reed Scullen and seniors Owen Kendler and Michael Francken – for the individual state tournament.
won the Big Rivers but is 0-3 against teams in the field. It lost to Madison West, Middleton and Neenah.
is back at state for the first time since it won the 2019 Division 2 title. The Fox River Classic champion is 0-3 against Division 1 qualifiers, falling twice to Menomonee Falls and once to Neenah.
Madison West was the Big Eight runner up to state qualifier Middleton, a team to which it lost twice by a 6-1 margin. The Regents are 1-6 against teams in the field with the lone win coming over Eau Claire Memorial.
Marquette is making its 15th straight appearance. The Hilltoppers have advanced to the final for the past six tournaments. They are 2-3 against state qualifiers. That includes two wins over quarterfinal opponent Madison West. Menomonee Falls finished fifth in the Greater Metro but emerged from a sectional that included Nicolet, Whitefish Bay and Wauwatosa East to earn its first state berth.
Middleton has reached the semifinals of the past two tournaments. The Cardinals are 5-1 against the field at state with the only setback a 4-3 loss to Brookfield East.
Neenah is making its third straight appearance. It reached the semifinals last year. The Rockets are 3-2 against the state tournament field with wins over Eau Claire Memorial, Madison West and Notre Dame and losses to Middleton and Brookfield East.
Division 2
This will be the third straight appearance for Brookfield Academy, which finished second in its previous two appearances. The Knights are 2-0 against teams in the field with the wins coming over Catholic Memorial and Aquinas.
This will be the first appearance for St. Mary Catholic, which hasn't faced any of the teams in the state field. Catholic Memorial took third in the Classic 8, a Division 1 conference. The Crusaders lost to state qualifier Brookfield Academy.
Aquinas is making its second straight appearance. The Mississippi Valley Conference champion's only run-in with a state qualifier was a 7-0 loss to Brookfield Academy.
GROUP
SCOTT ASH / NOW NEWS
Mark Stewart