THE MEET: The 23rd Annual Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association Boys Team Tennis Tournament will be held Friday and Saturday, June 9-10. The meet takes place at the Nielsen Tennis Stadium on the University of Wisconsin campus in Madison, Wis. Action will begin at 5:30 p.m. Friday and will resume at 9 a.m. Saturday. Ticket prices are $6 per session.
THE DIVISION 1 MATCH-UPS:
Division 1 - Quarterfinals (5:30 p.m. June 9)
Match-1: Homestead (19-7) vs. Marquette (25-2)
Match-2: Madison West (17-7) vs. Kettle Moraine (14-3)
Match-3: Eau Claire Memorial (19-6) vs. Green Bay Southwest (31-1)
Match-4: Arrowhead (19-7) vs. Neenah (18-1)
Division 1 - Semifinals (9 a.m. June 10)
Match-5: Winner of Match 1 vs. Winner of Match 2
Match-6: Winner of Match 3 vs. Winner of Match 4
Division 1 - Championship (2 p.m. June 10)
Match-7: Winner of Match 5 vs. Winner of Match 6
THE DIVISION 2 MATCH-UPS:
Division 2 - Semifinals (9 a.m. June 10)
Match-1: Edgewood (12-5) vs. East Troy (13-3)
Match-2: Kohler (12-9) vs. The Prairie School (19-4)
Division 2 - Championship (2 p.m. June 10)
Match-3: Winner of Match 1 vs. Winner of Match 2
LAST YEAR: Marquette won its ninth title in the last 10 years in Division 1 with a 6-1 victory over Neenah in the championship match. In Division 2, Edgewood won its first title by edging Notre Dame 4-3 in the championship match.
THE HISTORY OF THE CHAMPIONSHIPS: The WIAA has sponsored a team championship in boys tennis since 1995. Points scored by individuals determined team champions prior to that time. Nicolet had dominated the Division 1 competition for years, winning a membership-leading 26 championships, including six (1997-99, 2004-06) since the advent of the two-division team tournament. Eight of the Knights’ championships came consecutively from 1967-74. Marquette is a distant second in the number of titles with 11. Seven of Marquette’s titles came consecutively from 2007-13. Neenah and University School are a third on the list of champions with 10 team titles. Six of University School’s titles came consecutively from 2006-11. Manitowoc and Whitefish Bay are next in line with six titles. Since the dual match format was adopted, Eau Claire Memorial has made the most State appearances, now with 20. Neenah is next with 16, and Brookfield Central, Edgewood and Marquette have qualified 14 times.
DIVISION 1 NOTES: Two-time defending champion Marquette is making its 11th straight appearance and its 14th overall. The Hilltoppers have won the team championship in nine of the last 10 years and have won 11 titles overall. They produced State titles in 2002, 2003, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2015 and 2016 as well as a runner-up finish in 2004. Last year’s runner-up Neenah makes its fifth straight State appearance and its 16th overall. The Rockets had a string of eight consecutive appearances from 2000-2007. They won five straight championships from 1991-1995 and 10 overall titles, also earning the crown in 1946, 1951, 1953, 1957 and 1965. The Rockets also have 10 runner-up finishes, including 1935, 1940, 1950, 1952 1971, 1996, 2001, 2005, 2013 and again last year. Eau Claire Memorial makes its membership-leading 20th appearance at State and its 16th in the last 17 years. The Old Abes’ furthest advance in the tournament was to the title match in 2014 when they finished runner-up. Homestead is making its 12th overall appearance in the State team tournament. The Highlanders had a string of eighth straight appearances end in 2012 with their third consecutive runner-up finish. They have five runner-up results on their ledger. Those finishes occurred in 2003, 2006, 2010, 2011 and 2012. Green Bay Southwest is back in the team tournament for the first time since 2003 and for the sixth time overall. The furthest advance at State for the Fighting Trojans was to the semifinals in 1999. Arrowhead returns to State for the fifth time and for the first time since 2013. The Warhawks are in pursuit of their first title. They advanced to the semifinals for the first time in 2013 after losses in the quarterfinals in each of their three previous appearances. Madison West is making its fifth overall appearance in the team tournament and the third in the last five seasons. The Regents’ furthest advance toward a State title came in 2008 when they reached the semifinals. The only other two State team tournament appearances for Kettle Moraine came in 1999 and 2015. The Lasers fell in the quarterfinals in their first appearance and then advanced to the semifinals in their most recent experience.
DIVISION 2 NOTES: Defending champion Edgewood returns to the State team tournament for the 14th straight year, which also accounts for the Crusaders’ overall total of appearances. Prior to winning the title last year, they finished runner-up seven times, including 2004, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014 and 2015. Kohler returns to the final field of four for the first time since its only other appearance in 2016, which resulted in a loss in the semifinals. Both East Troy and The Prairie School advance to the State Tournament for the first time.
INDIVIDUAL HONORS: Top-seeded Robert Krill of Brookfield East won the Division 1 singles title with a 6-0, 4-6, 6-1 victory over #2 seed Colt Tegtmeier of Madison Memorial. The top-seeded duo of Ethan Budiono and John Massart of Marquette won the Division 1 doubles championship with a 6-2, 6-1 victory over the second-seeded tandem of Jack Steinberger and Eli Winter from Nicolet. In Division 2, top-seeded Casey Johnson of Kohler remained undefeated at 21-0 to win his second consecutive State singles title. He defeated Juan Perez of The Prairie School 3-6, 7-5, 2-0 in the championship match to claim the title. Jason Tan and Liam Matthews of Brookfield Academy are the doubles champions in Division 2. The #1-seeded tandem recorded a 6-1, 6-1 triumph over the second-seeded team of Andrew Diedrich and Mitchell Teuteberg from Catholic Memorial in the championship match.
NEED RESULTS & INFORMATION?: Rosters and records of teams in the State tournament are available on the Media Center of the WIAA website. Results will be available on the Tennis Results page of the WIAA website at http://www.wiaawi.org/Sports/BoysTennis.aspx. Check out the results of State Individual Championships played June 2-4 on the tennis results page as well.
FOLLOW THE TOURNEY ON SOCIAL MEDIA: Receive updates of the State Boys Team Tennis Tournament on the WIAA State Tournament Twitter account @wiaawistate with the hashtag #wiaatennis. Also like us on Facebook, follow us on Instagram at wiaawi, and add us on Snapchat at wiaawis.
WILSON IS OFFICIAL BALL OF THE WIAA: Wilson is the official ball and tennis supplier of the WIAA boys and girls Sectional and State Tennis Tournaments through the 2018 seasons.
Written by WIAA Communications