THE MEET: The Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association Boys Individual Tennis Championships will be held Thursday through Saturday, May 30-June 1 at the Nielsen Tennis Stadium on the University of Wisconsin campus in Madison, Wis. Action will begin at 10:30 a.m. Thursday and resume at 9 a.m. Friday. Competition on Saturday begins at 8:30 a.m. Ticket prices are $6 per session.
THE SCHEDULE:
Thursday, May 30
10:30 a.m. First round matches
Friday, May 31
9 a.m. Action through Quarterfinals
Saturday, June 1
8:30 a.m. Consolation Semifinals
9 a.m. Championship Semifinals
10 a.m. Fifth-place matches
11 a.m. Third-place matches
11:30 a.m. Championship matches
ON THE AIR: A 30-minute highlight program of the 2013 Boys State Individual Tennis Championship Tournament will air on FS Wisconsin on a date and time to be announced.
LAST YEAR: Third-seeded, and defending champion, Damon Niquet of Marquette captured the Division 1 singles title for the second straight year by defeating fifth-seeded Felix Corwin of Brookfield East 7-5, 7-5 in the championship match. In Division 1 doubles play, the second-seeded tandem of CJ Armbrust and Connor Muth of Marquette defeated top-seeded Ben Klein and Ben Stewart of Brookfield East in the championship match 6-7(5). 6-1, 6-3. Zane Navratil of The Prairie School defeated Lucas Waak of Roncalli in the championship match 7-6(1), 6-2 to win the Division 2 singles crown. In Division 2 doubles play, Ben Winding and Tyler Piddington of Edgewood captured the title with a 6-3, 6-2 victory over Andrew Zimmermann and Brian Zak of Notre Dame in the final.
DIVISION 1 SINGLES OUTLOOK: Senior Damon Niquet of Marquette has won the State title the past two years and was runner-up in 2010. Niquet will attempt to win his third straight title without ever being awarded the top seed. He returns to State this year as the second seed with a 15-5 record. It is junior Felix Corwin of Brookfield East that receives the top seed with a 16-0 mark this season after finishing runner-up to Niquet last year. Senior John Carswell of Kenosha Tremper is seeded third with an undefeated record of 28-0. He placed sixth at State last season and third in 2011. Senior Nick Dykema of West De Pere received the fourth seed with a 27-2 record. He advanced to the quarterfinals last season before being eliminated from title contention. Senior Matt Lynch of Marquette is the fifth seed with a record of 17-3. He placed fifth a year ago to improve on his sixth-place finish in 2011. The sixth seed is senior Tim Corwin of Brookfield East with a 17-3 mark this season after qualifying and winning his first two matches at State before being defeated last season. Junior Nick Allen of Green Bay Southwest finished fourth last season and has posted a 20-2 record this season. He has been issued the seventh seed this year. Senior Kyle Dunn of Fond du Lac is the eighth seed with a 19-1 tally for the season. He won a pair of matches at State last year before falling in the third round of play.
DIVISION 1 DOUBLES OUTLOOK: A pair of Marquette tandems have received the top two seeds in the bracket. Senior CJ Armbrust, one-half the State doubles championship team last season, pairs with senior Jed Sekaran to form the top-seeded duo this season. They enter bracket play with a mark of 7-2. The second seed is senior Greg Raster and junior Austin Budiono with a 17-2 record. The two qualified as a pair last season and won their first two matches before dropping their third-round match. The third seed was issued to seniors Matt Kavanagh and Graham Martens of Whitefish Bay. They have a 23-2 record this season. The duo qualified last season and won two matches before falling to the eventual runner-up tandem. Senior Ben Levey and junior Sam Berman of Nicolet are the fourth seed with a 20-5 record. Levey qualified and lost in the opening round last season with a different partner. Seniors Peterson Apfelbach and Adam Bodner of Homestead are the fifth seed with a 22-6 mark. Playing with different partners last season, Apfelbach finished third and Bodner placed fourth. The duo of juniors Peter Rentzepis and Matt Lindsay of Eau Claire Memorial are seeded sixth. They enter action with a 14-1 tally this season. Rentzepis qualified last season with a different partner and advanced two rounds before being eliminated from title contention. The seventh and eighth seeds are issued to a pair of senior partners in Andy Krugler and John Burns of Whitefish Bay, and Matt Brooks and Andrew Juneau of Neenah. They have compiled records of 21-3 and 20-8, respectively. Krugler qualified last year with a different partner and won their first-round match, and Brooks also gained tournament experience with a different teammate and won a pair of matches.
DIVISION 2 SINGLES OUTLOOK: Defending champion Zane Navratil, a junior from The Prairie School, returns to defend his singles crown. He is seeded second this year with a 23-4 record. The top seed was bestowed upon senior Tyler Lewis of Kohler, who enters the Division 2 tournament as one of only two undefeated players with 25-0 record. He gained valuable State experience the past two seasons. Senior Michael Lukas of University School is the third seed after placing fifth at State a year ago. He enters play with an 18-12 mark this season. Notre Dame senior Scott Wall is seeded fourth with a 19-3 record. He was defeated by Lukas in the second round last season after placing fourth in 2011. Junior Brett Giesen of Roncalli returns to the tournament as the fifth seed after winning a first-round match last season and compiling a 23-5 tally this season. Tommy Matoska of Catholic Memorial is the highest-seeded freshman since Nick Dykema of West De Pere was seeded third in 2010. Matoska has compiled a 22-6 record in his first season. Junior Peter Jaeger of St. Thomas More is the seventh seed with a 20-3 record, and senior David Jumes of Xavier is seeded eighth with a 9-8 mark. Other than Lewis, only Felipe Oliviera of Ashland enters the meet without a loss on his ledger. The senior is 14-0 heading into the tournament.
DIVISION 2 DOUBLES OUTLOOK: The senior Notre Dame tandem of Nick DelMoral and Mark Cullen comprise the top-seeded duo with a 20-0 record entering play. Juniors Brent Mackman and Tom Camilleri of University School were positioned as the second seed with a 21-5 record this season. Senior Matt Mirsberger and junior Mike Mirsberger of Catholic Memorial are the third seed for the second year in a row. They have notched a 17-1 record this season after they placed third at State last year and qualified and advanced to the second round in 2011. Juniors Nate Calawerts and Nick Williams of Notre Dame return to State as the fourth seed, possessing an unblemished 20-0 record. They gained State experience by winning their first-round match a year ago before being ousted by the eventual champions. Juniors Danny Uhen and Frank Wong of Dominican are seeded fifth with a 16-1 record, and senior Brian Ruedinger and junior Brice Ruedinger of Two Rivers are seeded sixth after winning their first-round match-up last year and posting a 15-2 record this season. Seniors Kyle Struck and Tim Valicenti of Kohler qualify for the fourth time as a tandem. The seventh-seeded pair’s most notable outcome came with a sixth-place finish last season. They enter the meet with a 19-6 mark. The eighth seed was awarded to junior Steven Blend and freshman Matthew Primozic of Plymouth. They have posted a 13-5 record this season. In addition to the two Notre Dame duos, the team of junior Matt Miller and senior Tanner Braunschweig of East Troy (9-0) haven’t lost a match this season.
NEED THE BRACKETS?: Brackets and qualifiers are available on the WIAA website. Navigate to the boys tennis home page for brackets and the qualifiers at http://www.wiaawi.org/Sports/BoysTennis.aspx.
NEED RESULTS?: Results of the State individual tournament are available on the WIAA website at http://www.wiaawi.org/Sports/BoysTennis.aspx.
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.
FOLLOW THE TOURNEY ON TWITTER: Receive the updates of the Boys State Tennis Tournaments on the WIAA State Tournament Twitter account @wiaawistate with the hashtag #wiaatennis.