News

MADISON, Wis. – The 2026 State Girls Individual Tennis Tournament produced singles and doubles champions in two divisions Saturday at Nielsen Tennis Stadium.

Top-seeded Natalia Martinez, a sophomore from Brookfield East, earned the Division 1 singles championship with a 6-1, 6-3 victory over second-seeded Brhianna Curro, a junior from Homestead, in the title match. The win improved Martinez’s perfect record to 27-0 this season after placing fifth at State in 2025. Curro finished runner-up with a 31-3 mark after advancing to the second round in her first tournament experience two years ago. 

Senior Jennifer Gentile of Neenah, the fifth seed, placed third and improved her record to 33-4 by virtue of a 2-0, 2-0 default by third-seeded Charlotte Meyer of Elkhorn, who finished fourth in her senior campaign with a 26-3 record. A three-time qualifier, Gentile advanced to the third round last season and to the second round in 2024. 

Meyer advanced to the third round in singles play in 2023 and then switched to doubles last season to place sixth with her partner.

In Division 1 doubles play, the fourth-seeded tandem of senior Lillianna Graf and junior Maria Cristescu of De Pere won the title to improve their record to 31-1. They defeated the third-seeded duo of senior Isabella Heidenberger and junior Iris Liu of Arrowhead 4-6, 6-4, 10-7 in the championship match. Both Cristescu and Graf have made two previous appearances at State. Cristescu placed third with a different partner last season after a fourth-place finish in 2024, and Graf qualified in singles play last year after advancing to the second round in 2024. 

Heidenberger and Liu finished the season with a 21-4 record. They also had previous State experience. Heidenberger finished runner-up last year with a different partner after earning the championship in 2024 and advancing to the second round in singles play in 2023. Liu advanced to the second round in the singles bracket last year.

The top-seeded team of junior Sydney Michalkiewicz and senior Rebekah Thomas of Neenah placed third with a 5-7, 7-6(7), 10-6 win over the second-seeded duo of senior Zoja Selak and junior Sienna Bonfilio of Brookfield East in the third-place match. 

Michalkiewicz and Thomas placed fifth last year, and Michalkiewicz also earned a third-place medal with a different partner in 2024. 

A four-time State qualifier, Selak advanced to the quarterfinals last year and to the third round in both 2023 and 2024 with different partners, and Bonfilio advanced to the second round with a different partner the past two seasons.

Michalkiewicz and Thomas enter next week’s State Team Tournament with a 34-3 record, and Selak and Bonfilio will begin play in the team tournament with a 20-4 record. 

In Division 2, top-seeded Kylie Matz, a senior from Brookfield Academy, returned to championship form to win the singles title with a 27-1 record following a 6-3, 6-2 triumph over second-seeded Sasha Quandt, a senior from Lourdes Academy. Matz also won the singles title in 2024.

Quandt, a four-time qualifier, finished runner-up for the second year in a row after placing fourth in 2024 and advancing to the quarterfinals in 2023. 

Fourth-seeded Carla Villarrubia, a senior from Lodi, finished third following a 6-2, 7-5 win over seventh-seeded Abigail Barker, a junior from Edgewood. Villarrubia ran her season record to 22-1 after placing fourth at State in 2025. Barker, who qualified last season, possesses a 19-10 record heading into next week’s team tournament. 

In Division 2 doubles action, juniors Ava Miller and Parker Van Dusen of Kenosha St. Joseph Catholic improved on their runner-up finish last season to win the championship this year with an unblemished 28-0 record. The top-seeded tandem defeated the second-seeded sister team of juniors Hope and Grace Saller of St. Thomas More 6-3, 6-3 in the title tilt. Miller and Van Dusen also have a fourth-place finish in 2024. The Sallers completed their season with a 25-3 record and improved on last year’s third-place finish, which came on the heels of advancing to the third round in 2024.

Senior Susanna Hundt and junior Maeve Tuttle of Chesterton Academy, the fourth seed, defeated sophomores Evie McWey and Lizzie Ullman of Catholic Memorial, the third seed, by scores of 6-3, 6-2 in the third-place match. Hundt and Tuttle completed their season with a 12-4 record. Hundt switched to doubles this year after winning the singles championship last year. The four-year qualifier also placed third in singles play in 2024 and sixth in 2023. McWey and Ullman finished fourth with a 9-9 record after qualifying for the first time last year.

The State Girls Team Tennis Tournament will be held Friday and Saturday, Oct. 23-24 at the Nielsen Tennis Stadium.