Related Links:
D3football.com Top 25 – Week 11
AFCA Division III Coaches' Poll – Nov. 15, 2021
2021-22 D3hoops.com Women's Top 25 – Week 2
WBCA NCAA Division III Top 25 Coaches Poll – Dec. 7
2021-22 NTCA December Poll
2021-22 NTCA Preseason Division II/III Poll
D3wrestle.com Rankings #4 – Dec. 9
NWCA Division III Coaches Rankings – Regular Season Poll #2 - Dec. 10
ITA Collegiate Tennis Division III Men's Regional and National Rankings – Dec. 9
ITA Collegiate Tennis Division III Women's Regional and National Rankings – Dec. 9
 
Four University of Wisconsin-Whitewater teams and individuals from the Warhawk men's and women's tennis teams are represented in national rankings this week. This week's edition of Warhawks in the Rankings is presented by Whitewater Family Dentistry.
 
Football
 
UW-Whitewater is third in the latest D3football.com Top 25 and also held at No. 3 in the most recent American Football Coaches Association Division III Coaches' Poll. UW-W received one first-place vote from AFCA voters. Both polls were most recently released following the conclusion of the regular season.
 
The Warhawks (13-0 overall)) defeated Central (Iowa) 51-21 last Saturday in the quarterfinal round of the NCAA Playoffs at Perkins Stadium. UW-W scored 24 unanswered points in the second half and held the Dutch to minus-19 yards rushing.
 
UW-Whitewater hosts No. 2 Mary Hardin-Baylor (Texas) this Saturday in a national semifinal. Kickoff at Perkins Stadium is slated for 2:30 p.m. The game will air exclusively on ESPN+ (subscription required).
 
Bowling
 
The Warhawks moved up to No. 20 in the National Tenpin Coaches Association December Poll, the most recent rankings released for the 2021-22 season. UW-W was ranked fourth in the NTCA's Division II/III Preseason Poll.
 
UW-Whitewater finished second at the Warhawk Classic at Rock River Lanes in Fort Atkinson on Nov. 20-21. UW-W finished with a 7-3 record at the tournament, and Sam Knab (Antioch, Ill./Antioch) and Caitlin Mertins (Racine, Wis./Park) garnered All-Tournament Team accolades following the conclusion of play. The team recently competed in the United States Bowling Congress-sanctioned Warhawk Open, where it placed third in qualifying.
 
The Warhawks play their next NCAA-sanctioned tournament Jan. 21-23 at the Northeast Classic in Deptford, N.J.
 
Women's Basketball
 
UW-Whitewater remained at No. 3 in the Women's Basketball Coaches Association NCAA Division III Top 25 Coaches Poll and moved up four spots to eighth in the D3hoops.com Top 25.
 
UW-W (8-0 overall, 2-0 WIAC) posted a pair of WIAC victories last week, including a 58-53 triumph at UW-Stout last Saturday. Maggie Trautsch (Sun Prairie, Wis./DeForest) finished with 11 points to lead the Warhawks, who forced 23 turnovers and knocked down 8-of-8 from the free-throw line over the final minute-plus of the contest to preserve the win.
 
UW-Whitewater heads to Daytona Beach, Fla., Dec. 19-20 for games against Alfred (N.Y.) and Centre (Ky.).
 
Wrestling
 
UW-Whitewater is tied for 18th in the latest National Wrestling Coaches Association Division III Coaches Ranking. Jake Burford (Crown Point, Ind./Crown Point) and Jaritt Shinhoster (Hoffman Estates, Ill./Barrington) are each ranked nationally by the NWCA, and Shinhoster and Cadin Koeppel (Cary, Ill./Cary-Grove) appear in D3wrestle.com's listing.
 
Shinhoster is ranked fourth at 184 pounds by boty D3wrestle.com and the NWCA. Burford, a 149-pounder, is fifth in the weight class in the NWCA's rankings, while Koeppel, a heavyweight, is ranked ninth by D3wrestle.com at 285 pounds.
 
Burford and 174-pounder Ryan Vedner (Arlington Heights, Ill./Prospect) are listed in the "Contender" category in the D3wrestle.com rankings. Wrestlers listed in the "Honorable Mention" section include Alex Barbarise (Antioch, Ill./Antioch Community) at 125 pounds, Ethan Pogorzelski (Menomonee Falls, Wis./Menomonee Falls) at 133, Tommy Hoy (Wauconda, Ill./Carmel Catholic) at 165 and Chad Richards (Loves Park, Ill./Harlem) at 197.
 
The Warhawks fell 25-14 at No. 16 UW-Eau Claire on Wednesday. Shinhoster and Dakarai Clay (Madison, Wis./Madison East) claimed major decisions at 184 and 141 pounds, respectively. Vedner and Richards picked up decisions at 174 and 197, respectively.
 
UW-Whitewater hosts No. 13 UW-Oshkosh Friday at 7 p.m. at Kachel Gymnasium before heading to North Central (Ill.) for a tournament on Saturday.
 
Men's Tennis
 
John Zakowski (Green Bay, Wis./Southwest) and Cole Lindwall (Cottage Grove, Wis./Monona Grove) end the calendar year ranked among the top 20 in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association Collegiate Tennis Division III Men's National Rankings after impressive performances at the ITA Midwest Regional in the fall.
 
Zakowski, the regional champion and newly minted All-American, is 13th, while Lindwall, the regional runner-up, is 16th. Both represented UW-Whitewater at the ITA Oracle Cup in October.
 
Zakowski and Alex Gray (Edwardsville, Ill./Edwardsville) are 17th in the national doubles rankings. The pair won the Midwest Regional title and competed in the doubles draw at the ITA Oracle Cup.
 
The Warhawks begin the spring season Feb. 5 with duals against Cardinal Stritch and Illinois Tech at Lake Geneva Tennis in Lake Geneva.
 
Women's Tennis
 
Autumn Bruno (Milwaukee, Wis./Greenfield Whitnall), a ITA Midwest Regional semifinalist in the women's singles draw, will begin the spring season as the No. 40 ranked player in Division III.
 
Bruno and Cassie Lee (Downers Grove, Ill./Timothy Christian) won the regional's doubles draw and are ranked 16th in the nation by the ITA.
 
UW-Whitewater (10-0), which earned its 15th straight WIAC championship in the fall, will start the spring season March 4 with a dual at Division I Northern Illinois.