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The University of Wisconsin-Whitewater women's tennis team will play for the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference championship after posting a 5-0 victory Saturday over UW-Stevens Point in a semifinal of the conference tournament presented by Culver's.
 
The top-seeded Warhawks (11-5 overall) will face No. 3 seed UW-La Crosse in Sunday's final, which is set for 11 a.m. at Wangerin Courts.
 
UW-Whitewater's semifinal win, which was played to decision, extended the team's unbeaten streak against league opponents in dual matches to 109.
 
Molly Rueth (Wheaton, Ill./Glenbard West) and Courtney Day (Oshkosh, Wis./North) put the Warhawks on the board with an 8-0 shutout at No. 3 doubles. Paige Nierman (Hawthorn Woods, Ill./Stevenson) and Olivia Kraft (Bloomington, Ill./Normal Community) quickly followed with an 8-1 triumph at No. 2, and Sabrina Palavra (Skokie, Ill./Niles North) and Kasey Schlicht (Pewaukee, Wis./Pewaukee) made it a 3-0 team lead with an 8-4 win at No. 1.
 
Rueth posted a 6-0, 6-1 victory at No. 5 singles, and Jessica Minkov (Schiller Park, Ill./East Leyden) clinched the dual at the sixth singles spot with a 6-3, 6-2 triumph.
 
Schlicht, Nierman, Kraft and Palavra all took the first sets of their respective matches at Nos. 1-4 singles before they were halted.
 
Prior to Saturday's match, head coach Frank Barnes and the Warhawks recognized Nierman and Palavra, who will graduate and conclude their time with the program following the 2021 season. The two have been a part of three WIAC championships and two trips to the NCAA Division III Tournament during their time at UW-Whitewater.
 
The Warhawks will play Sunday for their 14th consecutive conference championship and the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.