The University of Wisconsin-Whitewater women's tennis team was the lone Division III program competing in the Warhawk Fall Invitational that concluded Saturday at the beautiful Outdoor Tennis Complex in Whitewater. Competing teams including NCAA Division I institutions Northern Illinois and UW-Milwaukee, NCAA Division II's Lewis University, and a pair of NAIA schools including Cardinal Stritch and St. Francis. The invite wrapped up Saturday with singles play.
Cassie Lee (Downers Grove, Ill./Timothy Christian) and
Sarah Ferguson (Oak Creek, Wis./Oak Creek) led the Warhawks in singles finishing second in their respective draws. Lee advanced to the championship at No. 2 singles with a 6-4, 6-2 win over Lewis' Sage Hills before falling in the final to Anika Tylek of UWM 2-6, 6-2, 10-3. Ferguson was the runner-up at No. 6 singles after going 1-1 Saturday with a 6-2, 6-1 loss in the final to CSU's Ana Alvarez.
At No. 1 singles,
Gianna Nikoleit (Elmhurst, Ill./York Community) dropped her first match of the day to the eventual champion from Lewis. She took third after a NIU athlete withdrew.
Autumn Bruno (Milwaukee, Wis./Greenfield Whitnall) also competed in the draw going 1-1 Saturday to finish seventh.
Kasey Schlicht (Pewaukee, Wis./Pewaukee) joined Lee at No. 2 singles. She registered a pair of wins including a 6-2, 6-1 victory over Lieke Coenen in the consolation final.
Bethany Marshall (Cary, Ill./Cary-Grove) advanced to the consolation final with a 6-4, 6-1 win over Denisse Lizano of SFU but finished 1-1 on the day.
Kellie Ha (Palatine, Ill./Fremd) was 0-2 Saturday in the No. 3 singles draw.
At No. 4 singles,
Molly Asfeld (Waukesha, Wis./West) finished fourth after falling to Milwaukee's Gieorgia Cavestro 6-2, 6-2 in the third place match.
Faith Nosek (Oconomowoc, Wis./BVA) was 2-0 in the draw Saturday to win the consolation final with a defeat of SFU's Nicole Christiansen 6-4, 0-6, 10-4.
The No. 5 singles draw saw teammates
Courtney Day (Oshkosh, Wis./North) and
Gracie Ha (Palatine, Ill./Fremd) meeting each other in the third place match to secure a third for UW-Whitewater. Both lost closely contested semifinal matches to open the day with Ha falling 6-3, 1-6, 10-7 and Day 7-6(3), 6-3.
Mackenzie Lindow also competed in the No. 6 singles bracket going 1-1 Saturday and finishing third when a CSU athlete withdrew.
Friday Recap
The University of Wisconsin-Whitewater women's tennis team is the lone Division III program competing in the Warhawk Fall Invitational. Competing teams including NCAA Division I institutions Northern Illinois and UW-Milwaukee, NCAA Division II's Lewis University, and a pair of NAIA schools including Cardinal Stritch and St. Francis. The first day of the invitational featured complete doubles action and the start of play in the singles draws.
UW-Whitewater's
Gianna Nikoleit (Elmhurst, Ill./York Community) and
Courtney Day (Oshkosh, Wis./North) went 2-1 in the No. 2 doubles draw to capture third Friday. The pair opened with a 7-5 win over a duo from SFU before falling to a pair from UWM 6-2. Nikoleit and Day defeated Kissmel Cedano and Ana Alverez of CSU 6-0 in the third place match.
Bethany Marshall (Cary, Ill./Cary-Grove) and
Gracie Ha (Palatine, Ill./Fremd) also competed in the draw bouncing back from a first match loss to win the next two and claim the consolation title. The duo topped a pair of teams from SFU including Nicole Christiansen and Denisse Lizano 7-6 (6) in an exciting consolation final.
At No. 1 doubles,
Autumn Bruno (Milwaukee, Wis./Greenfield Whitnall) and
Cassie Lee (Downers Grove, Ill./Timothy Christian) finished fourth. The twosome opened with a 6-1 win before falling to a UWM squad 6-0 in the semifinal and an NIU combination 6-1 in the third place match.
Kasey Schlicht (Pewaukee, Wis./Pewaukee) and Kellie went 1-2 on the day defeating Lieke Coenen and Gabreilla Noa of SFU 6-3 for seventh.
MacKenzie Lindow (East Troy, Wis./East Troy) and
Molly Asfeld (Waukesha, Wis./West) were fourth at No. 3 doubles after a 1-2 morning on the courts. After opening with a win, the pair fell to Lewis and then a CSU duo in the third place match 6-3.
Faith Nosek (Oconomowoc, Wis./BVA) and
Sarah Ferguson (Oak Creek, Wis./Oak Creek) bounced back from a first match loss to an NIU squad that went on to win the No. 3 doubles draw, to secure a pair of victories including a 6-2 win in the consolation final.
In the first rounds of singles action Friday, a number of Warhawks advanced to the semifinals. Nikoleit defeated UWM's Nadiia Konieva 6-4, 6-2 to advance in the No. 1 singles draw. Bruno dropped her first match in the draw to Angelica Ross of NIU 6-4, 6-0. Lee topped SFU's Coenen 6-4, 6-3 while Schlicht fell in her first match at No. 2 singles to McKenna Chudy of NIU 6-2, 6-3.
At No. 3 singles,
Kellie Ha (Palatine, Ill./Fremd) fell to Gabriela Noa of SFU 6-1, 7-5 and
Bethany Marshall (Cary, Ill./Cary-Grove) was defeated in a tough battle by UWM's Alice Shields 7-6(11), 6-0.
Molly Asfeld (Waukesha, Wis./West) picked up a first round win in the No. 4 draw with a 6-3, 6-2 win over SFU's Christiansen. Nosek is 0-1 in the draw with a 4-6, 6-1, 10-1 loss to Milwaukee's Gieorgia Cavestro.
Day will open Saturday in the semifinals of the No. 5 singles draw after defeating Viyaleta Hordzich of SFU 6-2, 6-1.
Gracie Ha (Palatine, Ill./Fremd) also advanced to the semis in the other half of the bracket with a 6-1, 6-0 victory of SFU's Heather Heitnz. Two Warhawks also advanced at No. 6 singles with Ferguson picking up a 6-2, 6-1 win over Grace Monahan of SFU and Lindow topping SFU's Julia Fleige 6-3, 6-2.
Megan Griswold (Oconomowoc, Wis./Oconomowoc) is also competing for UW-Whitewater in a round robin No. 7 singles draw. She picked up a first round win over Amanda Dutkiewicz of SFU.
