MADISON, Wis. (Blugolds.com) – The UW-Eau Claire women's tennis team scored 16 points, earning a third-place finish at the WIAC Championship, hosted by UW-River Falls at the Nielsen Tennis Stadium.
The final WIAC team standings are determined by using a combination of the regular-season dual meet standings and the WIAC Championship results. The finish in the regular-season standings accounts for one-third of the criteria, while the conference championship accounts for the remaining two-thirds.
Kendra Berry (Duluth, MN) won the No. 4 singles championship, defeating Julie Martin (UW-Whitewater) 7-6 (6), 6-2. She was victorious over Koppa (UW-Oshkosh) 6-3, 6-1 in the second round to advance to the finals. Berry finished third at No. 5 singles last season at the WIAC Championships.
The three seed in the No. 1 singles draw Natalie Wijesinghe (Apple Valley, MN) defeated Thisius (UW-Stout)6-2, 6-1 in her first round match. Wijesinghe dropped her second round match to Talyansky (UW-Whitewater), but finished her day with a 6-3, 6-1 win in the third place match. The sophomore finished second in the No.2 singles match last season.
Senior Sarah Henderson (Prior Lake, MN) was dominant in her first round match yesterday, winning 6-1, 6-0 over Kreibich (UW-Stout). She lost to No.2 singles champion McGuire (UW-Whitewater) in the second round, but came back with a 6-1, 6-2 victory over Leffler (UW-Oshkosh) in the third place match. Henderson was also named to the All-Sportsmanship Team.
Molly Stewart (Amery, WI) entered the tournament as the two seed at No. 3 singles. With a 6-0, 6-0 win over Haglund (UW-River Falls) in the first round, and a 6-3, 6-0 win over Spahn (UW-La Crosse) in the second round she advanced to the championship match. Stewart lost to the number one seed Jillian Wallace (UW-Whitewater) 6-3, 6-3 in the final match.
Emily Cooper (White Bear, Minn.) continues to have an outstanding first season for the Blugolds with a first round win in the No. 5 singles tournament. Cooper, the two seed, defeated Helland (UW-River Falls) 6-1, 6-3 in the first round, and fell to Bublitz (UW-La Crosse) 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 in the second round. Cooper then defeated Kutnink (UW-Oshkosh) for a third place finish.
Hannah Zevenbergen (Baldwin, WI/ Baldwin-Woodville) finished in third place in the No. 6 singles tournament. She earned a first round win over Hodyl (UW-Oshkosh), fell to the two seed in the second round and defeated Kleist (UW-Stout) in the third place match 6-1, 6-0.
All three Blugold teams finished in 3rd place in the doubles tournament. In the No. 1 doubles draw, Henderson/Wijesinghe were victorious in the four/five matchup over Thisius/Kreibich (UW-Stout) in the first round. The pair were defeated by the number one seed in the second round 9-8 (4). Henderson/Wijesinghe earned a third place finish with a 8-1 victory over Sagen/Peters (UW-Oshkosh). Stewart/Cooper entered the No.2 doubles tournament as the three seed, the duo defeated Deering/Andress (UW-River Falls) 8-3 in the first round. Stewart/Cooper dropped their second round match to the two seed from UW-Whitewater, and won 8-3 over Leffler/Koppa (UW-Oshkosh) in the third place match. Molly Sanvik (Winona, Minn.) and doubles partner Zevenbergen were dominate in their first round match as the two seed at No. 3 doubles. The pair defeated the seven seed from UW-River Falls 8-0 in the first round, they fell in the second round to Andersen/Bonine (UW-La Crosse). Sanvik and Zevenbergen were victorious over Kelch/Kleist (UW-Stout) in the third place match.
The top four teams from todays WIAC Championship will advance to a team tournament that will determine the conference's automatic qualifier to the NCAA Division III championship. The team tournament will be held at the site of the overall conference champion prior to the NCAA championship next spring.