Titans To Play Warhawks In WIAC Team Championship Opener
Fourth-seeded UW-Oshkosh plays top-seeded UW-Whitewater in the semifinal round of the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) Women's Tennis Team Championship (presented by Culver's) on Saturday (April 28) in Whitewater.
Competition in the four-team event begins at 12 p.m. with semifinal matches between UW-Oshkosh (8-7) and UW-Whitewater (17-6) and second-seeded UW-Eau Claire (18-1) and third-seeded UW-La Crosse (17-3). The first- and third-place matches are scheduled for 3 p.m. All four matches will be held at UW-Whitewater's Wangerin Tennis Courts and end once a winner has been determined.
The winner of the WIAC Team Championship earns the league's automatic bid to the 49-team NCAA Division III Championship that begins play May 10. Williams College (Mass.) is the defending national champion.
UW-Whitewater earned the right to host Saturday's WIAC Team Championship by winning its 11th straight regular-season league title last fall. The Warhawks have hosted and won each of the previous 10 WIAC Team Championships held.
UW-Oshkosh, which placed fourth in last fall's WIAC standings, is winless against UW-Eau Claire, UW-La Crosse and UW-Whitewater this season. The Titans lost a 7-2 home decision to UW-Eau Claire on Sept. 1 and suffered 9-0 road defeats to UW-Whitewater on Oct. 3 and UW-La Crosse on Oct. 12.
UW-Oshkosh's probable singles lineup against UW-Whitewater on Saturday is Bailey Sagen (7-15 season record, 32-58 career record) in the first flight, Alyssa Leffler (8-13, 21-26) in the second, Hannah Peters (6-11 13-30) in the third, Samantha Koppa (12-9, 27-18) in the fourth, Lesley Kutnink (10-14, 14-19) in the fifth and Kelley Hodyl (11-5, 11-5) in the sixth.
The Titans' tentative doubles lineup features Peters and Sagen (9-10 season record, 19-27 career record) in the first flight, Koppa and Leffler (7-8, 22-22) in the second and Kutnink and Hodyl (5-4, 5-4) in the third.