Preview of the 2024 WIAA State Girls Team Tennis Tournament

THE TOURNAMENT: The 31st annual Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association girls tennis tournament will be held Friday and Saturday, April 25-26. October, instead. The meet will take place at Nielsen Tennis Stadium on the University of Wisconsin campus in Madison, Wisconsin. The action begins on Friday at 4:00 p.m. and continues on Saturday at 9:00 a.m

GET TICKETS: The WIAA uses GoFan Ticketing for all digital and cashless tickets. Admission is $9 plus online fees for adults and students. All tickets must be redeemed on a mobile device. To purchase tickets, visit the WIAA website and look for the Tickets tab at the top of the homepage or access tickets directly:

TEAM TOURNAMENT SEEDINGS: Seeding for the State Girls Team Tournament in both divisions began in 2017. In Division 1, the eight coaches of the qualifying teams vote on the seeding of all eight teams. In Division 2, the four qualifying team coaches vote to place all four teams in the group.

THE DIVISION 1 GAMES:
Division 1 – Quarterfinals (4:00 p.m., October 25)
Game 1: #1 Arrowhead (25-1) vs. #8 Monona Grove (17-4)
Game 2: #4 Notre Dame (22-3) vs. #5 Neenah (18-3)
Game 3: #3 Middleton (15-6) vs. #6 Eau Claire Memorial (17-6)
Game 4: #2 Brookfield East (23-1) vs. #7 Westosha Central (25-0)

Division 1 – Semifinals (9 a.m., Oct. 26)
Match-5: Winner of Match 1 vs. Winner of Match 2
Match-6: Winner of Match 3 vs. Winner of Match 4

Division 1 – Championship (2:00 p.m., Oct. 26)*
Match-7: Winner of Match 5 vs. Winner of Match 6

DIVISION 2 GAMES:
Division 2 – Semifinals (9 a.m., Oct. 26)
Game 1: #1 Brookfield Academy (17-5) vs. #4 Newman Catholic (12-3)
Game 2: No. 2 Aquinas (24-3) vs. No. 3 Kohler (13-10)

Division 2 – Championship (Oct 26)*
Match-3: Winner of Match 1 vs. Winner of Match 2

*Time to be announced based on first available space

BY THE NUMBERS: This fall, 201 teams competed in the girls tennis tournament series, including 134 in Division 1 and 67 in Division 2. The state tournament field is determined by team points recorded at the subdivision and section levels.

LAST YEAR: Second-seeded Arrowhead won the Division 1 title for the second straight year after defeating top-seeded Middleton 5-2 in the championship game. The Warhawks won the Nos. 2 and 3 singles matches and won the doubles matches to earn the victory. In Division 2, top-seeded University School of Milwaukee captured its second straight title with a 6-1 victory over third-seeded Xavier in the championship game. The Wildcats recorded victories on the first three singles spots and all doubles flights to close out the margin of victory.

THE HISTORY OF THE CHAMPIONSHIPS: Nicolet has won six titles since the introduction of the team championship doubles format in 1994 and has won a membership-leading 17 titles. The University School of Milwaukee has won 11 titles, while Brookfield Central and Homestead have won nine titles. Whitefish Bay owns eight team championships.

ABOUT THE FIELD DIVISION 1: Two-time defending champion Arrowhead returns to the State Team Tournament as the No. 1 seed. The Warhawks qualify for the fifth time overall and third consecutive year. In addition to their back-to-back titles, the Warhawks’ experience at State resulted in a championship in 2014. Second-seeded Brookfield East returns to state for the ninth time overall and first since 2021. The Spartans’ most notable appearance at the state tournament was runner-up in 2015. Middleton, the runner-up the last two seasons, is the No. 3 seed. The Cardinals are making their 12th appearance overall and their fifth in a row. In addition to their recent runner-up finishes, they won the Division 1 championship in 2013 and the alternate season championship in 2020/21, held in the spring to compensate for the COVID-19 pandemic. Notre Dame is number 4 in the table. The Tritons are making their second appearance in the last three seasons and their 14th overall. They have won five Division 2 championships. A five-year streak of appearances from 2007 to 2011 produced three consecutive titles from 2008 to 2010. Additionally, they made three consecutive appearances from 2001 to 2003, leading to championships in 2002 and 2003. The Tritons finished second in Division 2 in 2005 and 2011. They are looking to advance past the quarterfinals for the first time in four years. Fifth-seeded Neenah is making his 21st overall appearance at State and his third in the last four years. The Rockets won state titles in 2015 and 2021 and finished runner-up seven times, including 1983, 1986, 2000, 2014, 2016, 2017 and the 2020–21 alternate season. Eau Claire Memorial is seeded sixth. The Old Abes are making their second consecutive appearance and 23rd time overall, leading all member schools in the number of appearances. The Old Abes are seeking their first team tournament title. They have placed second five times, including 1998, 1999, 2001, 2004 and 2013. Westosha Central, seeded No. 7, is making its first appearance in the State Team Tournament. Eighth-seeded Monona Grove is making its third state appearance and first since 2003. The Silver Eagles finished second in Division 2 in 2001 and fell in the Division 1 quarterfinals in 2003.

ABOUT THE FIELD DIVISION 2: Brookfield Academy was named the top seed in the category as the Blue Knights travel to the State Team Tournament for the first time ever. Second-seeded Aquinas is back in the team tournament for the second straight year and sixth time overall. The Blugolds placed second in their first-ever appearance in 2000 and have been knocked out of title contention in the semifinals in their last four appearances. Third-seeded Kohler is participating in the state team tournament for the fourth time and first since finishing second in 2019. The Blue Bombers also qualified in 2015 and 2016, when they were eliminated from title contention in the semifinals. Newman Catholic, the fourth seed, advances to the state semifinals for the second time. The Fighting Cardinals’ only other appearance came in 2013, which resulted in a loss in the semifinals.

LAST WEEK: Third-seeded Clare Schaefer of Whitefish Bay won the Division 1 singles crown with a 6-4, 6-2 victory over fourth-seeded McKenna Thorson of Verona after finishing sixth the past two seasons. In doubles, top-seeded duo Sarah Neubert and Isabella Heidenberger of Arrowhead won the Division 1 championship, defeating second-seeded Abby Frasher and Amelia Stuckslager of Divine Savior Holy Angels 6-3, 2-6, 12-10 in the final. Neubert improved to sixth place in 2023 with a different partner. In Division 2, top-seeded Kylie Matz of Brookfield Academy defeated third-seeded Kate Fortney of Aquinas with a 6-1, 6-1 win in the championship game. In Division 2 doubles, top-seeded duo Vivie Auth and Adel Schneider of St. Mary Catholic reigned supreme after defeating sixth-seeded Natalie Cooper and Lauren Loesl of Pacelli 6-0, 6-3 in the title match. Auth and Schneider ended their undefeated season at 31-0.

STATE MEET CLOTHING: During the tournaments, WIAA-licensed apparel will be available for the state girls’ singles and team tennis tournaments at Nielsen Tennis Stadium.

Follow the state meet on social media: Get updates on the State Girls Tennis Team Tournament on the WIAA State Tournament Twitter account @wiaawistate using the hashtag #wiaatennis. Also like us on Facebook and follow us on Instagram at wiaawi.