UW-Whitewater posted wins in five of six flights in capturing the title of the Warhawk Invitational Saturday on the Wangerin Courts.

Whitewater totaled 50 points, followed by UW-La Crosse 34, UW-Oshkosh 19, Grinnell College 17.5,  UW-Eau Claire 15.5,Carthage College 11.5, Illinois Wesleyan University 8.5, and Edgewood College 3..

Bracket for Warhawk Invitational

Amy Siemon (Crystal Lake, IL/Crystal Lake South) won her first two matches at number one singles in straight sets, losing just four games, total, in the four sets.  She came from behind in the championship match to defeat Katie McDonald of UW-L 3-6, 6-1, 10-3.

Alexandra Bayliss (Sheboygan/North) also breezed through two matches, giving up only three games in four sets, before topping Cassie Devore of Illinois Wesleyan 6-4, 6-1 in the flight two singles championship.

Megan Kasten (Verona/Verona) made it a clean sweep for Whitewater in singles playing, capturing flight three.  Not to be outdone by Siemon or Bayliss, Kasten won three straight matches (six sets) and lost just two games in the tournament.  Kasten defeated Andrea Vivian of La Crosse 6-1, 6-0 in her championship match.

The Warhawks also won two of the three doubles flights.  Abby Martin (Johnsburg, IL/Johnsburg) and Lauren Aguilar (Gurnee, IL/Carmel Catholic ) teamed up to go 3-0 at two doubles, winning all three matches in straight sets, including a 6-3, 6-3 over Catherine Fitch and Hanna Feldman of Grinnell in the finale.  Marta Kinsman (Jefferson/Jefferson) and Abby Day (Hartford/Hartford) also went 3-0 at three doubles.  They fought back to win their championship match over Abby Tresseder and Megan Fallon of La Crosse 4-6, 7-5, 10-5.

The number one doubles team of Annie Smith (Algonquin, IL/H.D. Jacobs) and Sydney Divelbiss (Middleton/Middleton) placed third, going 2-1, which means that UW-Whitewater lost one match in the entire tournament.

"To open the season so strong after losing five starters from last year's team says a lot about the kind of hard work everyone did getting ready for the season and the weekend," UW-W tennis coordinator Frank Barnes said.   

UW-Whitewater has earned three consecutive berths in the National Collegiate Athletic Association Division III championship tournament.  

UW-W will play Wheaton College and Elmhurst College in Naperville, Illinois Saturday, September 11.  The next home match for the Warhawks will be September 18, when Whitewater will face Lawrence University at 9:30 and UW-La Crosse at 12:30 on the Wangerin Courts.  There is no spectator charge.

For additional information:  Frank Barnes, UW-W tennis coordinator