May 15 ... UW-Whitewater's 2010-11 season came to an end Sunday with a 5-1 loss to host Washington University in the Saint Louis Regional title match of the NCAA Division III Men's Tennis Championship Tournament.   The regional final (sweet sixteen) equals the Warhawks' best finish ever. UW-Whitewater Championship Central website

Washington University 5, UW-Whitewater 1
singles
1.  Isaac Stein, WU, defeated Andrew Bayliss (Sheboygan/North), WW, 6-0, 6-1
2.  Max Woods, WU, and Andy McGlashen (Southampton, England/), WW, 7-6 (7-3), 1-1, unfinished
3.  Adam Putterman, WU, and Mitch Osborne (Crystal Lake, IL/Central), WW, 6-3,, 2-5, unfinished
4.  Gary Parizher, WU, and Byron Balkin (Madison/Memorial), WW, 5-7, unfinished
5.  Kareem Farah, WU, defeated Ethan Niquet (Waukesha/Marquette), WW, 6-3, 6-0
6.  Bryan Haywood, WU, defeated Erik Scanlan (Libertyville, IL/Libertyville), WW, 6-1, 6-2
doubles
1.  Stein/Woods, WU, defeated Balkin/Osborne, WW, 8-5
2.  McGlashen/Bayliss, WW, defeated Cameron Chiang/Farah, WU, 9-8 (8-6)
3.  Parizher/Putterman, WU, defeated Scanlan/Charlie Miller (Marengo, IL/MCHS), WW, 8-6

Washington had a 2-1 lead after doubles,

Isaac Stein of Washington, ranked second in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association Division III Central Region, made it 3-1 with a straight set victory at one singles.  Bryan Haywood won for the Bears at six to make it 4-1, and Farah's win at five singles clinched the victory.  NCAA tournament matches are played to a decision, first team to five flight wins, not the conclusion of all flights.  Washington led in two of the three matches that did not finish.

UW-W ends the season 28-6, surpassing the previous record of 25 dual meet wins in a season, set in 2007.  Making their fifth consecutive NCAA III tournament appearance, the regional final (third round) marked the farthest advance for the Warhawks, a level they also reached in 2007.

Washington, 18-5 and ranked fifth in the ITA's national Division III poll, advances to the NCAA III final series in Claremont, California May 24-26.  The Bears join seven other regional winners for the final series.

UW-W opened play in the tournament with a 5-1 win over Westminster College (MO) Friday, and followed with a second round 5-2 win over Whitman College Saturday. 

May 14 ... UW-Whitewater defeated Whitman College 5-2 Saturday in the second round of the National Collegiate Athletic Association Division III Men's Tennis Championship Tournament at the Saint Louis Regional.  The win puts the Warhawks, 28-5 and making their fourth consecutive appearance in the national tourney, in their first regional final, where UW-W will face host Washington University at noon Sunday.

UW-Whitewater 5, Whitman College 2
singles
1.  Andrew Bayliss (Sheboygan/North), WW, defeated Conor Holton-Burke, WC, 6-3, 6-2
2.  Andy McGlashen (Southampton, England/), WW, and Andrew La Cava, WC, 3-6, 6-2, 1-0 unfinished
3.  Mitch Osborne (Crystal Lake, IL/Central), WW, and Etienne Moshevich, WC, 1-6, 4-5 unfinished
4.  Byron Balkin (Madison/Memorial), WW, defeated Jeff Tolman, WC, 6-4, 6-2
5.  Ethan Niquet (Waukesha/Marquette), WW, defeated Sam Sadeghi, WC, 6-3, 6-2
6.  Adriel Borshansky, WC, defeated Erik Scanlan (Libertyville, IL/Libertyville), WW, 6-1, 6-4
doubles
1.  Balkin/Osborne, WW, defeated Holton-Burke/La Cava, WC, 8-3
2.  Tolman/Moshevich, WC, defeated Niquet/Bayliss, WW, 8-4
3.  Scanlan/Charlie Miller (Marengo, IL/MCHS), WW, defeated Quin Miller/Matt Tesmond, WC, 8-6

Whitman, 17-7, came in to the match ranked twenty-first in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association Division III poll.  In the ITA's regional rankings, Whitman was number seven in the West Region and Whitewater ninth in the Central Region.  Whitman had players ranked regionally in five flights, Whitewater just one, but in the three matches that were played to completion UW-W won twice.  Those wins came at the top flights, one singles and one doubles.

With NCAA tournament matches only played to a decision, meaning five matches, the order that victories occur is important.  UW-W took a 2-1 lead after doubles play and early indications were that singles might split 3-3, but changes in momentum in several matches made it seem like singles could swing as much as 4-2 for either team.  Bayliss was the first to add a point with his quick win in straight sets at one singles to make it 3-1 Whitewater, and Balkin boosted the lead to 4-1.  Whitman took six singles to make it 4-2, but Niquet sealed the victory with his win at five singles.

UW-W defeated Westminster College (MO) 5-1 Friday in the first round.  Washington, ranked fifth in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association Division III poll, had a first round bye and topped Luther College 5-0 in Saturday's second round. 

May 13... UW-Whitewater (27-5) defeated Westminster College (MO) 5-1 in the first round of the NCAA Division III Championship Friday in St. Louis, Missouri (host site).  The Warhawks advance to round two and will take on Whitman College (16-6) on Saturday at 2:00 pm. UW-W's tournament central.

Photo gallery (photos by Vincent Novicki)

The match started with doubles play, where the regionally ranked duo of Byron Balkin (Madison/Memorial) and Mitch Osborne (Crystal Lake, IL/Central) dropped just their third match of the season at number one doubles (25-3), but their doubles teammates at the two and three flights won their matches to put UW-W up 2-1 heading into singles play.

UW-W finished off the Blue Jays winning the first three singles matches.  The Warhawks won at the three, five and six spots.  The other flights did not finish because the match ends once a winner has been decided.

Ethan Niquet (Waukesha/Marquette) won his twenty-seventh singles match of the season (27-6), tying him for the team lead in wins with Andrew Bayliss (Sheboygan/North) (27-8).

Singles
#1 - Andrew Bayliss (Sheboygan/North) (UW-W) vs. Tony Stephenson (MC) 6-1, 5-0, unfinished
#2 - Andy McGlashen (Southampton, England/) (UW-W) vs. Chris Claypool (MC) 6-4, 4-1, unfinished
#3 - Mitch Osborne (Crystal Lake, IL/Central) (UW-W) def. Anthony Becker (MC) 6-1, 6-3
#4 - Byron Balkin (Madison/Memorial) (UW-W) vs. Alec Belden (MC) 6-7, unfinished
#5 - Ethan Niquet (Waukesha/Marquette) (UW-W) def. Kyle Tolbert (MC) 6-2, 6-0
#6 - Erik Scanlan (Libertyville, IL/Libertyville) (UW-W) def. David Berry (MC) 6-0, 6-1

Doubles
#1 - Claypool/Becker (MC) def. Balkin/Osborne (UW-W) 9-7
#2 - Niquet/Bayliss (UW-W) def. Stephenson/Belden (MC) 8-5
#3 - Scanlan/Charlie Miller (Marengo, IL/MCHS) (UW-W) def. Tolbert/Berry (MC) 8-4

Whitman is ranked seventh in the West Region and UW-W is ranked ninth in the Central Region.  Whitman has three regionally ranked singles players and two regionally ranked doubles teams.  The Warhawks' combination of Balkin and Osborne, who have received a bid to play in the NCAA III individual (singles and doubles) championship May 24-26 in Claremont, California, represent UW-W in the regional rankings.

May 11...The University of Wisconsin-Whitewater men's tennis team has earned a berth in the 2011 NCAA Division III Championship Tournament.  The Warhawks, 26-5, will face Westminster College (MO), 11-6, Friday (time TBA) in the first round of the regional hosted by Washington University in Saint Louis.   You can follow the Warhawks in the tournament on UW-W's Tournament Central.

Animoto

UW-Whitewater is making its fifth consecutive appearance in the NCAA III tournament.  The Warhawks advanced to the regional final (sweet sixteen) in 200-7, earned a first round bye in 2008 and lost to Texas-Tyler 5-1 in round two.  In 2009 UW-W beat UW-Eau Claire 5-0 in round one, then lost to Gustavus Adolphus College 5-0 in the second round.  The Warhawks again beat Eau Claire in round one last year, 5-2, and fell to Kenyon College 5-0 in round two.

The Saint Louis Regional also matches Luther College, 19-7, and Earlham College, 17-3, in the first round.  The Whitewater-Westminster winner will face Whitman College, 16-6, who received a first round bye.  The Luther-Earlham winner will take on host Washington University, 15-5, which also earned a first round bye.  Washington University is ranked sixth in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association Division III poll and Whitman is ranked twenty-first.

Whitewater has never faced Westminster in tennis, although the teams did meet in a NCAA baseball regional in Bloomington, Illinois in 2001.  Westminster is making its fifth straight NCAA III men's tennis appearance, and will be looking for its first victory.   The Blue Jays have won six straight Saint Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference titles, and eleven of the last twelve league championships.

Whitewater's doubles teams have consistently provided points.  Andrew Bayliss (Sheboygan/North) and Mitch Osborne (Crystal Lake, IL/Central) have combined for an 11-2 mark, Osborne and Byron Balkin (Madison/Memorial) are 25-2, Bayliss and Ethan Niquet (Waukesha/Marquette) are 22-3, and Charlie Miller (Marengo, IL/MCHS) and Erik Scanlan (Libertyville, IL/Libertyville) are 16-4.  Bayliss, 27-8, leads the team in singles wins, with Niquet, 26-6, Balkin, 25-7, and Will Krieger (Hartland/Arrowhead), 20-7, also reaching the twenty win mark. 

The winner of the Saint Louis Regional will join seven other regional winners for the final championship bracket May 24-26 in Claremont, California.

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