UW-La Crosse Wins Second Straight Women's Tennis Championship
Madison, Wis.--University of Wisconsin-La Crosse won its second straight Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) women's tennis championship following conclusion of the two-day league tournament at Nielsen Tennis Stadium on Oct. 22.
The conference championship for the Eagles is also the third in the last four seasons and the 15th in school history. By winning the league crown, UW-La Crosse earned the conference's automatic bid into the NCAA Division III Tournament which will be conducted in May, 2007.
The 2006 WIAC women's tennis championship was determined by using a combination of the regular season dual meet standings and the conference tournament results. The finish in the regular season conference standings accounted for one-third of the criteria, while the WIAC Tournament accounted for the remaining two-thirds.
UW-Eau Claire finished second in the final championship standings with 18 points, followed by UW-Whitewater (15 points), UW-River Falls (11 points), UW-Stout (10 points), UW-Oshkosh (5 points) and UW-Stevens Point (4 points).
UW-La Crosse claimed five singles titles and one doubles crown enroute to this year's title. Angie Riedel won the No. 1 singles championship for the third straight season with a 6-4, 6-2 decision over UW-Whitewater's Nicole Stamm. It marked the second straight year the two have battled in the league championship match at No. 1.
The Eagles' Rachel Benn won the No. 2 singles title with a 6-3, 6-0 victory over UW-Eau Claire's Gina Dahl, while Julie Tellefsen secured the No. 3 singles crown with a 6-1, 6-3 triumph over UW-Whitewater's Kara Theis.
Erin Fekete captured the No. 4 singles crown for the second straight season with a 6-1, 6-2 victory over UW-Eau Claire's Laura Geissler, while Carlie Bohrman won the No. 5 singles title with a 6-1, 6-3 decision over UW-Whitewater's Jenny Woyahn.
UW-La Crosse's No. 1 doubles team of Riedel and Tellefsen was victorious in the championship match with an 8-5 win over UW-Eau Claire's Geissler and Sarah Riordan. Riedel also won the No. 1 doubles title a year ago.
UW-Eau Claire's Brenna McCormick claimed the No. 6 singles crown with a 3-6, 6-1, 6-1 triumph over UW-Stout's Katie Carr.
The Blugolds also captured a pair of doubles crowns at the league tournament. The No. 2 doubles squad of McCormick and Kristie Carlson claimed an 8-2 win over UW-River Falls' Katie Anderson and Mindy Rudiger.
UW-Eau Claire's No. 3 doubles team of Dahl and Liz Deprey defeated UW-Whitewater's Brittany Gering and Katherine Smith in the title match 8-6.
UW-Eau Claire head coach Craig Monson was named the 2006 Coach of the Year, while UW-La Crosse’s Angie Riedel received the Judy Kruckman Scholar-Athlete Award.
2006 Overall Championship Standings
1. UW-La Crosse 21
2. UW-Eau Claire 18
3. UW-Whitewater 15
4. UW-River Falls 11
5. UW-Stout 10
6. UW-Oshkosh 5
7. UW-Stevens Point 4
2006 Tournament Points
1. UW-La Crosse 56 (7 points x 2=14)
2. UW-Eau Claire 53 (6 points x 2=12)
3. UW-Whitewater 48 (5 points x 2=10)
4. UW-River Falls 31 (4 points x 2=8)
5. UW-Stout 29 (3 points x 2=6)
6. UW-Oshkosh 23 (2 points x 2=4)
7. UW-Stevens Point 12 (1 point x 2=2)
2006 Dual Meet Standings
1. UW-La Crosse (6-0) (7 points)
2. UW-Eau Claire (5-1) (6 points)
3. UW-Whitewater (4-2) (5 points)
4. UW-Stout (3-3) (4 points)
5. UW-River Falls (2-4) (3 points)
6. UW-Stevens Point (1-5) (2 points)
7. UW-Oshkosh (0-6) (1 points)
Championship Preview
Much more than a conference championship will be on the line when the seven Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) women's tennis teams gather for the 35th edition of the conference championship tournament at Nielsen Tennis Stadium on Oct. 21-22.
Not only will the league crown be on the line, but an automatic bid into the NCAA Division III Championship. For the first time ever, the conference champion will claim an automatic bid into the national tournament, which will be conducted in May, 2007. Previously, the NCAA Championship field was determined from a pool of at-large teams.
The 2006 WIAC women's tennis championship will be determined by using a combination of the regular season dual meet standings and the conference tournament results. The finish in the regular season conference standings accounts for one-third of the criteria, while the WIAC tournament accounts for the remaining two-thirds.
Dual meet standings for the 2006 regular season included: UW-La Crosse (6-0) (7 points), UW-Eau Claire (5-1) (6 points), UW-Whitewater (4-2) (5 points), UW-Stout (3-3) (4 points), UW-River Falls (2-4) (3 points), UW-Stevens Point (1-5) (2 points) and UW-Oshkosh (0-6) (1 point).
UW-La Crosse will attempt to defend its conference title from a year ago. The Eagles have won two of the last three championships and 14 in school history. UW-Eau Claire and UW-Whitewater look to remove the championship plaque from the Eagles. The Blugolds have 12 team trophies to their credit, including 10 straight from 1993-2002, while the Warhawks have secured seven crowns with the most recent in 2004.
UW-La Crosse holds four of the top seeds in singles competition for the 2006 tournament. Erin Fekete claimed the No. 4 singles crown at last year's championship and enters as the top seed this season.
The Eagles' Rachel Benn, Julie Tellefsen and Carlie Bohrman maintain the top seeds at No. 2, No. 3 and No. 5 singles, respectively, after posting 6-0 marks in conference action. Tellefsen placed second a year ago at No. 2 singles.
UW-La Crosse's Angie Riedel has won the No. 1 singles crown the past two seasons and enters this year’s event as the second seed to UW-Whitewater's Nicole Stamm, who won the No. 3 singles title in 2004 and finished second to Riedel at No. 1 last season. The pair has split matches this season with Stamm defeating Riedel in three sets on Oct. 7 to earn the top seed.
UW-Stout's Katie Carr is the top seed at No. 6 singles and could become the second individual in school history to claim a singles title. Stefie Mott won the No. 6 crown during the 1990 meet.
UW-La Crosse's Riedel and Tellefsen are the top seed at No. 1 doubles with an 11-1 overall mark, including 6-0 in WIAC matches. Riedel was a member of the winning duo in the flight a year ago, while Tellefsen was part of the victorious No. 2 duo.
Leading the No. 2 doubles flight this season is the Eagles' Fekete and Rachel Benn, who finished 6-0 in the league and 15-1 overall. Fekete won the No. 3 doubles title last season.
UW-Eau Claire's Gina Dahl and Liz Deprey enter the championship as the top seed at No. 3 doubles and have posted a 7-1 record this season, including 6-0 in the conference.
UW-River Falls' Mindy Rudiger finished second at No. 6 singles in 2005 and is the fifth seed at No. 5 singles this season.
UW-Stevens Point's best ranking is the fifth seed at No. 2 doubles with Sarah O'Melia and Mashell VerBockel, while UW-Oshkosh's Whitney Tornow is seeded fourth at No. 4 singles.
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