By Kevin Cunningham
Sports Correspondent
For some teams, winning is a standard. To come up on the losing end of things can be seen as a disappointment for those teams with winning traditions. In 2014, the Whitewater High School girls tennis team continued its winning ways, yet still didn’t accomplish all it wanted to.
For the 10th straight season, the Whippets finished with a winning record. It has become a norm to finish above the .500 mark. With that 10th straight strong season though, came something the program had not endured in over 10 years – failing to qualify for the state tournament.
Head coach Tim Nelson said the team’s No. 1 doubles team barely missed the state tournament after losing to Racine St. Catherine’s.
“Last year we had to replace 17 seniors, so we had kids playing varsity who we had to teach how to hold the racket the first day of practice,” Nelson said. “The team out did expectations last year and we will have to do it again this year as we were put in a bit of a hole when one of our best players blew out her knee playing basketball this summer.”
That player Nelson mentioned, Whitney Treder, went 23-2 last year for the Whippets’ No. 2 doubles team. Treder isn’t only known as a phenomenal tennis player. Nelson said she was a key contributor on last year’s undefeated state champion basketball team as well.
In many sports, replacing a player in a lineup isn’t as easy as “find and replace.” It involves moving players up a spot in the depth chart, causing them to have to play better than they originally were in order to fill the void. In tennis, there is no exception.
“When you lose someone at the top of your lineup it doesn’t just weaken that spot, it weakens everything else as now everyone has to move up to a higher position,” Nelson said. “Our goal this year is to just work on getting better each and every time out.”
Treder’s partner, Milena Maroske, is moving to No. 2 singles this year. Maroske has never played at that level prior to this season, and Andi Markham is another player moving up, now at No. 3 doubles.
The top expected performers for the Whippets this season include No. 1 singles player, Izzy Zahn, and the No. 1 doubles duo of Sally Hixson and Alli Sedmak. Zahn, Hixson and Sedmak are all returning seniors. Hixson and Sedmak went 21-5 last year, but Nelson said making it back to sectionals with a shot at making it to state won’t be all that easy, considering the stiff competition within the area.
The No. 2 doubles team features another senior in Emma Stutzman, and sophomore Ali Ketterhagen. Other girls figuring to be playing regularly include Amanda Kraayvanger, Maggie Hough and Betsy Hixson.
According to Nelson, things appear to be wide open in regard to the projected conference standings at the end of the year.
“The conference favorite will once again be McFarland followed by Big Foot, then the rest of us could finish anywhere,” Nelson said.
In the world of girls tennis, the season typically starts sooner than most other fall sports, and this week, the Whippets are set to participate in four meets within a six day stretch. On Aug. 17, the team had its first meet of the year in East Troy.
Whitewater, East Troy and Union Grove all tied for first in the meet, each ending with a 2-1 record. Whitewater found itself in the loser’s column after the first match against Union Grove, losing 5-2.
“As the match went on the girls played with more and more confidence,” Nelson said. “The second sets were all more competitive than the first sets and the team continued that throughout the day.”
In the other two matches on the day, the Whippets responded with a 5-2 victory of its own over East Troy, and then a 6-1 win over Monroe concluded the team’s first meet of the season. Maroske at No. 2 singles and Kraayvanger at No. 3 singles both finished the day at 3-0. Betsy Hixson at No. 4 singles and the duo of Stutzman and Ketterhagen all concluded play at 2-1.
In No. 1 doubles, Sally Hixson and Sedmak lost to Union Grove’s team which included a returning state singles player and a returning state doubles player. After the early defeat, the two bounced back, defeating East Troy and Monroe’s duos while only losing a total of five games over the two matches.
The other three meets scheduled for the Whippets’ busy week include a home meet on Wednesday morning, a meet on Friday at Sparta, and the last on Saturday at Eau Claire.
