UW-L Finishes Second at WIAC Championships; McDonald and Schoenwaelder Place Second in Singles

For Immediate Release: Sunday, October 26, 2008

Madison, Wis. - The UW-La Crosse women's tennis team finished second at the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) Championships Sunday at the Nielsen Tennis Stadium in Madison. UW-Whitewater took the conference crown with 21 points in the final championship standings while UW-La Crosse was second with 18. UW-Eau Claire placed third (15) followed by UW-Oshkosh (11), UW-Stevens Point (10), UW-Stout (5) and UW-River Falls (4).

The team title was determined by using a combination of the regular season dual meet standings and the conference championship results. The finish in the regular season conference standings accounted for one-third of the criteria, while the WIAC championship accounted for the remaining two-thirds. UW-L was second in tournament points and placed second in the dual meeting standings with a 5-1 league mark.

UW-L had a pair of players finish second in singles play Sunday. Katie McDonald, the defending champion at No. 3 singles, failed to defend her title after falling to Annie Smith of UW-Whitewater (7-6, 6-7, 6-0). McDonald had defeated Katie Lynn Anderson of UW-River Falls (6-0, 6-1) and Emily Bostwick of UW-Oshkosh (6-0, 6-3) to advance to the championship match. McDonald was also named to the WIAC All-Sportsmanship Team at the conclusion of the championships.

Sarah Schoenwaelder placed second at No. 5 singles. After defeating Kaitlyn King of UW-Stevens Point (6-1, 6-3) and Lindsey Luberda of UW-Stout (6-0, 6-3), Schoenwaelder lost to Michelle Daciolas of UW-Whitewater in the title match (6-3, 6-1).

The Eagles' Kelly Kuether (No. 1) and Jenny Maruyama (No. 4) both finished third in singles play. Kuether defeated Kathryne Ostrowski of UW-River Falls (6-1, 6-3) for third after beating Gina Dahl of UW-Eau Claire (4-6, 7-5, 7-5) and losing to Kalla Schaefer of UW-Whitewater (6-2, 6-3). Maruyama placed third with a victory over Kaylei Sorensen of UW-Stevens Point (6-4, 6-2). She had defeated Liz Leffler of UW-Oshkosh (6-4, 7-6) and lost to Amy Siemon of UW-Whitewater (6-2, 6-3).

Carlie Bohrman (No. 2) and Megan Fallon (No. 6) both finished fourth for UW-L in singles competition.

UW-L's three doubles squads all finished third Sunday. Schoenwaelder/Bohrman at No. 1 doubles defeated Dahl/Courtney Lynne of UW-Eau Claire (8-6) for third-place. The duo defeated Ostrowski/Mindy Rudiger of UW-River Falls (8-4), but fell to Rachel Benn/Chelsea Allbaugh of UW-Stevens Point (8-6) in the semifinals.

At No. 2 doubles, Debbie Braun/Maruyama earned third-place with a win over Brittany Braasch/Alison Broerman of UW-Oshkosh (8-3). Braun/Maruyama defeated Emily Riordan/Sorensen of UW-Stevens Point (8-5) in their first match, but lost to Brenna McCormick/Erin Welch of UW-Eau Claire (8-6) in the semifinals.

Kuether/Fallon were third at No. 3 doubles as they defeated Jackie Gillespie/Emily Hiebl of UW-Eau Claire (8-6). The duo beat King/Emily Oxton of UW-Stevens Point (8-4) before losing to Kara Amundson/Brittany Gering of UW-Whitewater in the semifinals (8-6).