Locker Room: Fall/Winter 2018-19

WIAA State Champions

Girls Tennis

For the second year in a row, the Wildcats girls’ tennis team won the WIAA Division 2 State Team Tennis Tournament. USM defeated Waukesha Catholic Memorial 5–2 in the tournament finals. It’s the ninth team championship for USM. Veda Sane ’19, who finished third at the individual championships, won her match at No. 1 singles. Zoe Francis ’19 also won at No. 2 singles, and Vanessa Goris ’19 won at No. 4 singles for USM.

USM’s Stephanie Guy ’20 and Audrey Treptow ’21 won their No. 2 doubles match and Kala Siddalingaiah ’21 and Rebecca Daskal ’22 won the No. 3 doubles match for the Wildcats. 

Boys Soccer

The University School boys’ soccer team won the WIAA 2018 Division 4 State tournament finals with a 2–1 victory over the previously undefeated Amery Warriors. Co-captain Matias Dermond ’19 scored the two goals, but it was a full team effort that gave USM the victory over Amery. The Wildcats’ defense, including co-captain Ethan Ford ’19, Branden Hicks-Becker ’19, Tommy Hayden ’21, Jordan Puetz ’20, Kai Prawitz ’20, and Carson Mogush ’19, consistently frustrated the Amery forwards. USM’s goalkeeper Evan Bolton ’19 only had to make three saves as a result. The Wildcats ended the season with a final record of 18-2-1.

Cross Country Competes at State

Ishan Kuttickat ’19 and Lexi Keppler ’20 represented the University School cross country team in the Division 2 State Cross Country Championships. Kuttickat placed 53rd out of 152 boys, with a time of 17:23.6.

Keppler’s time of 19:57.3 broke USM’s record, set in 2016, by .65 seconds. She placed 23rd out of 152 girls competing. Only 13 runners ran faster than her in the final 1.1 miles.

Boy's Tennis Wins State Award

“We could not be more proud of both Ishan and Lexi,” said USM’s head coach, Eric Pilling. “Their exceptional performances reflect the success of the entire 2018 team.”

The Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association, in partnership with Rural Mutual Insurance Company, has selected the University School boys’ tennis team as the recipient of the Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association Team Sportsmanship Award for the 2018 Spring State Team Tournament. (The team finished as the state runner-up this spring, falling to Edgewood 4-3 in the Division 2 final.) This is the first time that the USM boys’ tennis team has earned the award, but the fourth time a USM team has received the award overall.

The WIAA/Rural Mutual Insurance Sportsmanship Award is presented to one school and community in each of the state team tournaments. The award winners are determined by the conduct and sportsmanship displayed by athletes, coaches, cheer and support groups, mascots, bands, and spectators.