The UW-Eau Claire’s women’s tennis team competed in the WIAC Tournament from Saturday, Oct. 21 to Sunday, Oct. 22, in Madison. 

The women’s tennis team competed against six Division III schools in their conference. Overall, they finished second in the competition behind  UW-Whitewater. 

Head coach Ken Cychosz said the tournament went well overall but is looking for future improvements on the team. He was pleasantly surprised with how well they did against UW-Whitewater. 

“The team worked really hard to overcome adversity and claw their way up to a second place finish,” Cycosz said. 

Cycosz mentioned how he was impressed with Liv Herzog, a second-year finance student, and how she worked incredibly hard to win a championship title. 

“The WIAC tournament went well,” Herzog said. “It was a big accomplishment finishing first at three doubles.” 

Herzog also placed second in the fifth seeded singles match; a score Herzog is quite happy with. 

Anna Lee, a second-year mathematics student, said she had a lot of fun throughout the tournament and it was cool how many of their matches were close in points. 

Lee said it would have been beneficial to work with her doubles partner more throughout the season to build a stronger bond.

Lee said, “I am glad we both now understand why we play a certain way.” 

The Blugolds saw two students win championship titles, Lee and Herzog. Lee finished the tournament with a singles and doubles championship. Herzog, Lee’s double partner, finished with the double champion title as well. 

The team also celebrated a student winning an award. Sydney Pressler, fourth-year neuroscience and mathematics major, won the Judy Kruckman Scholar Athlete award. This award demonstrates a student athlete who goes above and beyond academically. 

Morgan Dekan, a third-year economics student, was selected to be a part of the WIAC All-Sportsmanship Team for displaying great sportsmanship throughout the competition. 

With the fall season coming to an end, players and coaches are looking forward to the spring season to come. The highlight of the spring season is the team’s spring break trip to Florida.  

“We get the opportunity to play some of the best well known Division II teams in the United States,” Cycosz said, “The opportunity playing at this level gives the team a tremendous advantage.” 

Herzog and Lee expressed their excitement for the upcoming trip as well. They said how everyone in both the men’s and women’s team looks forward to this event each year. 

Lee also said how she is excited to get the chance to play other teams and get another chance to compete against UW-Whitewater, their biggest competitor. 

The season begins late February for the Blugolds. Tune into the Blugold Athletics website to keep up to date with the upcoming spring season.

Steinmetz can be reached at [email protected].