Warriors' Season Ends In NCAA First Round

Courtesy of Wisconsin Lutheran College

CHICAGO -- The Wisconsin Lutheran College women's tennis team saw its incredible season come to an end on Friday as it was eliminated by 21st-ranked University of Wisconsin-Whitewater 5-0 in the first round of the 2012 NCAA Division III Women's Tennis Championship Tournament at the Stagg Field Courts on the University of Chicago campus.

The Warriors dropped all three doubles matches to begin play and entered singles competition trailing 3-0. The #2 duo of Emily Pearson (Prairie du Sac, Wis./Luther Preparatory) and Alyssa Strangstalien (Cottage Grove, Wis./Monona Grove) had the closest doubles match for WLC as they fell to UW-W's Sydney Divelbiss and Annie Smith, 8-2.

Also playing doubles for the Warriors was the #1 team of Kaitlyn Strehlow (Hales Corners, Wis./Wisconsin Lutheran) and Kathryn Hendee (Rockton, Ill./Hononegah) and the #3 team of Stephanie Gengler (Slinger, Wis./Slinger) and Lindsay Gauger (Rockford, Mich./Rockford). The #1 doubles team fell 8-1 and #3 doubles team dropped its match 8-0.

The Warhawks then won the first two singles matches at #3 and #4 and the rest of the matches went unfinished when Whitewater won the fifth and deciding match.

Also playing in singles matches for Wisconsin Lutheran was Hendee at #2 singles, Pearson in the #3 spot, Strangstalien in the #4 postion, Gengler at #5 singles and Stephanie Kudek (Green Bay, Wis./Fox Valley Lutheran) rounded out the Warriors lineup at the #6 singles position.

Whitewater (22-4) advances to Saturday's second round where it will face 11th-ranked Washington (Mo.) (15-7) at 10 a.m. in Chicago.

Wisconsin Lutheran concludes its 2011-2012 season with a 17-11 overall record. The Warriors went 10-1 in conference play and also won the Northern Athletics Conference Team Tournament to earn the school's first berth to the NCAA Tournament.