You are here

Home › Sports › Tennis Cards headed to state ›

October 2021

Wed
20
Oct
MTT News's picture

Boys spikers hoping for postseason magic

Submitted by MTT News on Wed, 10/20/2021 - 10:57

Middleton’s boys volleyball team begins postseason play Friday night.

And the Cardinals are heading to the playoffs with a full head of steam.

Middleton won the Big Eight Conference tournament last Friday. The Cardinals also notched dual meet wins over Madison East and Kimberly last week.

Now, Middleton hopes the second season is its best one yet.

The Cardinals, who earned the No. 1 seed in their sectional, host eighth-seeded Madison East in a regional final Friday at 7 p.m. If Middleton wins there, it would host either fourth-seeded Madison Memorial or fifth-seeded Madison La Follette in a sectional semifinal Tuesday at 7 p.m.

“We have seen all of these teams in conference, so we have a good idea of our game plans moving forward,” Middleton coach Rob Kleinschmidt said. “Our team is definitely coming together and playing good ball lately. I am looking forward to the tournament. It is the most fun time of the year.”

Wed
20
Oct
MTT News's picture

Girls spikers hoping for playoff run

Submitted by MTT News on Wed, 10/20/2021 - 10:52

Middleton’s girls volleyball team settled for second place at the Big Eight Conference tournament last Saturday.

The Cardinals reached the championship match, but fell to Verona, 25-16, 25-17.

Middleton had won the Big Eight Conference’s dual meet championship with a perfect 9-0 record.

“We fought hard all day, not dropping any sets until our final match,” Middleton coach Maddie Vogel said. “Verona is always a tough competitor and unfortunately they just had more gas left in the tank at the end of the day.” 

At the conference tournament, the Cardinals opened with a 25-16, 25-15 win over Beloit Memorial. Middleton followed that with a 25-23, 25-11 win over Sun Prairie.

The Cardinals then cruised past Madison La Follette, 25-14, 25-7. Middleton then bested Madison Memorial, 25-23, 25-20.

In the semifinals, the Cardinals rolled past Janesville Craig, 25-22, 25-20. Middleton then fell to Verona in the title match.

Wed
20
Oct
MTT News's picture

MHS swimmers win Big Eight

Submitted by MTT News on Wed, 10/20/2021 - 10:48

Nine have tried.

And now, nine have failed.

Madison La Follette became the latest Big Eight Conference squad to try knocking off Middleton’s girls swimming and diving team last Friday.

When that plan failed — and Middleton cruised to a 138-32 win — the Cardinals locked up the conference title with a perfect 9-0 record.

“It is a great accomplishment for our team to have finished all the dual meets undefeated, and is a great testament to how deep our team is,” Middleton coach R.J. Leiferman said. “However, our biggest meets for the season are still to come, and we know winning all our dual meets is not a guarantee of anything going forward. So it will definitely be a fun challenge to see if we can carry our success from the dual meets into conference, sectionals, and state.”

Middleton had several impressive performances in its win over La Follette.

Thu
14
Oct

MTT 41-21

Thu
14
Oct
MTT News's picture

Golfers settle for third at state

Submitted by MTT News on Thu, 10/14/2021 - 10:43

MADISON — Every test placed in front of them was aced.

Every challenge they faced was handled with aplomb.

When Middleton’s girls golf team took its final exam, though, on Tuesday, the unexpected took place. For the first time in 2021, the Cardinals didn’t have all the answers.

At the WIAA Division 1 state tournament held at University Ridge Golf Course, Middleton settled for third place.

It marked the first time this season the Cardinals weren’t first in a competition. And it ended Middleton’s hopes for a third straight state title.

“I wish I could have figured it out, but I couldn’t,” Middleton coach Becky Halverson said. “It was just like they let a bad hole affect so many more holes. In the past, we’ve been able to recover very quickly, but for some reason today they just couldn't get it back and they just kind of let it snowball. And it was too bad.”

Thu
14
Oct
MTT News's picture

Sun Prairie knocks off Middleton

Submitted by MTT News on Thu, 10/14/2021 - 10:29

One more chance.

That’s all Cole Toennies wanted.

One more chance.

That’s what Sam Pilof was praying for.

Unfortunately for Middleton’s football team, that chance never came.

Middleton — playing for MHS seniors Jack Miller and Evan Kratochwill and Madison West senior Simon Bilessi who died Oct. 2 when their car was hit by another vehicle and burst into flames — gave a spirited effort against No. 3 Sun Prairie last Friday.

And when Middleton’s Cole Toennies had a 21-yard touchdown reception with 4:15 left, MHS pulled within 26-21 and needed its defense to make just one stop.

That stop ever came, though. And the chance for a storybook ending faded to black.

Sun Prairie converted a pair of third-and-longs, ran out the clock and exited Otto Breitenbach Field with an emotional 26-21 win.

Thu
14
Oct
MTT News's picture

MHS sports teams recognize teens that died in car crash

Submitted by MTT News on Thu, 10/14/2021 - 10:11

Last week was Homecoming for the Middleton High School community, a week that was supposed to be a celebration of the past and present and filled with many activities culminating with a school dance.

Instead, the communities of Middleton and Madison were mourning the loss of three young student-athletes, who were killed in the Town of Middleton on the evening of Oct. 2 when their car was hit by another vehicle and burst into flames.

Hundreds of mourning friends and family members filled the Middleton High School auditorium on Sunday to celebrate the lives of the three teens, Middleton seniors John ‘Jack’ Miller and Evan Kratochwill and Madison West senior Simon Bilessi, a former Middleton student.

The trio were honored by their respective sports teams — Miller and Bilessi played soccer and Kratochwill ran cross county — last week in a variety of ways meant not only to honor the young men, but to help in the healing process for those they left behind.

Thu
14
Oct
MTT News's picture

Girls spikers win Big Eight

Submitted by MTT News on Thu, 10/14/2021 - 10:08

This was the vision Maddie Vogel had all along.

It’s one her Middleton girls volleyball team also shared.

Conference champions.

As Vogel was building the outstanding program she inherited from Franco Marcos, winning the Big Eight Conference was near the top of all goal sheets.

That dream became a reality last week when Middleton downed Janesville Parker and Sun Prairie and clinched its first conference title since 2017.

Middleton improved to 29-3 overall and is 8-0 in the Big Eight Conference.

“The girls have worked so hard these last few years to build up the program, and it means so much to us to be seen as a force to be reckoned with again,” Vogel said. “I’m very lucky to be working with such a driven group of players.”

The Cardinals went to Parker and downed the Vikings, 25-16, 25-13, 25-17 on Oct. 5. Middleton then defeated visiting Sun Prairie — a giant inside the league in recent years — 26-24, 25-20, 25-23 on Oct. 7.

Thu
14
Oct
MTT News's picture

Boys spikers win Big 8 again

Submitted by MTT News on Thu, 10/14/2021 - 10:03

The streak is alive and well.

After a 2020 season in which there wasn’t a Big Eight Conference season, Middleton’s boys volleyball team got back to doing what it does best this fall: winning conference titles.

Middleton rolled past Madison La Follette in straight sets on Oct. 6 and improved to 6-0 in the Big Eight Conference. With the win, Middleton clinched at least a share of its ninth straight conference title.

The Cardinals, who have won 80 straight Big Eight matches, can clinch the outright title with a win over visiting Madison East Thursday at 7 p.m.

“That's an amazing run of success,” said Middleton second-year coach Rob Kleinschmidt.

Thu
14
Oct
MTT News's picture

Tennis Cards headed to state

Submitted by MTT News on Thu, 10/14/2021 - 09:58

Middleton’s girls tennis team won the 2020 WIAA Division 1 alternate fall state championship.

Now, the Cardinals will look to become the first team ever to win a second state title in the same calendar year.

Middleton won the WIAA Division 1 Waunakee Sectional last Wednesday and advanced to the state team tournament, which will be held Oct. 22-23 at Nielsen Tennis Stadium.

Middleton finished with 43 points at sectionals and easily outdistanced runner-up Madison West (30). La Crosse Central (23), Holmen (20) and Verona (18) rounded out the top five.

Middleton earned the No. 4 seed and meets fifth-seeded Ashwaubenon Oct. 22 at 5:30 p.m. in a quarterfinal match. The semifinals are Oct. 23, and if seeds hold, Middleton would meet top-seeded Neenah at 9 a.m.

The championship match is Oct. 23 at approximately 2 p.m.

Middleton also sent two singles and two doubles teams to the individual state tournament, which begins Thursday.

Pages