Oct. 25, 2009

The Falcons wrapped up their season with a fifth place finish at the WIAC Tournament in Madison this afternoon.

UWRF also placed fifth in the final WIAC standings with nine points.

Jenny Paxton and Amanda Drangeid placed the highest for the Falcons in singles play. At No. 3, Jenny Paxton finished in fourth place after being defeated 3-6, 6-3, 6-2 in the third place match. At No. 6 singles, Drangeid also finished fourth after being defeated in the third place match 6-3, 6-0. Both Drangeid and Paxton are freshmen this season.

Amy Goertzen placed fifth at No. 5 singles with a 6-4, 6-0 win on Sunday.

In doubles play the No. 1 team of Katie Ostrowski and Naomi Wolf placed fourth after losing, 8-1, on Sunday. The No. 2 team of Cassi Wood and Stacia Kozel also placed fourth after they lost, 8-1. The No. 3 team of Goertzen and Amy Johnson placed fifth after winning, 9-7.

Whitewater took the conference crown for the third season in a row with a perfect 6-0 record in conference play and took 57 points in tournament play. The Falcons earned 26 points in the meet and compiled a 2-4 conference record this season.

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 standings accounts for one-third of the criteria, while the WIAC championship accounts for the remaining two-thirds.

WIAC Meet Results

2009 Schedule

Oct. 23, 2009

The Falcons competed in the first day of the WIAC Tournament in Madison on Saturday and two singles players and two doubles teams won first round matches.

Two rounds of doubles play and one round of singles play were completed on the first day. No team scorers were kept.

Jenny Paxton, playing at No. 3 singles, won her first match over Stevens Point's Emily Riordan, 6-3, 1-6, 6-2. Paxton was seeded No. 5 and Riordan No. 4. Paxton will play No. 1 seeded Amy Siemon of Whitewater in the second round on Sunday.

Amanda Drangeid, playing at No. 6 singles, also won her first match. She came back to defeat Leah Benn of Stevens Point, 1-6, 6-4, 6-2. Drangeid was seeded fifth and Benn fourth in the tourney. Drangeid will play No. 1 seeded Kathleen Kappel of Whitewater on Sunday.

The Falcon No. 1 doubles team of Katie Ostrowski and Naomi Wolf also won its first round match. They defeated Gina Dahl and Courtney Lynne of Eau Claire, 8-5. The Eau Claire team was seeded third and the Falcon team sixth. But the Falcon team lost to No. 2 seeded Kalla Schaefer and Michelle Daciolas of Whitewater, 8-2, in the second round. Ostrowski and Wolf will play La Crosse's Kelly Kuether and Kelly Stadum in the third place match on Sunday.

The Falcon No. 2 doubles team of Cassie Wood and Stacia Kozel won its opening match. They defeated Oshkosh's Brittany Braasch and Whitney Tornow, 9-7. Braasch and Tornow were seeded No. 4 and Wood and Kozel were seeded No. 5. In the second round the Falcon team lost to Whitewater's No. 1 seeded team of Ingrid Stensvaag and Annie Smith, 8-1. Wood and Kozel will play Eau Claire's Brenna McCormick and Erin Welch on Sunday for third place.

Sunday's action starts at 9 a.m.

WIAC Meet Results

2009 Schedule

Oct. 13, 2009

The Falcons lost an 8-1 decision at UW-Eau Claire on Tuesday night in the team's final dual match of the season.

No. 1 singles player, Katie Ostrowski, picked up the only point for the Falcons. She beat Gina Dahl, 6-1, 3-6, 7-6 (10-8) in a marathon match.

Two other Falcons won first sets, but lost in three.

At No. 5, Stacia Kozel beat Jillian Horner 6-4 in the first set. But Horner rebounded to win the last two, 6-4 and 6-3.

At No. 6, Amanda Drangeid also won the first set, 6-4. But Michelle Reinders came back to win the last two sets, 6-3 and 6-3.

The Falcons finished 7-6 overall and 2-4 in the WIAC. The Falcons will compete in the WIAC Tournament on Oct. 24-25 in Madison.

Box Score

2009 Schedule

Oct. 9, 2009

The Falcons knocked off UW-Oshkosh Friday afternoon 6-3 for their second WIAC win of the season at home.

The Falcons took four of six singles points on the afternoon from the Titans.

Spots three through six won all four singles points for the Falcons. Jenny Paxton won at No. 3, rallying from a set down to win 3-6, 6-1, 6-3. Amy Goertzen took it in straight set 6-4, 6-4 at No. 4. Stacia Kozel took her match 6-4, 6-3. Brittany Bonine wrapped up her match with a 6-1, 6-3 decision to take the fourth singles point for the Falcons. Check out clips from Bonine and Goertzen's matches here .

Katie Ostrowski and Cassie Wood both played their final matches at home as Falcons. Both played extremely close matches. Osktrowski fell 5-7, 3-6 at the No. 1 spot. Wood lost a tough 0-6, 2-6 decision in the second spot.

Cold weather forced the Falcons to move indoors to Knowles to finish off the remaining three doubles matches. Ostrowski and Naomi Wolff teamed up at No. 1 for an 8-4 victory. Wood and Kozel fell at No. 2 8-6. Amy Johnson and Goerzten teamed up in the third spot to take the match 8-4.

The Falcons upped their record to 7-5 overall and 2-3 in the WIAC. Up next, they will travel to Eau Claire for their final WIAC match and to finish off the 2009 regular season. Action is set to get underway at 3 p.m.

Box Score

2009 Schedule

Oct. 3, 2009

St. Scholastica 5, River Falls 4

Three supertie breakers decided the morning match for the Falcons as they fell narrowly to St. Scholastica 5-4 indoors at Knowles.

Singles spots three, four, and five picked up big points for the Falcons.

The Falcons played extremely well in the singles game, splitting the six points with St. Scholastica. Three matches went to a ten point super-tie-breaker to determine the winner; the Falcons took only one. Katie Ostrowski fell 6-1, 7-6 (7-5) (10-6) at No. 1. At six, Brittany Bonine fell 5-7, 7-5, (1-10). Stacia Kozel rallied from one set down 1-6, 6-3, (10-7) at the five spot to take the lone tiebreaker for the Falcons.

Jenny Paxton picked up a point at No. 3 wit hher 7-5, 6-3 win and Amy Goertzen picked up another at four with a 7-5, 6-4 win.

At No. 3 Doubles, Paxton and Bonine took at point winning 8-0.

Box Score

Falcons 9 Northwestern College 0

The Falcons responded after a 5-4 barn burner against St. Scholastica to split their twin bill with a skunking of Northwestern 9-0

The Falcons won all their matches in straight sets, yielding only three games to any singles opponent.

Ostrowski lead the Falcons in the one spot winning 6-3, 6-1. Wood took her match at two 6-3, 6-0. At three Paxton won 6-2, 6-1. Goertzen goose-egged her opponent 6-0, 6-0. Kozel won handily 6-0, 6-1 at five. Bonine took her match 6-1, 6-1.

The doubles yielded the same results. The Falcons took all three doubles points Ostrowski and Naomi Wolff won at No. 1 8-3. At the second spot, Wood and Kozel won 8-1. Goertzen and Amy Johnson won dominately 8-0 in the third spot.

After spilittng the twin bill, the Falcons are now 6-5 (1-3) on the season. Friday, they will head to Oshkosh for another WIAC match. Action is set to get underway at 3 p.m.

Box Score

2009 Schedule

Oct. 2, 2009

The Falcons dropped their second straight conference match, 6-3, Friday afternoon against UWSP indoors at the Knowles Center.

The Falcons lost serveral close matches which proved to be piviotal in determining the outcome of the duel.

The Falcons picked up two points in the singles came. Cassie Wood won her match at No.2 on a supertie breaker winning 6-2, 3-6, 10-0. At No. 4, Amy Goertzen picked up the second Falcon point with a big 6-1, 6-1 win. Stacia Kozel lost a very close match at No. 5 6-3, 1-6. Katie Ostrowski nearly forced a tiebreaker but fell 6-3, 7-5 at No. 1.

Doubles competition were tough losses for the Falcons as well. Wood and Kozel took a point with a 9-8 (9-7) at the second spot. The duo of Jenny Paxton and Brittany Bonine seen here fell 8-6 at the third spot.

With the loss, the Falcons fall to 5-4 (1-3) on the season. Tomorrow, the Falcons will host a pair of matches. At 11 a.m. they will host St. Scholastica followed by Northwester n at 3 p.m. If rainy weather occurs the matches will be played indoors at Knowles, otherwise all matches are scheduled to be played at the Falcon tennis courts.

Box Score

2009 Schedule

Sept. 29, 2009

The Falcons couldn't catch a break Tuesday afternoon as UW-LaCrosse blanked the Falcons 9-0 in a WIAC match up Tuesday afternoon in LaCrosse.

In singles play, Katie Ostrowski and Cassie Wood had a couple of close matches, but couldn't squeeze out a second set win to force a super-tie-breaker. Ostrowski fell 6-2, 7-6 at No. 1 and Wood fell 6-1, 7-5 at No. 2. At No. 5 Stacia Kozel had another close match 6-1, 6-4.

In doubles, the Falcons fell hard and were swept in all three matches. The Falcons combined to win five games total. Ostrowski and Naomi Wolff fell 8-1 at No. 1, Kozel and Wood fell 8-1 at No. 2, and Brittany Bonine and Jenny Paxton fell 8-3.

With the loss, the Falcons fall to 5-3 (1-2) on the season. Up next, the Falcons will host Stevens Point. Action is set to get underway at 3 p.m. at the Falcon tennis courts.

Box Score

2009 Schedule

Sept. 23, 2009

The Falcons pick up a big conference win, in big style, 7-2 over Stout Wednesday evening in Menomonie.

The Falcons took five of six singles points and took two of three doubles points from the Blue Devils.

Cassie Wood picked up a win at No.2 for the Falcons 6-4, 6-0. Jenny Paxton took her match at No. 3 6-2, 6-1. In spots four, five, and six, the Falcons only dropped three games total. Amy Goertzen won 6-2, 6-0, Stacia Kozel won 6-0, 6-1, and Brittany Bonine won 6-0, 6-0, respectively.

At doubles, the Falcons played well. The duo of Wood and Kozel won handily 8-2 at No. 2. At three, Paxton and Bonine dominated 8-1.

Paxton and Kozel lead all singles players with a 5-1 record on the campaign. Overall, the Falcons are 24-12 in duel play and 8-10 in doubles play.

The Falcons improve to 5-2, 1-1 WIAC, this season. Up next they will travel to LaCrosse for another WIAC match. Action is set to get underway Tuesday September 29 at 3:30 in LaCrosse.

Box Score

2009 Schedule

Sept. 21, 2009

The Falcons dropped their second consecutive match, falling to 4-2 on the season with a 6-3 loss at home against St. Thomas.

Two of the six single matches went into super-tie-breaker. At No. 1, Katie Ostrowski fell 10-3 after winning her first set 7-5 and dropping her second 1-6. Jenna Paxton played a tough match and rallied to win her tie breaker 10-5. She won her first set 6-4 and dropped her second 3-6 at No. 3. Brittany Bonine picked up another point for the Falcons winning 7-6 (7-5), 6-4 at No. 6. In the fifth spot, Stacia Kozel picked up the third Falcon point with a 7-6 (7-5) 6-3 win.

The Tommies gave the Falcons a tough time at doubles. For the second time in as many games the Falcons were bageled in doubles play. Kozel and Paxton came close, but fell 7-9 at No. 2.

The UWRF tennis team will travel to Stout on Wednesday for their second WIAC match of the season. Action gets underway at 3:30 p.m. in Menomonie.

Box Score

2009 Schedule

Sept. 20, 2009

By Adam Horejsi
UWRF Sports Information

The 2009 UWRF women’s tennis team holds many new faces.

The Falcons are off to a great start, their best since 2007 when they finished the season third in the WIAC tournament. That year, the Falcons took first place in both the No. 1 singles and No. 1 doubles flight at the conference tourney.

The Falcons were led in 2007 by Kozue Matsumoto, a dominant freshman, who didn’t drop a set to her opponents all season and even defeated Division I opponent Martina Schnapp of UW-Milwaukee 6-1, 6-3. Kozue left UWRF after her freshman year with a full ride Div. I tennis scholarship at the University of New Orleans. “She probably was my single best recruit ever,” said Falcon Coach Lee Lueck.

Entering his 10th season at the helm of the UWRF program and his 40th year of coaching Lueck said, “This season’s recruits are my best ever, in terms of numbers. If I would have had this many quality recruits when I started, we could have built a powerhouse”

Lueck elaborated on the past successes of this year’s freshmen recruits. Many played at No. 1 singles or doubles position at their high schools.

“These are big schools we are talking about; Lakeville North, Bloomington Jefferson, Centennial, Anoka, etc.” commented Lueck.

Lueck feels confident in his players and the ability to rebound from a 7-8 (1-5 WIAC) season last year. “In my 40-years of coaching, nine here at the University, I have never had the freedom to pick and choose which player can play where in my singles and doubles line-up.”

Jenny Paxton (Bloomington Jefferson) and Amy Goertzen (Circle Pines, MN/Centennial) have anchored down No. 3 and No. 4 singles spots, respectively. Neither Paxton nor Goertzen have dropped a single set. The two have also not given up more than three games in a set. The duo also split time in doubles game.

Freshmen recruits Amanda Drangeid, Amy Johnson, and Alexandra Peterson have all seen varsity court time during the season as well. Johnson and Drangeid helped knocked off Bethel 8-1 through their double wins and Peterson goose-egged a Lawrence opponent, 6-0, 6-0 in singles to help cement the 7-2 win. Cassie Swenson, a freshman from St. Michael-Albertville, was discovered by Lueck from her YouTube recruiting video posting.

Two returning senior Co-Captains, Katie Ostrowski and Cassie Wood, compliment these freshmen. The two play at No. 1 and No. 2 singles positions respectively. The duo was also around as starting sophomores when the Falcons placed third in the WIAC in2007. Juniors Brittany Bonine and Stacia Kozel return for their third seasons and Naomi Wolff returns for her second. Each played significant roles for the Falcons last season. Bonine and Kozel were part of the 2007 WIAC squad. Haley Kavanaugh of Egan, a first year sophomore, also helps solidify this young potentially strong team.

Lueck says his greatest freedom comes in selecting which players are going to play which positions. “I can now play eight or nine players; last season, I would only play six or seven. Players would play doubles and singles. Playing nine players helps me find out whose performing and how well they can perform under pressure and ultimately build a better a team.”

This flexibility is crucial in the tough WIAC. Lueck has seen play get tougher and tougher over the years and sees this season as no exception. He knows his squad is sometimes an underdog going into a meet, but this actually helps and allows the players to just fight for every point and not worry about the match score. Lueck said this new crop of players are gaining experience, getting tougher with each match, learning how to deal with the pressures of collegiate tennis, and he’s confident they will jell by late October.

“This past spring, Whitewater went into Gustavus and beat them in a dual meet. Gustavus has the greatest number of Div. III wins in the nation. You don’t see them lose very often,” said Lueck.

The future is bright for this young squad. “No where to go but up for us this season and I think this recruiting class will help,” concluded Lueck.

2009 Schedule

Sept. 19, 2009

The Falcons tennis team moved to 4-1 today as they came up short against Whitewater on the road. The Falcons lost 9-0 today in their first conference match of the year.

The Falcons struggled in singles matches today. Katie Ostrowski came up short by a score of 6-0, 6-1 in the No. 1 spot. Cassie Wood fell by the same score in the No. 2 spot. Jenny Paxton lost by a score of 6-1, 6-0 in the third position. Amy Goertzen struggled against her opponent falling by a score of 6-0, 6-0. Stacia Kozel was nearly triumphany in a close match falling 7-5, 7-5. Brittany Bonine fell 6-0, 6-1 in the No. 6 spot.

The Falcons also had a tough time in doubles competion today. Ostrowski and Naomi Wolff fell 8-1 in a hard fought match. Cassie Wood and Stacia Kozel came up short by a score of 8-1. Goertzen and Amy Johnson fought hard in a losing effort and a score of 8-2.

This was the first loss of the season for the Falcons. The UWRF tennis team will host St. Thomas on Monday at 4 p.m.

Box Score

2009 Schedule

Cristy Brusoe
UWRF Sports Information

Senior tennis player Cassie Wood didn’t have high expectations her first year with the Falcons varsity tennis team. “I wasn’t recruited here, I just showed up the first day,” Wood remembered. It would be her first year on the team that she achieved one of her greatest accomplishments. “My freshman year I played No. 3 singles, which was a really big accomplishment for me,” Wood said.

Originally from Wells, Minn., Wood grew up around sports. “I always liked being in sports as a kid; I was in soccer, dance and golf,” Wood said. Wood started playing tennis in second grade. Instead of taking lessons, she explained, “…my dad use to go out with me and play three or so times a week.”

“I love all of the girls on the team! It's not always easy to have a team where everyone gets along, but we're kind of like one big family. You'll see us hanging out a lot outside of tennis, whether we're running together to get in shape, or eating together for lunch, I'm just so thankful that we all get along so well!" Wood said with a smile.

The “dad” of this big family is Head Coach Lee Lueck. “Lee is the funniest guy ever. He even nicknamed me and my doubles partner (Stacia Kozel) the "Blonde Bombers. He’s like our dad and would do anything for us,” Wood explained.

Lueck reciprocated his feelings saying, “Cassie is a very spunky young woman on the tennis court; she never gives up and fights for every point no matter how long she needs to be on the court.”
Wood is an elementary education major with a minor in Spanish. After graduating, she hopes to work with fourth grade and older students in a multicultural school. “I’ve found that being around kids with different ethnic backgrounds is my passion, my calling,” Wood said.

There was one person in particular that has had a huge influence on Wood and her future career choices. “As a sophomore, I met a woman named Kozue Matsumoto who was a year younger than me. We bonded the most and became really great friends. She taught me a lot of Japanese and it intrigued me to see the differences between our cultures,” Wood explained. Matsumoto was Wood’s teammate on the Falcon tennis squad.

From just showing up the first day to being the No. 2 singles, No. 2 doubles, and co-captain her senior year, Wood has come a long way. When asked how she thought this year’s team would do, Wood quickly answered, “I think we are going to do awesome! We have a very strong team with a mix of veterans and freshmen. Right now we are struggling to find doubles teams, but we will eventually get it together.”

Leuck expects great things from Wood career-wise and as a player for the Falcons this year. “Academically she has the highest GPA on the team and is extremely dedicated to her elementary education major. I'm expecting great things from her this year - now that she is a role model/captain to six new freshman recruits,” he said.

Sept. 18, 2009

The UWRF tennis team improved to 4-0 today as they shut out Ripon 9-0 on Friday, September 18 on the road.

The Falcons won every singles match starting off with Katie Ostrowski winning 6-3, 7-5 in the No. 1 spot. Jenny Paxton dominated winning 6-0, 6-0 in the No. 2 spot. Amy Goertzen also won convincingly 6-0, 6-0 at No. 3. Stacia Kozel took her match 6-3, 6-1 in the fourth spot. Brittany Bonine defeated her opponent 6-0, 6-2 in the No. 5 spot. Amanda Drangeid took her match easily 6-0, 6-0 in the sixth spot.

The Falcons also did very well in the doubles competition. Ostrowski and Naomi Wolff conquered their opponents 8-2. Stacia Kozel and Cassie Wood defeated their opponents 8-4. Finally Alexandtra Peterson and Amy Johnson won 8-6.

The Falcons are riding a 4 game winning streak as they shut out Ripon. River Falls won all singles matches. For the second week in a row the Falcons have swept the doubles matches winning all three.

The Falcons will ride their 4 game winning streak into Whitewater for their match onSaturday at 9 a.m. This will be the first conference match of the year for the Falcon tennis team.

Box Score

2009 Schedule

Sep 12 , 2008

The UWRF women’s tennis team improved to 2-0 on the season after defeating Lawrence University 7-2 Saturday afternoon on the road.

The Falcons won five of six singles points, all in straight sets. Cassie Wood won at No. 2 6-4, 6-0. At No. 3 Jenna Paxton won 6-0, 6-3. Amy Goertzen won 6-1, 6-1 at No. 4. At No. 5 Stacia Kozel won 6-0, 6-3. Alexandra Peterson took care of her opponent 6-0, 6-0, at No. 6.

In doubles action, Kozel and Brittany Bonine won 8-5 at No. 2 and Amy Johnson and Paxton won 8-1 at No. 3

The Falcons are now 2-0 and will host Bethel at 5 p.m. at the Falcon tennis courts.

Box Score

2009 Schedule

Sep 11 , 2008

Despite losing all three doubles matches, the Falcons played tenaciously in the singles game, winning five of six matches as they went on to win their first match of the season, on the road, against St. Norbert College 5-4.

Katheryne Ostrowski showed her dominance once again. The Senior prevailed after losing her second set 6-7 to pick up 14-12 tied breaker which proved crucial for the Falconss. The Falcons won singles spots three through six with ease. Jenny Paxton won her No. 3 match up 6-2, 6-0. Amy Goertzen won at No. 4 6-1, 6-0. Brittany Bonine won her No. 5 match up 6-4, 6-0. Stacia Kozel took care of her opponent 6-1, 6-1 for the Falcons fifth and final singles point.

Doubles play came as a struggle for the Falcons as they dropped all three of their doubles matches. Ostrowski and Naomi Wolff fell in tiebreaker 9-8 (9-7). Cassie Wood and Stacia Kozel fell 9-7 at No. 2. Bonine and Goertzen fell 8-6 at No. 3

The Falcons have started the season on positive note and are 1-0 on the season. Tomorrow, the Falcons will match up with Lawrence, on the road in Lawrence. Action is set to get underway at 9 a.m.

Box Score

2009 Schedule