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Xavier girls tennis wins sectional title, earns state tournament berth in four flights and as a team

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AppletonSportsPage.com

KOHLER – The Appleton Xavier girls tennis team earned a spot in the team tournament and will have two singles players and two doubles team moving on to the state individual tournament after competition at the WIAA Division 2 girls tennis sectional on Wednesday at the Sports Core.

Xavier won the sectional title with 47 points and will compete at the 2023 WIAA Girls Tennis State Team Tournament on Oct. 20-21 at Nielsen Tennis Stadium in Madison. This marks the fourth-straight season the Hawks have qualified for the state team tournament.

The top four finishers at No. 1 singles and doubles, and the sectional champions at No. 2 singles and doubles qualify for the 2023 WIAA Girls Tennis State Individual Tournament, which will also be held at Nielsen Tennis Stadium, on Oct. 12-14.

Dana Keesler won the No. 2 singles title for Xavier over Eila Webber of Kohler 6-2, 6-2, and will join No. 1 singles player Kate Jannette at state. Jannette won her quarterfinal match 6-0, 6-3, over Isabella Engstrom of Ripon to earn a state berth before losing in the semifinals to Maria Burrows of Kohler, 6-2, 6-2.

Sophia VanStratten won the No. 4 singles sectional title for the Hawks with a pair of wins, including 6-0, 6-1 victory over Erin Blaney of St. Mary Catholic in the finals.

Xavier’s No. 3 singles player Charlotte Bullard lost in the finals to Lilly Reinl of Sheboygan Falls 6-7, 6-3, 10-6.

At No. 1 doubles, Xavier’s team of Gabby Stammer of Grace Ogden won two matches to reach the finals before losing to Sophia Torke and Grace Villwock of Kohler 6-3, 6-2. The Hawks’ No. 2 doubles team of Nana Berko and Mariel Pante won the sectional title with a 6-2, 6-3, win over Danielle Stoffregen and Melanie Pellegrino of Kohler to also reach state.

Xavier’s No. 3 doubles team of Elsa Thiel and Addison Hervey held the team’s cause with two wins, including a 6-4, 6-2, victory over Kaylee Sommerfeld and Nolie Anderson of St. Mary Catholic in the finals.