What: The 103rd Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association state boys tennis individual tournament.
When: Thursday through Saturday, June 4-6.
Where: Nielsen Tennis Stadium, Madison.
Tickets: Ticket prices for the state individual tennis tournament are $9 per day plus online fees, and are available to be purchased online on the WIAA website through GoFan, the WIAA ticketing partner.
Results: You can follow along for results from each bracket via the Tennis Reporting website.
Last postseason, the Milwaukee area crowned one state champion in the individual tournament with Catholic Memorial’s top doubles pairing of Finn Milleman and Brady Latus. The duo captured the Division 2 state doubles title before Brookfield Central (Division 1) and University School of Milwaukee (Division 2) swept the team state titles the following weekend.
Let’s take a look at some of the medal contenders in this year’s field, starting in Division 1 with a pair of top singles contenders seeded near the top of the field.
Division 1 singles
Andrey Semin, sr., Brookfield Central (14-4)
The Milwaukee area has five of the top 16 seeds in the D1 singles bracket and two of them are seeded inside of the top five. The highest-seeded player from the area is Brookfield Central senior and co-captain Andrey Semin. Brookfield Central has won the last two team state titles in D1 and Semin has been one of the program’s centerpieces in its recent run of success. Although the Lancers won’t be back in Madison to defend their D1 title after missing out on a state berth by just 0.5 points in the Nicolet team sectional last week behind top-seeded Whitefish Bay, Semin will get another chance to capture an individual title. The future University of Wisconsin club tennis player advanced to last season’s quarterfinals before a retirement ended his weekend against future club teammate Alexander Bo of Middleton.
Grant Schaefer, so., Whitefish Bay (21-4)
The top-seeded Blue Dukes have a solid chance to capture some gold over the final two weekends of the season. Whitefish Bay sophomore Grant Schaefer enters the individual tournament as the No. 4 seed and the Nicolet Sectional champion after a 6-3, 6-1 victory over Semin in the No. 1 singles final last week. The two stars are in separate quarters, so a rematch wouldn’t be possible until the state title match. Schaefer had an excellent freshman campaign at 22-7, earning the No. 7 overall seed in last year’s D1 state singles bracket before bowing out to eventual champion Nolan Schaub in the quarterfinal round. He returns to Madison as one of the true favorites to stand atop the podium at the end of the weekend.
Division 1 doubles
Miles Seder, sr., and Chase Larson, so., Menomonee Falls (30-0)
Six of the top 10 overall seeds in the D1 doubles bracket are from the Milwaukee area, including the top overall pairing in the field. Menomonee Falls’ top doubles pairing has a chance to do something no Falls pairing has ever done and that’s win a state doubles title. Seder and Larson have ran the table in 30 total matches and enter the bracket as the top overall seed with a bye in the opening round of the tournament. The pair steamrolled its way through the Nicolet Sectional, dropping just five total games in three matches on its way to the sectional crown. Seder advanced to last year’s state title match with former partner Michael Balister and will make his fourth straight appearance at state.
Jake Zheng, sr., and Ryker Koch, jr., Brookfield East (21-4)
Not only does the area have six of the top 10 overall seeds, it has the top two seeds with Falls and Brookfield East’s No. 1 duo of senior Jake Zheng and junior Ryker Koch. Zheng advanced to last year’s quarterfinal round in the D1 doubles bracket with former partner Luca Bonfilio, who will play in the D1 state singles bracket this time around. Zheng and Koch advanced to the Nicolet Sectional final before falling 6-0, 6-0 to top-seeded Seder and Larson. A rematch could be in the cards with them on opposite sides of the field with the state title on the line.
Division 2 singles
Michael Pan, jr., Grafton (20-2)
Half of the top-eight seeds in the D2 state singles bracket are from the Milwaukee area, including the No. 2 overall seed in Grafton’s Michael Pan. The junior won a hard-fought 6-4, 2-6, 10-2 victory over New Berlin Eisenhower’s Tommy Heinrich in the New Berlin West Sectional final after Heinrich eliminated Pan 6-1, 6-0 in last year’s second-round matchup at state. Heinrich is seeded fifth overall in the field, so another rematch between the two wouldn’t be possible until the state title match. A benefit for Pan being a top-four seed in the bracket is that he earned a bye into the second round.
Oliver Milleman, jr., Catholic Memorial (19-2)
While his older brother Finn is chasing a third straight doubles title and second straight with partner Brady Latus, Oliver Milleman is hoping to erase the memories of last year’s 6-3, 1-6, 10-7 defeat in the D2 state title match against West Salem’s Kyle Hehli as the top overall seed. The junior enters the singles field for the third straight postseason as the No. 3 overall seed this time around in top-seeded Teddy Busateri’s portion of the bracket.
Division 2 doubles
Finn Milleman, sr., and Brady Latus, jr., Catholic Memorial (19-0)
The defending D2 state doubles champions enter this year’s field as the top overall seed for the second straight postseason. The duo dropped just eight total games before a 6-3, 5-7, 10-3 victory in the state title match over University School of Milwaukee’s Miles Gourlay and Jack Gilpin in the final. In their run through the New Berlin West Sectional, Milleman and Latus dropped just seven games on their way to another sectional title. With another state title, Milleman would become the first three-time D2 doubles champion since Greendale’s Erich Palacek and Kelvin Caiati won back-to-back-to-back titles together from 2003 to 2005.
Max Reeve, sr., and Auguste Caton, sr., Shorewood (8-8)
Two of the top-five overall seeds in the D2 doubles bracket are from the area, including top-seeded Shorewood’s top doubles pairing of Max Reeve and Auguste Caton. Before the Greyhounds will attempt to sweep the D2 girls and boys team state tennis titles, Reeve and Caton will look for individual glory as the No. 5 overall seed in the field. The duo advanced to the New Berlin West Sectional final before a 6-3, 6-2 defeat to Milleman and Latus, who they could see again in a rematch if both teams advance to the quarterfinal round.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Milwaukee area has several medal contenders at WIAA state boys tennis
Reporting by Michael Whitlow, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
