It may take a few years for Adel Schneider and Vivie Auth to fully realize the incredible run they continued at Nielsen Stadium this past weekend in Madison.
The St. Mary Catholic girls tennis duo captured their second consecutive WIAA Division 2 state doubles title to improve their season record to 28-0 and 59-0 overall the past two seasons.
Schneider and Auth beat Kenosha St. Joseph’s Ava Miller and Parker Van Dusen in the D2 title match 6-2, 6-1 on Oct. 18.
“It hasn’t fully sunk in yet that we are two-time state champions,” Auth, a sophomore, said. “And I feel lucky to be Adel’s partner. She always brings such good energy and we have a blast together on court.
“Records are great and I do think it’s an awesome accomplishment to be undefeated through two seasons. That being said, I appreciate my team, friendships, coaches and the ability to go and play tennis much more than just winning.”
The duo’s drive to the championship included a 6-0, 6-1 second-round win over New Berlin West’s Kara Deml and April Vogel and a 6-0, 6-1 victory over Brookfield Academy’s Faith Landowski and Marilee Nygro in the quarterfinals.
That led to their early morning semifinal win Oct. 18 over Edgewood’s Katie Kohls and Olivia Johnson by the score of 6-1, 6-1, setting up the championship match.
Schneider said SMC coach Lizzy Auth had a simple message for the duo before their state matches.
“Your best tennis is yet to come. Coach Lizzy told us that before we played each match,” Schneider said. “Explaining that our game was going to keep elevating as we got closer.”
Lizzy Auth, Vivie’s mother, was thrilled to be able to watch the duo perform as a “coach and a mom” in their semifinal and final matches.
“During the season I’m watching seven matches at once and because Vivie and Adel have done so well, I haven’t had to keep close tabs on their matches,” she said. “No one coached them in either match, we just sat and watched. So to sit and watch them do their thing is really special for me.”
“In the finals when they were up … the other team hit a pretty big ball and Vivie and Adel handled it with such ease. Each team was hitting beautiful overheads and great groundstrokes. I just sat in awe of them how they can stay calm and cool and collected.”
Coach Auth added Vivie and Adel got “a lot of respect” from other players and coaches at the state meet.
“They were like, ‘You’re really 59-0?’ and ‘You really haven’t lost a match?’ ” coach Auth said. “To get that kind of respect in the tennis world I think is very cool for them. They’re not overconfident. They don’t let their egos get in the way. They just know that they put the work in and they don’t flaunt it. They just get on the court, are kind to their opponent and they get the job done.”
Schneider, a senior, called winning back-to-back titles with Vivie Auth an “indescribable experience.”
“She has helped me learn more about myself as a player and helped me elevate my game,” Schneider said. “I am so thankful we got to experience another state championship together and I would not wish for it to be any other way. My coaches, family and friends — in addition to Vivie — made my final few matches as special as they could be.”
Auth and Schneider’s work isn’t done. The duo will be a big part of SMC’s quest for a title at the WIAA team state tournament next weekend. The Zephyrs are the No. 2 seed and will play Altoona at 9 a.m. Oct. 25 in a semifinal match.
“I’m excited to be at Nielsen next weekend with all 10 varsity girls for team state,” Vivie Auth said. “It’s been 21 years since SMC has been to team state, so we know it’s a big deal we are representing our school there.”
This article originally appeared on Appleton Post-Crescent: St. Mary Catholic doubles tennis duo captures second straight state title
Reporting by Ricardo Arguello, Appleton Post-Crescent / Appleton Post-Crescent
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
