Brittany Goebel
  • Environmental Science
  • Class of 2018
  • McHenry, IL

McHenry Native Goebel to Compete for UW-Whitewater Women's Tennis in 2016

2016 Aug 31

Brittany Goebel, a native of McHenry, IL, and graduate of McHenry West High School, will play for the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater women's tennis team during the 2016-17 season.

Goebel, a junior at UW-Whitewater, is majoring in biology.

The Warhawks open the season Friday against UW-Eau Claire at 3:30 p.m. at Wangerin Courts.

See below for a complete preview of the 2016 Warhawk women's tennis team.

The University of Wisconsin-Whitewater women's tennis team is no stranger to success.

Last season, the Warhawks earned the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference's automatic berth into the NCAA Tournament for the ninth year in a row by winning the WIAC Team Tournament. UW-Whitewater finished the season 24-6, tying the school record for most dual match wins in a season set just one year prior, and advanced to the third round of NCAA play to equal yet another school record.

This year's team expects no less.

"A lot of our preseason talk is about not being complacent," fourteenth-year Head Coach Frank Barnessaid. "We know we have basically the same lineup as last year, yet we don't want to settle, we want to continue to improve each day."

That lineup that Barnes referenced returns in whole with the addition of one new face, Madeline Slicker(Cedarburg, Wis./Homestead), meaning this year's lineup boasts four All-Americans and three individual national qualifiers.

Returning for their senior seasons are Megan Humphreys (Kenosha/Tremper) and Rachel Siemon (Crystal Lake, IL/South). Siemon is a bit of a utility player for the Warhawks. Over the span of her three seasons at UW-Whitewater, Siemon has played anywhere from the No. 3 to No. 6 singles spots, and the two of the three doubles flights. She is 33-15 in singles play and 40-15 in doubles, stepping in, and up, whenever called on.

Humphreys, the most decorated tennis player in school history, will captain the squad along with Alicia Beck (Bismarck, ND/St. Mary's Central). Humphreys is a four-time All-American, earning honors in both singles and doubles last year, and in singles both her freshman and sophomore seasons. Last season, she was the Warhawks' No. 1 in both singles and doubles and turned in records of 27-9 and 35-5, respectively. She also qualified for the NCAA Individual Tournament for the second consecutive year.

Humphreys' doubles partner, Bridgid McGuire (Slinger/Slinger), is back for her junior season. The two-time doubles All-American set a school record in doubles wins last year going 38-5. She added an 18-8 singles record to her resume as well. McGuire and Humphreys were the first Warhawk doubles team to qualify for the NCAA Individual Tournament since 2012.

The aforementioned Beck is a junior this season and a two-time All-American. Last season, she played anywhere from third to sixth singles, turning in a record of 16-10. Beck flourished in doubles with partner Jillian Wallace (Crystal Lake, IL/Central). The pair went 30-9 last season and finished the year ranked 14th in the Central Region by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association.

Wallace, the team's fourth All-American and a junior this year, tallied records of 20-7 in singles and 33-9 in doubles last year. She played primarily at the fourth and fifth spots in singles, and teamed with Beck to play No. 2 doubles for a majority of the season.

Sophomore phenom Gabi Kitchell (Wausau, Wis./D.C. Everest) will return to the court for her second year after earning a berth in the NCAA Individual Tournament last year. Kitchell went an astonishing 41-2 in singles play, the most wins in one season in school history. She was a perfect 20-0 when playing the No. 2 spot in duals and earned ITA Central Region Rookie of the Year honors. Kitchell was also an impressive 30-3 in doubles, teaming up with Alexandra Talyansky (Mequon/Homestead) for a good chunk of the season to go 27-3.

Talyansky bounced back and forth between the Nos. 3 and 4 spots in singles last season, posting a 26-9 record. She added a 28-4 doubles record playing primarily in the third flight with Kitchell.

Barnes expects tough competition from WIAC schools again this season, specifically citing UW-Eau Claire and UW-La Crosse. The Warhawks will also face tough competition in Wheaton, Bowdoin, Tufts, Washington University and the University of Chicago, which are all nationally renowned programs. UW-Whitewater also hosts its annual Warhawk Fall Invite, which features competition against seven scholarship schools, on October 7-8.

While the seven-time WIAC Coach of the Year noted that his team has not set any quantifiable goals and that they want to focus more on the process of getting better each day, it's hard to ignore the teams' successes.

The Warhawks will see what 2016-17 holds when the season kicks off on Friday against WIAC opponent UW-Eau Claire at 3:30 p.m. at Wangerin Courts.