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FVA rivals Neenah, Kimberly will meet in first round of WIAA boys state team tennis tournament

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FVA rivals Neenah, Kimberly will meet in first round of WIAA boys state team tennis tournament

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A Fox Valley Association rematch is on tap in the first round of the WIAA boys state team tennis tournament Friday in Madison.

Neenah and Kimberly will face each other in a quarterfinal match at 3:30 p.m. at Nielsen Tennis Stadium. Neenah is the No. 4 seed and Kimberly is the No. 5 seed. The winner of the match will play either No. 1 seed Brookfield Central or No. 8 seed Kenosha Indian Trail in the semifinals at 9 a.m. Saturday, with the championship match to follow.

Tickets are $9 per day plus online fees and are available on the WIAA website.

Here’s what you need to know about the tournament:

About the Rockets

Neenah is making its 10th team state appearance in the last 11 seasons, not counting the COVID-19 canceled season, and its 21st overall appearance since the dual meet format started in 1995.

The Rockets won five consecutive championships from 1991 to 1995 and have won 10 titles overall, also earning the crown in 1946, 1951, 1953, 1957 and 1965. Neenah also has 12 runner-up finishes, most recently in 2022.

Neenah has a 17-7 dual meet record this season, including a 4-3 victory over Kimberly in a Fox Valley Association match April 23.

Neenah also edged the Papermakers 51-49 at the FVA conference tournament. Neenah took first place in all three doubles flights, with championships from Brady Hildreth and Andrew Werner at No. 1 doubles, Tristin Yun and Hunter Brown at No. 2 and Luke Grassl and Henry Farrell at No. 3.

Neenah’s Carl Hein took second place at the FVA tournament at No. 1 singles, Brady Lawatsch took second at No. 2 and Harrison Tanger took second at No. 4.

Hein was the No. 16 seed in Division 1 singles at last weekend’s individual state tournament. He won two matches before losing to No. 1 seed Oscar Corwin of Brookfield East in straight sets. Lawatsch lost his first-round match at state.

In doubles, Hildreth and Werner were the No. 13 seed and won two matches last weekend before losing in the third round to the eventual state champions from Marquette University. Yun and Brown won their first match.

About the Papermakers

Kimberly has an 18-3 dual meet record and is making its first trip to the state team tournament.

Kimberly took first place in all four singles flights at the FVA tournament, with Aiden Meixl winning at No. 1 singles, Colin Meixl at No. 2, Justin Walker at No. 3 and Hunter Holschuh at No. 4.

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Aiden Meixl was the No. 5 seed in singles at last week’s individual state tournament. He won one match after receiving a first-round bye. Colin Meixl won two matches before losing to eventual state champion CJ Kryscio of Menomonee Falls in the third round.

In doubles, Kimberly’s Eli Reider and Andrew Nhan won their first match, while Gage Stahmann and Preston McGinnis lost in the first round.

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