Murawski, Plath earn state berth for Franklin netters

Franklin - Though WIAA sectional play proved to be even more formidable than it was cut out to be, the great season of the Franklin girls tennis team was still rewarded when the doubles team of Shannon Murawski and Kayla Plath earned a special qualifier berth in this weekend's WIAA State Individual Tournament at the Nielsen Stadium in Madison.

The seniors (13-14 overall) will play at 6 p.m. Thursday against Sheboygan North's Jamie Testwuide and Hannah Proudman (17-5). If they win, they would next play at 11:30 a.m. Friday against the second-seeded pair of Erin and Sara Miller of Nicolet (28-4).

Play will continue through Saturday's championship matches.

"Although we would have liked to close the deal on the court, Shannon and Kayla's résumé speaks for itself,' said Sabers' coach Jon Vogt. "Clearly, the seeding committee agreed."

Murawski is excited to be going to state.

"It's a great honor to get the opportunity to compete at the WIAA state competition," said Murawski. "What a great way to end my high school tennis career."

The duo's efforts were part of a balanced showing by the Sabers last week. For the first time, they won the subsectional meet outright at Greendale on Oct. 4 and then on Oct. 6, they took a strong third in the WIAA sectional tournament at Greenfield.

Murawski and Plath, the team's top doubles team, probably earned their consideration after their strong effort in a loss to a Whitefish Bay team in the sectional quarterfinals (0-6, 6-4, 6-1).

Top singles player, Liv Lampone (15-15), finished out her fine career, losing a tough quarterfinal match to a Nicolet opponent, 6-0, 6-2. Vogt said Lampone had a good game plan, but just ran into a brick wall against her foe.

Freshman Kassie Murawski (25-6) had the highest individual place, taking second at fourth singles, losing to a Nicolet opponent in the final.

Other results for the Sabers included junior second singles player Yuka Shiotani (20-10) taking third, beating a Greendale opponent for her place; junior third singles player Kat Donovan (22-9) also taking third, beating an Oak Creek foe for her final spot; a fourth from the second doubles team of junior Ensley Gossett and senior Sanjana Segu (20-10); and a third from the third doubles team of seniors Allie Tome and Abby Kass (14-5), as they defeated a Muskego pair for their spot.

Franklin scored 28 points for its best-ever spot in sectional play, as Nicolet won with 54 and Whitefish Bay was second with 41.

"This year was the closest we have ever played Whitefish Bay and Nicolet," said Vogt. "We got a set off of Bay at first doubles, and got to a tiebreaker at second doubles against Nicolet.

"There were also a number of very competitive matches against those teams. Since as a program we are still developing, these are victories for us.

"The seniors leaving the program this year were freshmen during my first year coaching in 2008, so it's a bittersweet feeling.

"They will leave a huge hole for us to fill, but at the same time they've been central in getting our program to the positive position we are at right now."