Badger boys tennis caps off another great season at the team state championships

In the championship match, Brookfield Central defeated Marquette University High School 4-3.

Badger freshman and number two singles player Reid Hirn (22-7) got one on the scoreboard for the Badgers, defeating Madison West senior Henry Thai 6-3, 6-3. All 10 of their varsity players got an opportunity to compete.

“It was awesome,” Badger head boys tennis coach Paul Lauterbach said. “We played great, and we competed against them (Madison West) super well. Reid won two singles, but everyone competed really well. They’re (Madison West) the third best team in the state for a reason.”

The Badgers close out the 2024 season 14-9 with an outright Southern Lakes Conference Championship, a sectional championship, and a team state championship appearance in back-to-back seasons with six individual qualifiers the week before.

On top of that, six of the players (Brandon Hall, Reid Hirn, Oliver Nafziger/Jonny Klug, and Christian Polkow/Johnny Engerman) got an opportunity to compete in the individual state tournament Thursday, May 30 and Friday, May 31.

“I was super stoked for our players. We got one singles and one doubles and two singles and two doubles there, which is the first time that’s ever happened, and they won their way in” Lauterbach said. “We had some very tough draws, but we had some moments of brilliance in all of our matches. But it was a very new experience for our players. We did a lot of good things; we just played a lot of very good competition.”

For as good a season as the Badger boys had out on the tennis courts, Lauterbach hopes his guys leave with their held high.

“The kids were disappointed we lost at the end, but with that being said I just kind of reminded them of the year that we just had,” Lauterbach said. “If we would have sat down the first day of practice and said this is what we’re going to achieve this season, they would have all been on board. We had a great year and I’m super happy to be a part of it.”

The 2024 Badger boys tennis season may now be over along with the school year, but Lauterbach is already looking forward to 2025.

“Of the 10 guys that played in the state tournament, eight of them are set to return to the team next year,” Lauterbach said. “Now, we want to take that next step. They’ve seen it, they know what it’s like, so now it’s about improving off of what we just accomplished. I hope the guys play a lot in the offseason, play in some tournaments, and spend a lot of time on the courts, because that’s what it’s going to take to either duplicate this season or exceed what we just did because the 2024 season was amazing.

Number one singles: Madison West’s Everett Reid defeated Hall (22-9) 6-3, 6-1.

Number two singles: Hirn defeated Thai 6-3, 6-1.

Number three singles: Madison West’s Alex Blonian defeated Badger freshman Anderson Greenberg (25-4) 7-5, 6-0.

Number four singles: Madison West’s Ezra Roang defeated Badger senior Will Spende (20-9) 6-0, 6-2.

Number one doubles: Madison West’s Vivek von Heimburg/Pierson Trapskin defeated Klug/Nafziger (19-11) 6-1, 6-1.

Number two doubles: Madison West’s Joey Kaji/Sean Walsh defeated Polkow/Engerman (16-15) 6-1, 6-0.

Number three doubles: Madison West’s Grant Shadman/Hunter Shadman defeated Aiden Uppling (17-10)/John Lynch (11-2) 6-1, 6-3.