It was a perfect way to end a perfect season for the St. Mary Catholic girls tennis duo of Vivie Auth and Adel Schneider.
The Zephyrs’ standout doubles team swept Stevens Point Pacelli’s Natalie Cooper and Lauren Loesl by the scores of 6-0, 6-3 to capture the WIAA Division 2 state doubles championship Saturday at Nielsen Tennis Stadium in Madison.
Auth and Schneider finished undefeated at 31-0. It’s the first Zephyrs girls tennis state champion since Tess Reddin won three Division 2 singles titles in a row from 2003 to 2005.
“Vivie and Adel have played with grit all season,” SMC coach Lizzy Auth said. “They go for every ball. They play with confidence and stay positive. Both girls have put many hours in on court since they were little girls and it was magical as their coach and as a mom to Vivie to get to see all their hard work pay off.”
Auth and Schneider’s road to the title match was remarkably efficient. The duo entered as the top seed and earned a bye into the second round. On Friday, they defeated SMC teammates Emily Vogel and Nadia Alexander 6-1, 6-0 before beating Martin Luther’s Chloe Roberts and Amelia Lerret 6-0, 6-1 in the third round.
Columbus Catholic’s Maria Elizabeth Garcia and Akosua Yeboah pushed Auth and Schneider in both sets in the semifinal before succumbing 6-2, 6-2 to set up the final with Cooper and Loesl.
“A wise man once told me to ‘play like a champion today’ and that has been my mantra all season,” Schneider, a junior, said.
Vivie Auth, a freshman, said the tennis court is her “happy place.”
“I’ve gotten to be a part of SMC tennis for many years with my mom as the coach,” she said. “So I couldn’t have asked for a better high school experience surrounded by all this support.”
Will there be possibility of a repeat championship for Vivie and Adel next year?
“There’s a chance,” coach Auth said. “Four of the 10 varsity players are seniors, so we’re not sure of the lineup for next season. We’re just now in the moment celebrating this special time.”
This article originally appeared on Appleton Post-Crescent: High school tennis: St. Mary Catholic duo wins WIAA doubles title
