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Articles by Isaac Lytle
Art exhibit shows Hmong culture
Roberta’s Art Gallery, in the UC, is currently featuring Ger Xiong/Ntxawg Xyoo’s “Re/connections” from August 17 to September 15. “Re/connections” is a colorful Hmong artwork that is worth seeing, especially for anyone interested in Hmong culture, beautiful works of art that have a powerful meaning, or contemporary art. Within the exhibit, Xiong/Xyooj’s use of patterns and processes that are both from Hmong and American emblems makes the trip to see the exhibit incredibly worth it.
Have you got what it takes?
Members of the Reserve Officers' Training Corp and Army National Guard set up camp in Lot 2 of the UW-W campus to raise funds and awareness about their organizations.
Double, double toil and trouble!
The Barnett Theatre in the Center of the Arts hosted its last show of the academic year this past week. Shakespeare’s Macbeth ran from April 25 to April 30. It was performed by UW-Whitewater students and was directed by Professor Bruce Cohen.
Men’s sports 22-23 highlights
Parker Olsen, Men’s Sports Editor UW-Whitewater athletics are always among some of the most competitive in the country, no matter the sport. In the 2022-23 collegiate season the Warhawks garnered conference, regional and national championships across their nine men’s programs. As the year closes out, the Warhawks deserve some recognition for their top moments, whether that moment be a national title or an incredible play. Here are the top 10 moments from 2022-23 Warhawks men’s sports.
701st win came in extras
Ryan Baker, Men’s Sports Assistant Editor Another milestone was hit for head coach John Voldenlich for the UW-Whitewater Baseball team. On April 27, Vodenlich brought home win number 701 versus Edgewood College. The 11-10 win came after a near four hour bout between the two that went into 11 innings. Whitewater had put out 12 different pitchers, not one pitching more than 5 outs. Outfielder Jacob DeMeyer opened up the game with a two-run rocket over the wall.
View from the press box
Warhawk alum covers 30th Masters Tournament Chris Pittner, Men’s Sports Journalist The Royal Purple has been fortunate enough to cover thousands of sporting events over the years, including countless conference championships across all sports and national championships in many sports. There is one writer that has covered the successes of UW-Whitewater and well beyond: UW-Whitewater and Royal Purple alumnus Gary D’Amato.
Keeping her eye on the ball
Winning Women Kaitlin Geisler, Assistant Women’s Sports Editor Sophomore catcher and outfielder Kiarra Kostroski joined the UW-Whitewater Softball team last year, and as a freshman, started in 39 games. In her first year Kostroski had a solid season, as she tied for fourth in WIAC triples. With that showing, this second season is all about confidence according to her. Q: When did you first get into softball? A: I started playing softball in 3rd grade so I would have been about 9 or 10 years old.
Warhawks thriving in women’s sports
The Warhawk women’s sports programs have had a successful year filled with dominating WIAC play, conference championships, all-conference honors, All-American honors, and National Champions. From coaching changes to historic milestones, the 2022-2023 school year was filled with many great moments for UW-Whitewater’s female athletes. Here is a look at the Royal Purple’s top ten women’s sports moments of the academic year.
Women's tennis heads to 15th NCAA Tournament
The Warhawks will be heading to their 15th straight NCAA Tournament after dominating the WIAC automatic qualifier tournament. The Warhawks hosted the tournament after winning the conference championship in the fall season. The four team tournament included UW-Whitewater, UW-Eau Claire, UW-La Crosse and UW-Stevens Point after they placed top four in the fall season. Whitewater would win their first matchup against La Crosse 5-0.
A magical ballet
Young Auditorium hosted World Ballet Series: Cinderella on April 23. A total of 40 professional dancers from all of the country worked together to bring the show to life. Marina Kesler created choreography that was beautifully set to the music of Sergei Prokofiev. I personally have never been to a professional ballet performance before, but this one sets my standards high for sure. Let’s talk about why! The set was absolutely stunning.
Warhawk baseball swept by WIAC leader
Chris Pittner, Men’s Sports journalist This weekend, the UW-Whitewater Baseball team (17-11, 7-9) fell to conference-leading UW-La Crosse (22-6,13-3) in two doubleheaders Saturday, April 22, and Sunday, April 23, by scores of 8-2, 6-4, 8-2, and 6-5. The Eagles, ranked No. 25 in the most recent D3Baseball.com poll, are currently on top of the WIAC with a 13-3 record against WIAC opponents. The first game series saw the Warhawks fall in a tough matchup 6-4.
Wisconsin teams take on New Jersey
Parker Olsen, Men’s Sports Editor UW-Whitewater has been one of the top powers in many, if not most, sports in the WIAC for quite some time. But men’s tennis is a power in another conference, the New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC). As a matter of fact, there are four Wisconsin teams in the NJAC. How in the world did Wisconsin teams end up in a New Jersey conference? For head coach Frank Barnes, not being in the WIAC is a regular thing for the men’s team.
Training champions
Ryan Baker, Men’s Sports Assistant Editor Track and field assistant coach Jeff Miller has been coaching at UW-Whitewater since the fall of 1982. Not only does he oversee the distance runners for track and field, but he is also the head coach for both the men’s and women’s cross country teams. Miller has been a part of the ups and downs for the track and field program, and speaks on his experience at UWW, his coaching style, and this year’s star-studded team. Q: How did you get into coaching?
Alumnus named new leader of women’s soccer
Following the opening of the Warhawk Women’s Soccer head coaching position, Athletic Director Ryan Callahan and the Intercollegiate Athletics have selected Dan Montanye, 34, to fill the role. As a former student-athlete at UW-Whitewater, Montanye is familiar with the program and culture that surrounds the illustrious athletics powerhouse. Montanye has spent a large portion of his life with various soccer programs of different levels.
Warhawk Tennis shuts out Edgewood
Kaitlin Geisler, Women’s Sports Assistant Editor In their first outdoor home match of the season, the UW-Whitewater Women’s Tennis team shutout Edgewood College 9-0 on Tuesday April 19. The doubles matches went through routinely and fairly steady but a few were dogfights. Especially for senior Courtney Day and sophomore Gianna Nikoleit’s match. It was very back and forth with the points in the beginning, but eventually the women evened out the points and came through to win their match.
Sustainability Office hosts clothes swap
Secondhand shopping continues to rise in popularity throughout the United States as a plentitude of individuals are deciding to ditch fast fashion and look to more alternative ways to stay stylish without breaking the bank or damaging the planet further. During peak academic hours the UW-Whitewater Sustainability office held their second ever clothes swap in the University Center’s Hamilton room.The Apr.
New football coach taking the reins
New UW-Whitewater football head coach Jace Rindahl has begun to lead practices for his alma mater. The team recently kicked off spring practices under the new leadership as they prepare for the 2023 schedule, which promises to be one of the most difficult ever seen in Division III. The team has only had a handful of practices but the first time head coach is starting to settle into his new role. “First practice was honestly a little different, trying to figure out what to do.
Spring warm-up - Royal Purple
Sophomore Parker Olsen Hits a serve while playing tennis on Thursday April 13th with friends
Efficient baseball victory over Ripon
Ryan Baker, Assistant Men’s Sports Editor On Tuesday, April 11 the UW-Whitewater Warhawks swiftly mercy ruled Ripon College by a score of 11-1 in just 7 innings. The fourth straight win boosted the Warhawks to a record of 15-4, while Ripon College dropped to 10-11. There was no time wasted for the Warhawks, as they put up a six run second inning fueled by a leadoff home run by junior infielder Adam Cootway.
Men’s tennis conference streak going strong
Chris Pittner, Men’s Sports journalist On Friday, April 13 the UW-Whitewater Men’s Tennis team faced off against two NJAC conference opponents, with clashes against UW-Stevens Point and UW-Eau Claire. The Warhawks were able to sweep both of their opponents, by scores of 9-0 in both matches, handley defeating the opponents in both singles and doubles matches.
All-American swings into spring
Mikey Rottier, Women’s Sports Editor UW-Whitewater sophomore Cassie Lee had an impressive showing in her 2021-22 freshman debut with the Warhawk Women’s Tennis team. Lee closed out the season with a doubles win with Autumn Bruno in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association Midwest Regional to earn the title of All-American. So far, Lee’s sophomore season has been equally impressive as she has recorded just two losses each in singles and doubles.
Comedian brings laughs and monkey business
“YES! I love it when the crowd screams “Let’s go!” at my comedy stand-ups, everybody should do that more often!” said Sam Morrison to the happy laugh crowd. A gay, diabetic, Jewish and widowed comedian named Sam Morrison came to visit UW-W April 13 at the Down Under to make people laugh about sex, male attractiveness today, make fun of the crowd.
Baseball working to find it
Parker Olsen, Men’s Sports Editor Through schedule changes and location switches, the UW-Whitewater Baseball Team has started their season out well but knows the bar needs to be raised. The team opened down in Pensacola, Florida, where they went 7-2, one of their losses was to No. 1 Birmingham-Southern College. “It was overall an amazing trip. We’re hosted by Quint Studer, who’s an alum, he’s the owner of the Sky Carp down in Beloit, he also owns the Pensacola team,” head coach John Vodenlich said.
Domination ensues for first outdoor meet
Ryan Baker, Men’s Sports Assistant Editor Domination was the theme of the Rex Foster Invitational meet on April 7 for the UW-Whitewater Warhawks. The men’s track and field team handed out a complete sweep of the other teams that came out to compete. Other teams included UW-Stevens Point, Marquette, and Augustana among others. With a score of 249, the Warhawks had put up 100 points more than the second place finisher Stevens Point, who had a mere 135.
Family tradition proceeds Whitewater tennis player
Chris Pittner, Men’s Sports Journalist Tradition means a lot to many different people, especially in UW-Whitewater athletics where the mantra is “Powered By Tradition.” For tennis player Tyler Nelson, upholding his family’s tennis domination was destiny. The freshman has a rich family history in the sport of tennis, with his grandpa and uncle both competing at higher levels. His grandpa competed for the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and his uncle at Division II St. Cloud State.
Warhawks open WIAC play with doubleheader sweep
After the original home opener was canceled due to rain the Warhawks were finally able to open up WIAC play with a doubleheader against UW-Platteville.Coming fresh off of two wins against Rockford University the Warhawks would end up winning two cose games against Platteville winning game one 4-3 and game two 5-4.
Three time All-American
Kaitlin Geisler, Assistant Women’s Sports Editor Recently titled the vault champion at the NCGA championships, sophomore Kara Welsh has become the fifth Warhawk to claim a national title on vault. Her score of 9.825 is at the top of the program’s scores being the third highest. Although this would be her third time receiving an All-American, Welsh claims vault hasn’t always been her best event. “I used to be a bar girl, but I don’t do bars anymore,” Welsh said.
Three time All-American
Kaitlin Geisler, Assistant Women’s Sports Editor Recently titled the vault champion at the NCGA championships, sophomore Kara Welsh has become the fifth Warhawk to claim a national title on vault. Her score of 9.825 is at the top of the program’s scores being the third highest. Although this would be her third time receiving an All-American, Welsh claims vault hasn’t always been her best event. “I used to be a bar girl, but I don’t do bars anymore,” Welsh said.
Evening of champions
Co-Directors Brian Schanen and Emily Leong brought a showcase of the UW-Whitewater Forensics Team’s talent to Summers Auditorium. On Apr. 6, three team members gave four speeches and performances on diverse topics. Here is a rundown of the night! The first performance of the night was a communication analysis by Kolden Severson, a senior majoring in elementary education. His piece was about how a group of men are using AI chat software to be misogynistic towards women.
Women’s basketball racks up rewards
Mikey Rottier, Women’s Sports Editor The Warhawk women’s basketball team completed another dominant season with a talented roster of athletes. Whitewater won the regular season conference title, the conference tournament and earned a number of player recognition awards at the conference, regional and national levels. Former All-American Aleah Grundahl put together an impressive season before suffering an injury in the conference tournament that left her sidelined for the remainder of the season.
Special Olympics excited to come to campus
Parker Olsen, Men’s Sports Editor The UW-Whitewater campus will host the 2023 Special Olympics of Wisconsin Summer Games June 8-10. This will be the first time that Whitewater has hosted the major event which will have over 1,500 participants. According to Special Olympics of Wisconsin (SOWI) President and CEO Chad Hershner, Whitewater was chosen to host the event because of its high quality sports facilities as well as the ability to house the high number of participants.
Sixth years begin their final year
Ryan Baker, Men’s Sports Assistant Editor The COVID-19 pandemic had shut down everything at the beginning of the spring of 2020. Meaning right as the baseball season was kicking off for the UW-Whitewater Warhawks, they got news that there would be no season. The NCAA committee, then, announced that across all sports, every player would have an extra year of eligibility to attempt to rescind what was stripped of them in the first place.
Warhawks spring summary
Chris Pittner, Men’s Sports journalist Most students went home for spring break but UW-Whitewater athletes continued to take the field rather than a hiatus. During break the tennis, baseball and track and field teams all competed in events throughout the week. Tennis takes two of three, including an upset The men’s tennis squad competed in three different matches, part of their spring trip where they traveled to California.
Four gymnasts earn All-Americans at NCGA
Kaitlin Geisler, Assistant Women’s Sports Editor To wrap up their season, eight UW-Whitewater women’s gymnasts traveled to Minnesota, accompanied by the rest of the team, to compete in the NCGA championships that took place on Mar. 25. In the end, sophomore Kara Welsh came out on top, winning the vault title. She is the fifth Warhawk to claim the national title on vault, and had the third highest individual vault score in the program history with her score of 9.825.
Earth month events and memorial
Earth day, officially the 22nd day of April each year, marks the anniversary of the birth of the modern environmental movement in 1970. This commemoration is being fleshed out for the entire month of April as the UW-Whitewater Sustainability office has put together a plenitude of events happening each week beginning Apr. 5. While there are a resounding 17 events all together this month, here are just a few notable ones on the ever growing list.
Irvin L. Young Library in April
The Irvin L. Young Memorial Library, 431 W. Center St. Whitewater, has set out a wonderful selection of different events throughout the month of April, many of them relating to the Spring season. Spring Bird Nest 04/03 The spring bird nest take & make craft for kids three and older is just the perfect activity to start out the season.
Hanged man found from bridge
Josh Stoughton, Community Editor A caller reported seeing a deceased male hanging from the Main Street bridge the morning of Sunday, March 26. The Whitewater Police Department and Emergency Medical Service responded to the 100 block to find 47-year-old Cameron Bicknell of Whitewater suspended from the bridge. The Walworth County Medical Examiner was called to the scene to assist in the investigation and an autopsy has been scheduled, according to WPD Chief Dan Meyer.
A Supreme Court race for the record books
The spring election isn’t over until April 4. But already spending in this year’s state Supreme Court has demolished the state and national judicial spending records. The most expensive state Supreme Court race in the United States had been an Illinois contest in 2004, when $15 million was spent. The most expensive Supreme Court campaign in state history was the 2020 race in which candidates and groups combined to spend some $10 million, according to the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign.
Tragedy, adversity and a bittersweet ending
Tragedy, struggles on the court and adversity all stared the UW-Whitewater Men’s Basketball team right in the eyes all season. Before the season had begun, in July of 2022, tragedy struck the entire city of Whitewater, more so to the basketball team. Just after his 20th birthday, basketball player Derek Gray died unexpectedly due to a blood clot in his heart while working at a Whitewater youth basketball camp.
Men’s Rugby pushes towards success
There are a variety of sports clubs available on the UW-Whitewater campus that may not get as much attention as say football or basketball does. However, these niche sports such as pickleball or water polo are just as equally important in the eyes of its members who work tirelessly to make them a success. One club sport who does this to a T is the Men’s Rugby team.
Making a name for himself and his school
Parker Olsen, Men’s Sports Editor Long distance running is not something that everyone loves. For Christian Patzka though, long distance running is his passion. “What motivates me the most is just to see how far I can get, see how fast I can get and push myself,” Patzka said. The UW-Whitewater runner pushed himself further than ever before when he capped off the indoor track season by winning the 5,000 meter national title. Not only did he finish first, he also broke the record.
Integrity First, Service Before Self, Excellence in All We Do
These are the core values that drive me as a public servant with almost 25 years serving in the public, non-profit, military, and educational sectors. Integrity first. This means we do what is right even when no one is watching. Whether it is being where we say we will, even if no one is there to clock us in, or it is doing the things we will say we will do, even when the position’s discretion and autonomy provides us the opportunity to do otherwise.
Golfer takes another swing
Mikey Rottier, Women’s Sports Editor Lily Sheppard is in her fourth year with the UW-Whitewater women’s golf program. Following the end of the current spring season, she has opted to join the University’s graduate program and take her fifth year of eligibility on the golf team. Sheppard has shown excellence throughout her time as a Warhawk, whether she is driving a fairway, putting a green, or taking a business exam, she is likely to see a favorable result.
Track and field sets the bar high for outdoor
Kaitlin Geisler, Assistant Women’s Sports Editor With the conclusion of NCAA indoor championships having been Mar. 11, the UW-Whitewater women’s track and field team is currently in the process of beginning to prepare for the outdoor season. That switch from working indoor to outdoor is a challenge for the team due to the weather and expanded event options. Head coach Mike Johnson said that the later spring break is actually beneficial for the team to continue practicing and working on themselves.
Peaking at the right time
The UW-Whitewater Women’s Bowling Team wrapped up the regular season at the Music City Classic. Whitewater would finish the weekend with a 6-7 record and end up finishing 14th in a field of 30. The Warhawks opened up the weekend with a huge upset over No. 5 Stepehn F. Austin by a score of 979-975. Junior Rebecca Howard led the Warhawks with a 100% fill rate and close behind her was junior Rachel Nelson with a 90% fill rate.
Theatre is Something Much More
Theatre is something that can be interpreted in many different ways. When most people hear this word, they think of Broadway, or a touring production of a musical. It is so much more than that for me. Growing up, I was always enamored with the thought of being in the spotlight. Call me a narcissistic if you will, but I mainly liked it because I loved performing. I loved looking throughout an audience and seeing faces change as I tell a story.
National Goof Off Day
For Christmas of 2021 I decided I wanted to have some fun after being inspired by “How the Grinch Stole Christmas.” I love to dress up in funny cringe costumes when an occasion arises and decided I wanted to test my artistic skill. Over break I bought some clay, liquid latex, a mannequin head, pieces of a grinch costume, and a few tools and got to work.
Clean energy projects proposed to Common Council
Josh Stoughton, Community Editor The common council had a big day today, speaking with representatives of ClearPath Energy about using the city’s closed landfill site for a place to install solar panels that could help the city, the UW system and the school system in lowering costs. Representatives Jeffrey Brown and Omar Khaleel from ClearPath Energy came to the common council to talk about energy costs.
“Of Chicken, Myths & Fantasy: It Is Storied Tales Drives Our Dreams”
Della Wells is an artist from Milwaukee who taught herself her craft. Her art is mainly collage-based, and it has been displayed throughout Milwaukee as well as in New York City. From March 6th through March 23rd, Della Wells’ art was displayed in our own Crossman Gallery in the Center of the Arts. The title of the gallery is “Of Chicken, Myths & Fantasy: It Is Storied Tales Drives Our Dreams,” and its pieces tell stories about race, gender, and spirituality.
Pretty painting - Royal Purple
Katie McIlheran UW-Whitewater students pick out paint colors for their paintings at the Paint N Sip in the University Center in the Warhawk Connection Center Mar. 21 2023. Katie McIlheran March 27, 2023
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