October 2014

Becky Halverson had every intention of aging gracefully.

Tuesday may have changed that plan for Middleton’s girls golf coach.

“I think that took 12 years off of my life,” Halverson joked.

She most certainly had company.

The WIAA Division 1 Middleton Sectional produced more drama than ‘Game of Thrones’, ‘Grey’s Anatomy’ and ‘The Vampire Diaries’ — combined.

Middleton, Madison Memorial and Stoughton all tied for the second and final state qualifying spot. Those three teams then went to a playoff, and after Middleton and Memorial advanced on the first hole, the Cardinals finally vanquished the Spartans on the second hole.

After a nearly nine-hour day at Pleasant View, the Cardinals were headed back to state.

“It was exciting, but mostly stressful,” said Middleton junior standout Loren Skibba. “I was stressed the whole time.”

Ben White wasn’t messing around.

Middleton’s boys volleyball coach hosted one of the state’s elite tournaments last Saturday. And White wasn’t giving his team any breaks at the Cardinal Invite.

“I told the guys I was going to put us in the toughest pool to give us more competition and see how we stack up against the best,” White said.

The results were mixed.

Middleton won three of its five matches on the day and escaped pool play. But the Cardinals’ day ended in the quarterfinals when they fell to Kaukauna.

“I wish we had more fight and spunk in us and fought back a little harder,” White said. “When we are on, we are on and tough to beat. We just need that switch to be flipped more often.”

The Cardinal Invite featured seven of the top 10 teams in state and 12 of the top 20.

Middleton opened with a 21-16, 21-11 win over Greenfield. The Cardinals then toppled Franklin, 21-10, 21-11.

There were no surprises.

Nothing shocking or astonishing.

Middleton’s girls tennis team simply did what it's done all season long — and that’s dominate the Big Eight Conference.

The Cardinals went to the two-day conference tournament inside Nielsen Tennis Stadium last Tuesday and Wednesday and rolled to an easy win. Middleton finished with 50 points to easily outdistance runner-up Madison West (32).

The Cardinals also won the conference’s dual meet title with a perfect 9-0 mark.

Middleton head coach Deke Bradley declined when asked to comment. The victorious Cardinals, though, were understandbly giddy.

“Winning conference was awesome,” Middleton junior Abbey Webber said. “I was really proud of every girl on the team. We all worked really hard this season and it really paid off.”

That’s for sure.

Middleton’s doubles teams stole the show, winning championships at all three flights.

The bad news for Middleton’s girls golf team is they allowed a six-shot lead dissipate over the final six holes.

The good news for the Cardinals is it happened Wednesday, and not later this month.

Middleton finished second at the WIAA Division 1 Madison West Regional Wednesday. Verona won the meet with a 331-team score, while the Cardinals were second at 332.

Both teams advanced to Tuesday’s Middleton Sectional at Pleasant View Golf Course beginning at 9 a.m. Madison Memorial (342) and Waunakee (365) also advanced to sectionals.

“It was a good day for us,” Middleton coach Becky Halverson said. “It just wasn’t a great day.”

Middleton appeared headed toward greatness much of the day.

The Cardinals shot 161 on the front nine to Verona’s 162. And Middleton’s lead grew to six shots after 12 holes.

But the Cardinals struggled on holes 14, 15 and 16 and Verona took the lead. Middleton never could get it back.