MADISON – CJ Kryscio’s legs were shot. His grip on the WIAA Division 1 state final was slipping.
His faith, however, never wavered.
“What got me though was my fighting spirit,” the Menomonee Falls junior said. “I cramped earlier in the quarterfinals and was able to push through. I just kept believing in myself and told myself 'You’ve got this. You can do this.'”
What Kryscio did Saturday afternoon at the University of Wisconsin’s Nielsen Tennis Stadium was score a 6-3, 6-7 (5), 10-7 victory over Union Grove junior Nolan Shaub to become the first state champion, boy or girl, in school history.
The victory capped a Milwaukee-area sweep of the Division 1 and 2 singles and doubles titles for the second straight year but for just the fifth time since Division 2 was introduced in 1997.
Here is a look back at how it happened:
Menomonee Falls' CJ Kryscio comes back in super tiebreaker
To reach the final, Shaub, the No. 8 seed, upset defending champion and No. 1 seed Oscar Corwin of Brookfield East in the quarterfinals and defeated No 4 seed Alexander Bo of Middleton in the semifinals.
But Shaub started slowly against Krysico, the No. 2 seed, dropping the first two games and never leading during the first set. Kryscio (30-2) had control of the second set as well, breaking Shaub’s serve to go up, 5-3.
But Kryscio was noticeably limping at this point and had already taken a medical timeout to address his cramping. Shaub won three of the next four games and then won four straight points to close out the tiebreaker after trailing, 5-3.
Kryscio’s quarterfinal victory over Kenosha Indian Trail senior Kristian Blagoev (6-3, 5-7, 11-9) unfolded in similar fashion.
“I’d been through it in this tournament before, so I knew there was a chance it could come up today," he said. "Nolan doesn’t miss very much and we were going to have a lot of long points.”
Kryscio didn’t get back on track until he fell behind, 4-2, in the super tiebreaker. He then ran off five straight points and eventually built a 9-5 advantage, which provided him multiple chances to close out the match.
He didn't miss a chance to make history.
“I love Menomonee Falls and there is no other school I’d rather win a state title for,” Kryscio said. “It means so much for the community and everyone who supported me, I’d like to thank them, too.”
Third time charm for Brookfield Academy's Adrian Yin
Brookfield Academy’s Adrian Yin’s celebration was as emphatic as they came Saturday with the senior firing up the crowd as much as they revved him up.
Yin’s victory in the final was a long time coming. He reached the final last year but lost in three sets. He also got there as a freshman but lost in straight sets.
This time he defeated Green Bay Notre Dame’s Alex Thomas, 6-4, 4-6, 11-9, for a victory that hurt so good.
“It was at the end of the second set that I really started to feel both legs but mainly my left leg start to tighten up,” said Yin, who finished 22-5. “The muscles were just tense. It felt like a brick and so I couldn’t move around. In the tiebreaker I had to do some desperate things because I just couldn’t move.”
Marquette tandem overcomes rough first set
Seniors Ryan Gould and Aidan Ferber claimed the Division 1 double championship, marking the second straight year a Marquette team won that bracket.
But the early returns weren’t promising as the No. 4 seed didn’t win a game in the first set before claiming the second set, 6-3, and the super tiebreaker, 10-7, to defeat Brookfield Central senior Aaditya Tiwari and junior Jacob Smith.
In the semifinals Gould and Ferber (23-4) defeated their Marquette teammates, No. 1 seeded seniors Michael Stuckslager and Patrick Teuteberg, 6-2, 7-6 (5).
"It’s a testament to the Marquette tennis team,” Ferber said of the comeback. “We had a great doubles team in front of us. (They) placed third. Playing with those guys every day really makes a difference … We stuck in it. We kept battling and we put ourselves in a position to have a shot to win it.”
Catholic Memorial duo wins school’s second tennis title
Senior Nate Carlson and sophom*ore Finn Milleman defeated No. 2 seed Matt Gugluizza and Aidan Burich of Green Bay Notre Dame, 7-6 (6), 6-4, for Catholic Memorial’s first individual title since 2014.
This was their first season as a team. Milleman didn’t advance out of the opening round as a singles player last season; Carson didn’t make it out of the second round of doubles.
The two, who finished 27-3, had the distinction of being the only champion that didn’t drop a set in the tournament.
“We’re opposites when it comes to almost every aspect of tennis, so we work really well as a double partner,” Carson said. “He’s more introverted. I’m more extraverted, so for those key points when you need to get fired up, you go to me and when you need to calm down after one you go to him.”
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Menomonee Falls' CJ Kryscio leads area sweep at WIAA state tennis
