Tennis is not really on the minds of those of us that live in wintry Wisconsin, but the collegiate tennis season gets underway in the end of January for three Menomonie High School graduates – Cole Witucki, Ethan Wurtzel and Dominik Hendrickson – who are all playing at the NCAA Division III level.
Witucki is playing at Lawrence University in Appleton, Wurtzel plays at UW-Eau Claire and Hendrickson at UW-Stevens Point.
Cole Witucki, So, Lawrence University
Witucki captured a 6-1, 6-1, No. 6 singles win in the Vikings’ spring opener, Jan. 25, against St. Mary’s University. Lawrence will host Northwestern Feb. 1. During his freshman year during the (2023-24), Witucki posted a 4-8 record in singles and 2-13 at doubles, playing mostly at No. 2 and at No. 3 doubles with three different partners.
While at Menomonie High School, Witucki played No. 1 doubles and was a three-time WIAA State Championship qualifier (2021, 2022, 2023). Wituck was a two-time first-team All-Big Rivers Conference (BRC) selection (2021, 2023) and a second-team All-BRC pick in 2022. Witucki captured a runner-up finish at the WIAA Division I Sectional Championships and was a BRC runner-up in 2021 and 2023. A two-year tennis team captain, Witucki also earned team MVP honors.
Ethan Wurtzel, Sr, UW-Eau Claire

UW-Eau Claire played a pair of exhibition matches in the fall and competed in the 2024 ITA Regional Championship at Gustavus Adolphus College. Wurtzel competed in the meet, one of the top NCAA Division III tennis tournaments in the Midwest, falling in the first round, winning the first set, 6-2, but dropping the second and third sets, 6-1, 10-5. During the 2023-24 season, Wurtzel finished with a 4-3 overall record at singles and a 5-2 record in doubles.
A team captain while at Menomonie High School, Wurtzel earned team MVP honors in 2019, was a two-time team captain (2018, 2019) and was a two-time second team All-BRC pick (2018, 2019). The Blugolds will open the spring 2025 season Saturday, Feb. 1, at Menards Tennis Center against Concordia, Wis.
Dominik Hendrickson, Sr, UW-Stevens Point
After beginning his collegiate career at UW-Superior, Dom Hendrickson is in the midst of his second season at UW-Stevens Point. During his first season at Stevens Point (2023-24), Hendrickson recorded the second-most wins at doubles with four. The Pointers played seven matches in the fall, going 4-3, but Hendrickson played in only one match, dropping his long doubles match at No. 3 doubles.
While at Menomonie, Hendrickson was a four-year letterwinner and and a first team all-conference player. The Pointers return to action Feb. 1 with a pair of matches at Coe College, along with Carthage.
It’s not often this part of the state gets to celebrate a national championship. Carson Hinzman of St. Croix Central High School in Hammond was the starting center of The Ohio State University national championship football team. The Buckeyes defeated Notre Dame 34-23 Jan. 20. Hinzman, a native of rural Spring Valley, is the son of Jon and Tera Hinzman.
Layne Pitt is the retired UW-Stout sports information director and also worked more than a decade at The Dunn County News.
Menomonie Collegians is a regular feature of Menomonie News Net. The column is not limited to student-athletes, but may be a former Menomonie area student in a play, forensics, music or any type of collegiate competition. If you know of a Menomonie Collegian, please email [email protected].
The column Menomonie Collegians by Layne Pitt is licensed under a CC BY SA 4.0 International license. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/