MADISON, Wis. – Senior Wisconsin women's hockey players Claudia Kepler and Baylee Wellhausen will serve as co-captains for the Badgers during the 2017-18 season, head coach Mark Johnson announced Thursday.

Kepler, a native of Verona, Wisconsin, and Wellhausen, a Williams Bay, Wisconsin, native, will be assisted by senior Lauren Williams and junior Sophia Shaver.

It marks only the second time in program history that UW will have co-captains as Michelle Sikich and Sis Paulsen served as co-captains during the 2001-02 season.

Kepler will make her UW debut this fall after transferring from Ohio State, where she led the team in scoring in each of her three years on the Buckeyes. During her junior year at OSU, Kepler tallied 14 goals and 11 assists for a team-high 25 points.

Wellhausen is coming off of a stellar junior season where she tallied 15 goals and recorded her first collegiate hat trick against No. 2 Minnesota Duluth on Feb. 12. She will become the fourth in her family to captain a UW hockey team, as her uncles Tony, Don and Rob Granato all served as captains or co-captains for the Wisconsin men's hockey team.

A native of Windsor, Ontario, Williams is coming off of a career year after appearing in all 40 games for UW, recording eight points and a +22 plus/minus rating. She also tallied the game-winning goal for UW at North Dakota on Oct. 23, 2016.

Shaver, a junior from Wayzata, Minnesota, enjoyed a career season last year, recording 18 points thanks to three goals and 15 assists. During her UW career, Shaver has 35 points and a plus/minus rating of +46.