October 9, 2015 at 2:24 p.m.
Hodag netters qualify three players for WIAA state tournament
Hodag netters qualify three players for WIAA state tournament
Those struggles ended Thursday.
No. 1 singles player Ivy Packard and the No. 1 doubles pairing of Eva O'Melia and Maddie Barnes each finished third and punched a ticket to Madison during a WIAA Division 1 sectional at Chippewa Falls High School.
The three are the first Hodags to qualify for state since Priyanka Sikka and Alleigh Fralick finished fourth in the D1 doubles tournament in 2010. It's the first time Rhinelander has sent multiple entries to state since 2009 when Sikka qualified in singles and Fralick and Emily Heideman made it through in doubles.
"Today, I think, has brought the program to another level, especially with Ivy making it, an underclassman," RHS girls' tennis coach Bob Heideman said. "We've been knocking on the door, knocking on the door and getting six (flights) here was just another step and now we've taken the step of getting some people to state. Things will be a little different for Ivy and Maddie and Eva now this (coming) week."
Playing in the No. 1 flights, Packard and O'Melia/Barnes needed to win their first matches of the day to advance.
Barnes and O'Melia, both seniors, topped Ashley Squires/Kali Denis from Hudson 6-2, 6-1 to advance, while Packard, a junior, defeated Menomonie's Hannah Peterson 7-5, 6-3.
For O'Melia the victory was especially sweet, having advanced to the sectional quarterfinals each of the last two years at No. 1 doubles only to fall one step shy of qualifying for the state tournament.
"I don't know what to say," a still stunned O'Melia said shortly after the victory. "I've wanted this for a really long time and I've been playing tennis for a really long time. Just to have all that hard work come to this now is so exciting and I get to do it with my best friend. We're not done yet, but I just can't believe it. It's awesome."
"It's one of the best days of my life," Barnes added.
Barnes and O'Melia overcame a slighty shaky start in the match. After breaking Squires and Denis in the opening game, the Hudson tandem broke the Hodags on Barnes' first service game to tie the set 1-1. The Hodags broke back in Game 3 and rolled from there, taking four of the next five games.
Barnes and O'Melia quickly moved ahead two breaks at 3-0 in the second set and cruised to victory.
"At No. 1 doubles we were pretty aggressive and I think we got out to a lead, and then I think that (Hudson) made some mistakes to compound it," Heideman said. "What really, I think, kept the match in our favor is that on a lot of deuce points or add out, when they could have gotten a game, we really played some good points and kept that lead."
A tough mentality at the net carried the doubles team. O'Melia said confidence grew for her and Barnes with each winner.
"Every volley put away that you have and every overhead, it just gives you more confidence," she said. "I know I just didn't want to be timid out there, because it could have been our last match. Maddie and I both knew we wanted energy and to go for it. As soon as we got up a couple games, and just had quick feet, we knew we could do it."
Barnes added, "Once we took the lead, we were more confident with our strokes, stroked it well and clutch it out."
Packard's match was a back-and-forth affair that hinged on a couple of key breaks.
On serve 6-5 in the first set and receiving to avoid a tiebreaker, Packard got a quick 30-0 lead on Peterson then came up with a forehand winner down the line to get to triple set point, which was won with an error.
Packard lost the first game of the second set, and was down 3-2 when she broke to get back on serve. She held serve in the seventh game to go up 4-3 and broke again in the eighth game, coming up with another forehand winner down the line to go up 5-3. She then rallied from 0-30 in the ninth game to win four straight points and take the match.
"It's really all surreal," Packard said afterward. "I never expected to be in this position. She was a really good player and she really battled it out the whole time. It was a really fun match to play and I don't even have words for how I feel right now. It's exciting."
Heideman said Packard adjusted her strategy to take on the Menomonie junior.
"I thought that (Peterson) didn't really have any shots that could hurt Ivy and that Ivy was a little quicker afoot, so we decided to play a little more of a grinding game," he said. "It took longer to get there, but we stayed on the baseline and got a lot of balls back. I give Ivy credit (for) sticking to that. The match took a long time but she brought it home."
Overall, the Hodags finished third in the sectional with 27 points. Eau Claire Memorial edged Stevens Point 50-48 to qualify for the team state tennis tournament later this month.
Rhinelander qualified for sectionals in four other flights and had to face Memorial in the first round in all four. Kristina Jacobson lost to Eau Clarie Memorial's Sierra Auleta at No. 2 singles before beating Ashley Altmann of Chippewa Falls to finish third in the flight.
"Kristina has a game that can give people a lot of problems," Heideman noted. "She hits with medium pace, but can work the ball around and has a good sense of where to hit the ball. She frustrated, I thought, Memorial to some degree."
Belinda Weddle (No. 3 singles), Kianna Meyers/Brianna DeNamur (No. 2 doubles) and Erica Counter/Ali Schickert (No. 3 doubles) all went 0-2 to finish fourth in their flights.
"To get to the top you've got to play the best," Heideman said. "Always from the younger kids, it's a good indicator of where they need to be to compete at this level."
Packard lost to Stevens Point's Emily Luetschwager in the semifinals but rallied to defeat Wausau East's Sami Miles for third. Barnes and O'Melia fell in straight sets to Emily Pepperl and Devin Bourget of Eau Clarie Memorial in the semifinals and defeated Olivia Haessly and Emily Serchen of Marshfield in the third-place match.
For Packard, Barnes and O'Melia, the season continues next Thursday in the WIAA individual state meet at Nielsen Tennis Stadium in Madison. Packard said she wouldn't have it any other way.
"Having three Hodags go to state is a really exciting moment for us," she said. "I'm really excited to go to state with them and be able to play on those courts with Maddie and Eva. I've been playing with him for a really long time and I'm really excited to play with them at state."
Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].
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