June 14, 2017 at 12:52 p.m.
Team review: RHS boys' tennis
Hodag netters rolled through the GNC in '17
Team review: RHS boys' tennis
The Hodags won 18 dual meet matches, claimed their fourth straight Great Northern Conference title and advanced every flight to sectionals for the first time in two decades.
That doesn't mean the Hodags' campaign this spring was devoid of any bumps or hazards, however. For instance, except for one occasion, the Hodags never played a match with what was the team's projected starting lineup prior to the season, coach Bob Heideman said.
"Those accomplishments, the fun of that never wears off," Heideman said earlier this month during the team's banquet. "There's always something new during the season that happens. I think, as far as the adjustments and dealing with the ins and outs of people being available and so forth, this team did a great job of overcoming that and having some success - and having a lot of fun doing that."
Here are five key storylines from Hodags' recently-completed season.
Conference coronation
Folks in the Great Northern Conference have become accustomed to the Hodags vying for the conference championship in boys' tennis. What they were not used to is how easy the Hodags made it look this year.
The Hodags went undefeated in the GNC, defeated Antigo by 23 points for the conference championship and set a record for most points in a conference season (140) in the process.
Rhinelander blitzed through the regular season, with 7-0 sweeps each time around in their matches with Lakeland, Medford and Phillips. A 4-3 victory at Antigo April 28 followed by a 5-2 victory over the Red Robins May 9 in Rhinelander gave the Hodags a stranglehold over the conference race.
"We kind of built with the lead," Heideman said. "I think that kind of put us exactly how we hoped it would go, thought it would go. The kids played pretty well."
It was a far cry from Rhinelander's previous three conference titles, which they won by five, five and eight points.
Old faces
A big reason for Rhinelander's success was that it returned an experienced the with plenty of big match experience. Those players didn't disappoint this year.
In singles, Logan Wild went 14-13 overall and was the conference runner up in the top flight. Marcus Johnson made the bump up from No. 4 to No. 2, going 20-7, winning the GNC title and taking third at sectionals. Adter missing the first-half of the season, Matt O'Melia came back to finish 12-3 and win his fourth straight conference title.
In doubles, juniors Grant Gilbert and Jared Fabich went 16-10 at No. 1 and finished second in the conference tournament. Jared Haug and Connor Young went 21-7, won the conference title at No. 2 doubles and finished third at sectionals.
Haug and Young were voted the team's MVPs. Heideman said on numerous occasions their presence posed a matchup problem for conference rival Antigo.
"Certain positions, you come to assume they're just going to kind of play to their level of game and that's the one on our team," Heideman said of Young and Haug following the GNC tournament. "I mentioned after the Antigo match, I thought that was the matchup they just couldn't, if they switched their lineup, they just couldn't handle it. They beat those guys who our No. 1 team had trouble with. They just have a nice combination. Connor sets things up and Jared ends it. You add to that they really like playing for each other. They have a lot of confidence in one another. They're a good doubles team."
New faces
A couple of new faces made an impact for the Hodags this year. Sophomore Russell Benoy went 17-10 overall at No. 4 singles, won the conference title and was the top seed in his flight at subsectionals.
Logan Oestreich broke into the doubles lineup halfway through the year, going 13-2 with teammate Marshall Bessette.
"I think Logan's season started in November," Heideman said during the banquet. "He was religious about coming to the open gyms that we had. There was Logan, getting in the gym. I think Logan was at almost every practice. It took half a season for him to get some reward for that."
Even Bessette could be categorized as a new face of sorts, returning to the lineup after missing his junior season.
Playoff run
Two days produced two entirely different results for the Hodags in the WIAA tournament.
Hosting the subsectional round, the Hodags drew a number of first or second seeds, won every match they played and advanced all seven flights to sectionals for the first time since 1997.
Two days later in Kohler, things did not pan out as well. Tied for the lead entering sectional play and with a chance to make a run for the WIAA team state tournament, the Hodags managed to win only three of their 12 matches on the day, finishing fourth in the sectional standings.
They did not advance any individuals on to the state tournament.
"We knew it would be tough going at the sectional level but we played hard and gained some valuable experience at many positions," Heideman said following the sectional meet.
What's next
Most of Rhinelander's squad will be back next year, although the Hodags will have some holes to fill in singles following the graduation of Wild and O'Melia.
Heideman said he expects Johnson, a senior-to-be, to ascend into the top spot, and take on all the associated responsibilities.
"Marcus slid right into the role and he also has a very fine mind in terms of thinking about athletics. His role will expand even further because we're losing Logan and Matt for next year," he said.
Five of Rhinelander's six doubles players are set to return, with only Bessette graduating. It's possible, however, that Gilbert and Fabich may be moved to singles, opening the way for Haug and Young to take the top doubles spot - which they lost by a whisker in a preseason challenge match this spring.
Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].
Comments:
You must login to comment.