August 20, 2018 at 1:26 p.m.
Hodag netters nearly perfect at home invite
Hodag netters nearly perfect at home invite
Rhinelander won nearly every match as it took first place in its home quadrangular meet. The Hodags started with a 7-0 win over Merrill, followed by a 6-1 win over Ashland and closed with another 7-0 whitewashing of Ironwood, Mich.
Though the Hodags have yet to play a Great Northern Conference match, coach Bob Heideman, said so far, so good for this year's squad.
"Coming off last year and not winning conference, I think this team had some questions about themselves. I think they've answered some of those questions," he said. "I say some of them because I think the larger part of the season is still to be played and you don't want to rest on your laurels at all. You want to build on what you started. The other thing is we haven't hit the big matches yet for conference and we'll see if what we're doing now carries into that."
Rhinelander had very little trouble on the day, taking 18 of their 20 match victories in straight sets. Emma Roberts, Kaylee Pontell, Madi Losch, Alexis Pyrchalla and Jackie Wells all went 3-0 on the day and several others went 2-0 as the Hodags switched their lineup around for the final matchup against Ironwood.
Roberts' scores got better at No. 2 singles as the day progressed. She defeated Merrill's Anna Skoviera 6-1, 6-4 in the first match, downed Ashland's Ayla Westlund 6-1, 6-3 in round two and defeated Ironwood's Mercy Kennedy 6-0, 6-0 in the nightcap.
"Emma Roberts, her forte is she moves you around a little bit and she gets a lot of balls back," Heideman noted. "If you're not willing to do that, you're just going to have a tough time. That's what she does to opponents day in and day out."
Losch and Pyrchalla won one of two third-set tiebreakers the Hodags used to sweep the Bluejays. After dropping a second-set tiebreaker, they defeated Erin Murray and Anna Rydeski 10-7 in the third set at No. 2 doubles. They followed with a 6-3, 6-0 win over Ashland's Maddie Clevette and Abby Davidson and then bumped up to No. 1 doubles where they defeated Ironwood's Zaida Lagalo and Haley Jarocki 6-1, 6-3.
"Alexis and Madi were a tad more consistent than they have been," Heideman noted. "They're a team that, when they go on their ups and downs, a lot of teams can stay with them. Their scores indicate today that they were just a little more consistent throughout the day. That's a step in the right direction."
Pontell dropped four games total in her three match victories Friday as she moved to 8-0 on the season at No. 4 singles.
Wells completed the undefeated quintet, playing with Savannah Chartier in the first two match at No. 3 doubles. They outlasted Merrill's Emma Jaeger and Molly Rudeski 7-6 (4), 2-6, 10-3 in the first match and were 6-0, 6-1 winners over Ashland's Kalli Mikkonen and Tegan McFarlane in the second. Wells and Lisa White teamed up for a 6-0, 6-0 win at No. 2 doubles against Ironwood's Sarah Murphy and Gloria Kennedy.
In addition to White, Jaiden Thiel (No. 4 singles) and the doubles team of Kathryn Borski and Izzy Haverkampf (No. 3) made their first appearances in the varsity lineup this season against Ironwood - all earning 6-0, 6-0 wins.
"I'm pleased with the scores," Heideman noted. "I think on a day like today the real secret is keeping focus because, otherwise, the scores get a little lopsided. I thought we did that. Then I thought, when we had the two close matches against Merrill, we were able to turn those in our favor. I think those two things are real positives."
Kenedy Van Zile (No. 3 singles), Savannah Chartier (No. 3 doubles) and the No. 1 doubles team of Haley Seefeldt and Annika Johnson all went 2-0 on the day before getting a respite in the Ironwood match.
Rhinelander's lone loss on the day came at No. 1 singles, where Ashland's Taylor Vuskocil, a Division 2 state qualifier from a season ago, defeated Alex Oestreich 6-3, 6-1. Oestreich is off to a 3-5 start to the season at the top flight, but Heideman said it's not for a lack of effort. He said Oestreich has simply run into a string of high-caliber opponents to start the season.
"The thing that Alex has to keep in mind is that she's not playing bad tennis. She's experiencing the larger world of tennis at No. 1," he said. "I'm going to make a prediction on Alex that somewhere, during the rest of the season, she's going to come up with just a big, big win for us somewhere that we're really going to need. She's going to be there."
Rhinelander traveled to Wisconsin Rapids for another non-conference invite Monday and opens up Great Northern Conference play today at Medford. This past Thursday's scheduled conference opener against Marshfield Columbus was reschedule to Sept. 4 at Columbus' request.
NOTE: Oestreich's match score against D.C. Everest last Monday at the Wausau West Invitational was incorrectly reported to the River News. Oestreich won her match against Everest's Calista Fuehrer 6-0, 6-1. Rhinelander defeated the Evergreens 7-0 in the Aug. 13 dual meet instead of 6-1, as originally reported. Additionally, Van Zile went 5-0 in the Wausau West Invite, not 4-1 as originally reported.
Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].
Comments:
You must login to comment.