August 22, 2018 at 3:02 p.m.
RHS tennis still undefeated
Netters win Rapids Quad, down Medford in Great Northern Conference opener
RHS tennis still undefeated
Rhinelander took first place in the Wisconsin Rapids Quad Monday, defeating Rapids, Merrill and Green Bay East. On Tuesday the Hodags traveled to Medford and opened the Great Northern Conference season with a 6-1 win over the Raiders.
Rhinelander 6, Medford 1
The Hodags won all four singles matches and were a close match at No. 1 doubles away from sweeping the Raiders Tuesday in Medford.
Rhinelander dropped only nine games in singles. Alex Oestreich was a 6-0, 6-1 winner over Grace Geiger in the first flight, Emma Roberts defeated Lilly Brost 6-1, 6-1 at No. 2, Kenedy Van Zile bested Kailee Mann 6-1, 6-2 at No. 3 and Kalyee Pontell rounded out the singles sweep with a 6-2, 6-1 win over Brooke Sommer.
"Kenedy played a harder hitter, which made for a little choppier match but Kenedy wore (Mann) down and her serve helped by producing some quick points," Heideman noted. "It was similar for Emma. (Brost) was a hard hitter and Emma had to counter that by playing a lot of points down the middle, waiting for an opening."
Medford's lone win came at No. 1 doubles as Lauryn Strick and Mariah Leader edged Haley Seefeldt and Annika Johnson 7-5, 7-5. Rhinelander cruised in the two other flights. Madi Losch and Alexis Pyrchalla rolled to a 6-0, 6-1 win over Hailey Kollmansberger and Elaine Schumacher at No. 2 and Savannah Chartier and Jackie Wells were 6-0, 6-2 winners over Emma Schultz and Hannah Tabbert at No. 3.
"Madi and Alexis played their most consistent match to date. They just didn't have the errors today and the scores reflected that," Heideman said. "Jackie and Savannah played a solid match. Jackie was consistent from the baseline and Savannah has been very accurate with her volleys."
Wisconsin Rapids Quad
The Hodags won all three of their matches Monday in Wisconsin Rapids, defeating the hosting Raiders 8-1, Merrill 9-0 and Green Bay East 6-0 in the last match of the day, which was shortened due to rain.
The meet allowed teams to play an extra flight of singles and doubles. The ability to showcase depth played into the Hodags' hands.
"We welcomed the format because we have a very strong foursome of Izzy (Haverkampf), Lisa (White), Kathryn (Borski) and Jaiden (Thiel) that filled those spots," Heideman said, noting the four have yet to drop a match in varsity play this year.
Thiel went 3-0 on the day between Nos. 4 and 5 singles, while Haverkampf, Borski and White all went 2-0 in matches at Nos. 3 and 4 doubles.
Rhinelander also got 3-0 days from Roberts at No. 2 singles, along with the doubles teams of Losch and Pyrchalla, and Wells and Chartier.
"Emma Roberts added some put away shots to her regular consistent game," Heideman noted. "It helped shorten some points in her favor."
The closest calls for Rhinelander on the day were in doubles. The top three flights all needed sets that went to either a 12th game or a tiebreaker in straight-set wins over Wisconsin Rapids, while Borski and White needed a third-set tiebreaker to down the Raiders. Seefeldt and Johnson needed three sets to defeat the Merrill tandem of Sierra Humphrey and Olivia Wheat.
"Our doubles teams go in spurts," Heideman said. "They just nail it for a run, then they back off. We are volleying better but are plagued by mistake-laden streaks."
Rhinelander hosts Phillips in GNC play this afternoon at the RHS tennis courts before traveling back to Wausau West for another two-day invitational Friday and Saturday. The Hodags went 5-0 in a multi-day invite last week in Wausau.
Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].
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