May 9, 2018 at 1:42 p.m.
Hodag netters edge Lakeland to remain unbeaten in GNC
Hodag netters edge Lakeland to remain unbeaten in GNC
The Hodags won the bottom two flights in both singles and doubles to edge the T-Birds 4-3 in Minocqua and remain unbeaten in Great Northern Conference duals.
Senior Markus Johnson, still dealing with a sore shoulder, again played No. 2 doubles for Rhinelander instead of No. 1 singles. The Hodags - who swept Lakeland in singles when Johnson was healthy late last month - dropped the top two singles flights on Monday, but rolled to victories in the lower flights.
"We took another step towards the conference championship but not as large as one as we had hoped," coach Bob Heideman said. "With the conference standing based on total points, every win at every flight matters - win at No. 3 doubles counts as much as a win at No. 1 singles."
Jared Fabich, who moved to No. 3 singles due to Johnson's ailment, picked up a 6-3, 6-3 win over Lakeland's Zach Kane while junior Freddy Wisner routed Lakeland's Tom Kempinger in the fourth flight, 6-1, 6-0.
Wisner ran his record to 7-3 overall, and 5-0 in the GNC with the win.
"That reflects the teams performance as a whole. He has done very well in conference and struggled outside it," Heideman said. "He hits a harder ball than No. 4 players are used to and he is not afraid to come into the net. The good news, he is relatively new to tennis (and) keeps improving."
Johnson and Grant Gilbert rolled Lakeland's Sam Berger and Jayson Krause 6-0, 6-1 at No. 2 doubles while Cade Aschenbrenner and Logan Oestreich took care of Alex Tucker and Josh Kakuschke 6-1, 6-2 in the third flight.
"Cade and Logan are stringing good points together and shortening their down periods which has led to similar scores in sets," Heideman said. "Previously they win but have one set where they would dominate and one that would be close. They are starting to put complete matches together."
Lakeland's top doubles team of Jack Garcia and Anthony Holmes, who recorded the T-Birds' only win against the Hodags in the first meeting, knocked off Connor Young and Jared Haug 6-3, 6-4 on Monday.
The T-Birds also took the top two flights of singles against Rhinelander's altered lineup. Aaron Peterson defeated Rhinelander's Russell Benoy 6-1, 6-4 in the first flight while Matt Holmes won a second set tiebreaker to defeat Jacob Weddle in straight sets, 6-3, 7-6.
The win moved Rhinelander to 5-0 in the GNC prior to Wednesday's scheduled doubleheader against Pacelli (4-1), which was moved to Sentry World in Stevens Point due to the threat of inclement weather. Rhinelander hosts Antigo this afternoon.
Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].
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