April 3, 2019 at 12:47 p.m.
Team preview: RHS boys' tennis
Hodag netters seek to reload, win another GNC title
Team preview: RHS boys' tennis
That should make for an interesting conference race this spring.
"In that sense, the conference might be a little wide open," Hodag coach Bob Heideman said.
Yet a Rhinelander squad that has won five straight GNC titles has no intention of handing over its crown, with five starters returning and a roster that features seven seniors.
"We've set our goal to take the conference. We would like to advance four positions to sectionals. That's basically what we're looking at," Heideman said.
It all gets underway today for the Hodags who, in a last-minute switch, are starting their season with a GNC dual against one of last year's co-conference runners-up, Pacelli. The match was originally scheduled for today in Rhinelander, but was postponed when it became apparent the RHS tennis courts would not be ready for play. However, the match was put back on the schedule and moved to Stevens Point in a switch confirmed Tuesday morning.
When the Hodags step on the court this afternoon, they will do so with a relatively experienced singles lineup and some unknown commodities in doubles.
The Hodags took a hit off the top of their lineup, graduating conference singles' player of the year and state tournament qualifier Markus Johnson. He headlines a list of five seniors gone from last year's squad.
However, the rest of Rhinelander's singles lineup is back. Senior Russell Benoy was the conference runner-up in the second flight last year, while sophomore Jacob Weddle and senior Freddy Wisner were the conference champs at Nos. 3 and 4, respectively.
Last week, Heideman said he wasn't exactly sure which of the three would emerge at his No. 1 player but in a scrimmage last Saturday in Ashland, he moved Benoy, Weddle and Wisner each up one flight to the Nos. 1, 2 and 3 spots.
"It's one of those cases, it's a big jump almost anytime we have someone (graduate from No. 1), just the nature of where our program's at, but it's always that the No. 1 player that we have will do OK at least in the conference," he said. "It's usually a question of how they can manage when we go outside the conference. We end up facing some players who are pretty tough to compete with. I think we're in that situation again."
Rhinelander took the biggest hit in doubles. Jared Haug graduated from the team's No. 1 doubles pair, as did Cade Aschenbreener in the third flight. Both members of the No. 2 doubles team - Jared Fabich and Grant Gilbert - also graduated.
That leaves two returning doubles players - senior Connor Young, who played with Haug last year, and senior Logan Oestreich, who played with Aschenbrenner last year.
"After that, it's going to be some new people," Heideman noted.
Two freshmen, Luke Ring and Elijah Evers, filled Rhinelander's No. 2 spot when the team scrimmaged Saturday and the third spot was occupied by senior Bridger Flory and sophomore Billy Berwig.
The Hodags were also looking for a No. 4 singles player, though Heideman seemed to indicate that senior Ian Conkey solidified his spot in the singles lineup with a three-set win during the scrimmage at Ashland on Saturday.
"I think he did enough to get a big win for him and I will be expecting a lot from him at four singles this year," he said.
Last year the Hodags won the GNC title by 53 points. Rhinelander has question marks in its lineup this season, but the rest of the GNC has holes to fill as well. None of the players who played in the No. 1 singles flight at the conference tournament are back this year.
Pacelli had seven seniors in the lineup a year ago. Medford only graduated three seniors - but those were three of the team's four best players. Lakeland lost its No. 1 singles player and one of its top doubles players. Antigo is continuing a rebuilding project after graduating 14 seniors in 2017 and Wausau Newman, the newcomer into the conference, forfeited three flights at subsectionals last year and returns only two players from that team.
Doing well in the conference should help the Hodags come tournament time as four of the conference's six schools will begin the WIAA tournament in a Division 2 subsectional at Lakeland. Rhinelander and Appleton Xavier have been the class of the subsectional the last two seasons, however, Heideman said he expects the road to sectionals to be more difficult this year given that Green Bay Notre Dame - which finished third in its Division 1 sectional last year - drops to D2 this spring and will be in the Lakeland subsectional.
Following today's opener against Pacelli, the Hodags head to Wausau tomorrow and Saturday for a multi-team invite. Rhinelander's first home match will not be until April 16 when it hosts Wausau Newman and Ashland in a triangular.
Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].
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