September 16, 2019 at 1:08 p.m.
Hodags take control of GNC tennis race with 5-2 win over Antigo
Hodags take control of GNC tennis race with 5-2 win over Antigo
Rhinelander put itself in command of the conference race Friday afternoon, sweeping doubles and taking a 5-2 win over archrival Antigo at the RHS tennis courts.
The win moved the Hodags to 4-0 in the GNC and increased Rhinelander's lead in the standings to 24 points over the Robins halfway through the conference race. Antigo has played one fewer match than the Hodags so far this season.
"This was, I think, a step in the direction of separating us from the pack," coach Bob Heideman said. "I think, overall, it was a very long and hard fought match, and we were lucky enough to pull out two out of three, three-setters and then the close match at No. 1 doubles. I think that turned the tide.
"The way to look at it is that is it every switch is four (points) because they lose two and we gain two. So that makes anything over 4-3, it's gold. It's gold."
The teams split singles. Rhinelander took the second and third flights with Kenedy Van Zile and Kaylee Pontell, while Antigo's Avery Nicholson took the top flight to give Rhinelander a 2-1 lead. The match swung in Rhinelander's favor in doubles beginning with the top flight of Alex Oestreich and Jackie Wells who rallied from down 3-4 in the first set to win three straight games over Antigo's Jenna Lenzner and Greta Parsons. The Hodag pair took the second set, 6-3.
"They were down in each set and hung in there and then put a spurt on at the end," Heideman said. "You know, I wouldn't say it was the best tennis but I think not getting discouraged being down most of the match (helped). And of course you know after you won the first set, makes it a little bit easier, but nonetheless, I thought that was kind of the deciding factor."
Leading 3-1, the Hodags earned the deciding point in the first of the three, three-set matches to come to a conclusion. Izzy Haverkampf and Jaiden Thiel recovered from a second-set slip-up to beat Elli Stank and Holly Zimmerman 6-2, 5-7, 6-1.
"Oddly enough, I think their match was won in the second set, which they lost," Heideman said. "They were down big. I think it was 4-1 or 5-2 ... and we talked about just getting some games here to break their momentum, because (Antigo) had kind of steamrolled them in the second set. That's exactly what they did. They lost the set, but I think they carried that into the third set, and then won the third set pretty easily."
With the match in hand, each additional win was icing on the cake for Hodags, and a means to widen their margin over Antigo in the season-long conference race. Rhinelander got a shot in the arm in that department at No. 2 doubles where Lisa White and Kathryn Borski rallied past Lily Nicholson and Julia Westen 3-6, 7-5, 7-6 (3). Heideman credited White and Borski's perseverance in the match.
"I think they played pretty steady. Day in and day out you don't get a whole lot variation," he said. "No matter what the score, they stay positive and there's just a stick-to-itiveness there. I think it really paid off in terms of winning that third set, dramatic tiebreaker."
The Hodags were on the cusp of a sixth win, but were unable to get No. 4 singles to fall their way. Kat Metropulos took the first set from Antigo's Brecklyn Flannery 6-4 and was leading 5-0 in the second set, but faltered to lose the set in a tiebreaker before losing the third set 6-2. It was the second straight match Metropulos had trouble closing out. She needed eight match points before finally earning a win over Stevens Point's Tatum Thielman on Monday.
"That would have been very nice if we had done that, but it didn't go our way," Heideman said. "I think Kat's a little disappointed in herself but I think if she can kind of look at what happened during that match and make some adjustments it will be a learning experience."
Van Zile scored the fastest win of the day, beating Antigo's Ellie Kelly 6-1, 6-2 at No. 2 singles. Kaylee Pontell rallied from trailing 3-0 in the first set to defeat Margo Kelly 6-4, 6-4 at No. 3 singles.
"I didn't see much of Kaylee's match, but, head and shoulders she hit the best shot of the year for her in the second set. It was kind of a running forehand with Margo at the net she passed her," Heideman said. "I think much like Kenedy's match - although Kaylee's was closer - I think Kaylee's was kind of a quiet wind down early to set up the drama of the later matches."
Avery Nicholson ran the last eight games to defeat Annika Johnson 6-3, 6-0 at No. 1 singles.
Rhinelander is scheduled to play three matches this week to close out the conference dual meet portion of its schedule. The team heads to Stevens Point to take on Pacelli this afternoon before hosting Lakeland and Wausau Newman on back-to-back days Thursday and Friday.
"We're hoping to play strong in our three matches and then hopefully we can increase this lead for the conference."
The match against Newman is a make-up of a rainout on Sept. 5 and the match will begin at 3 p.m. Friday at the RHS tennis courts.
Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].
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