November 2, 2020 at 8:10 a.m.
Team review: RHS girls' tennis
Hodags continued strong play with new coaches
Team review: RHS girls' tennis
The Hodags finished second in the Great Northern Conference behind a senior-laden Antigo squad and ended up fourth overall - ahead of Antigo (sixth) - in WIAA Division 1 sectional play.
Matt Nichols took over the reins of the program when Bob Heideman announced his retirement in May. Nichols inherited a program that had won nine of the previous 10 GNC championships.
Though the Hodags couldn't make it 10 of 11, Nichols categorized his first season at the helm as a success.
"We can't complain at all getting all four singles to sectionals and it speaks to the entire team, not only to the girls that made it, but the other teammates who pushed them in practice and supported them outside of practice," Nichols said when the season concluded in early October. "It really speaks to the girls and we're just proud that we've had the opportunity to coach them and it's been so much fun working with them."
Here are five storylines from the recently completed season.
Conference play
It became clear rather quickly that the GNC would once again be a two-horse race between Rhinelander and Antigo. Both raced out to 4-0 starts in league play prior to a head-to-head meeting Sept. 15 in Antigo.
That match swung the Robins' way with a sweep in doubles. Antigo also scored wins at Nos. 1 and 3 singles on their way to a 5-2 victory. Kaylee Pontell won a three-setter at No. 2 singles for Rhinelander and Tori Riopel went on to take her match in straight sets at No. 4 singles after winning the first set in a tiebreaker but, otherwise, it was all Antigo.
"We knew it was going to be a tight match. We played hard. We played tough. Obviously we didn't end on top, but we can still walk away proud of that," Nichols said following the loss. "It does not look good, numbers-wise, for that conference crown, but we've had a good season and we'll continue to play our hardest. That's what we're looking for beyond that conference title."
Rhinelander bounced back with a 4-3 win over Pacelli two days later but was in danger of finishing in third behind the Cardinals due to some wet weather at the end of September.
Rhinelander had a scheduled conference dual with Lakeland postponed three times due to rain before finally making it up Oct. 8 - one day after sectional play. The Hodags won that dual 7-0, to vault into second in the final conference standings, 10 points behind Antigo.
"It was just a fun way to end the season. Everyone ends on a win," Nichols said.
Strong singles
Singles play carried Rhinelander much of the season. Overall, the Hodags were 35-10 in singles play, with six of those losses coming during the WIAA sectional round.
Annika Johnson finished with the third-best record in GNC play at No. 1 singles, going 7-3 overall, and 5-2 in conference. The junior narrowly missed her first trip to the WIAA state tournament when she fell to Menomonie's Izzy Brinkman in a supertiebreaker, 4-6, 6-3, 10-2, in the sectional quarterfinals.
Pontell and senior Kat Metropulos posted the best individual records of the season, each finishing 10-2 overall at Nos. 2 and 3 singles, respectively. Pontell was undefeated until of pair of losses at the sectional level, while Metropulos fought hard in sectionals, losing her first match in a three-setter, before bouncing back with a straight-set win over Menomonie's Journey Winsand in the third-place match.
"It was exciting to see her win that. She deserved that win," Nichols said of Metropulos. "She earned that win and it's exciting for a senior to make that progress and then for the hard work to pay off."
Freshman Tori Riopel started the season at No. 3 doubles, but moved to singles following only one match and found a home in the No. 4 slot. She was 8-2 in singles play, with both of her losses coming in sectional play.
Doubles
The Hodags knew going into 2020 that they would have to rebuild their doubles lineup, graduating all but one doubles player from last year's squad.
Senior Kathryn Borski was the lone holdover from the 2019 group and paired with sophomore Taylor Riopel in the top flight. The two ended up 4-5 on the season, including a heartbreaking three-set loss in subsectionals in which the Hodag pair won the first set 6-1, but dropped the second set in a tiebreaker 8-10, before losing the third set 4-6.
"They started off really strong," Nichols said. "After that, it kept going back and forth. We had some opportunities to win, but we weren't able to capitalize on those. We faced a tough opponent. They fought back and they ended up with the win."
Senior Alexis Engelking and junior Kylee Younker moved from JV play last year to No. 2 doubles this year, going 6-4 overall. Rhinelander ended up 7-3 overall at No. 3 doubles, primarily with the pairing of sophomore Paige Oleinik and freshman Shayla Coppenger.
The pandemic
The Hodag girls' tennis team was the first to return to play in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. Its first match came Aug. 24 against Marshfield Columbus, the same night the School District of Rhinelander Board of Education affirmed that all RHS fall sports would be able to compete this year on a 7-1 vote.
"It felt amazing, actually. I was a little nervous, but it was an indescribable feeling. Things actually felt a bit normal," Johnson said that afternoon, which marked Rhinelander's first prep contest since March 6.
Overall, the Hodags got through the season with very little interruption due to the virus and were the first fall sport to complete their season when sectional play concluded Oct. 7.
What's next
The singles lineup should be solid again next season for the Hodags with Johnson and Pontell back for their senior seasons. Tori Riopel will give Rhinelander three of its four singles players returning.
There will need to be some shuffling on the doubles side, as the Hodags graduate Borski from No. 1 doubles and Engelking from No. 2 doubles. Taylor Riopel, Younker, Oleinik and Coppenger are all set to return from this year's squad.
Conference-wise, Rhinelander step off the top rung of the ladder may be short lived as Antigo will have to replace five seniors from this year's team, including No. 1 singles player Avery Nicholson and No. 1 doubles tandem Greta Parsons and Jenna Lenzner.
Rhinelander should also have a greater opportunity to improve its game in the offseason with the Hodag Dome, which includes four indoor tennis courts, set to open later this month.
Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].
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