October 12, 2020 at 7:56 a.m.
Hodag netters close out season with sectionals, Lakeland win
Hodag netters close out season with sectionals, Lakeland win
After taking fourth overall in a 14-team WIAA sectional on Wednesday, the Hodags finished off the year with a 7-0 victory at Lakeland Thursday as the teams were finally able to get in a Great Northern Conference dual that had been rescheduled several times due to rain.
No one from Rhinelander made it into the WIAA Division 1 state tournament, as the Hodags won only one of their seven matches on Wednesday in the Wausau West sectional.
"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," Rhinelander coach Matt Nichols said. "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."
Sectionals
Annika Johnson (7-3) had a near miss for Rhinelander in the sectional quarterfinals at No. 1 singles. After taking the first set over New Richmond's Izzy Brinkman 6-4, Johnson fell behind 5-0 in the second before taking three straight games.
Because No. 1 singles players had the potential of playing three matches on Wednesday, WIAA regulations stipulated a 10-point super tiebreaker in lieu of a full third set to decide the match. Brinkman got ahead early and cruised to the 10-2 win.
"She competed really well. Unfortunately, it ended in the tiebreak, but it's nothing she should be ashamed of," Nichols said. "She should be proud of the way she played."
Brinkman lost to sectional champ Natasha Bailey of Wausau West in straight sets, but recovered for a 6-1, 6-1 win over Menomonie's Haley Hastings in the third-place match. Because of that, the Hodags applied to get Johnson an at-large bid into the state tournament, but she was not selected as one of the 16 extra qualifiers into the tournament by the state selection committee.
"We think she's a really strong player and deserves to be at state," Nichols said Thursday before the qualifiers were announced.
Rhinelander's lone win at sectionals came with senior Kat Metropulos (10-2) at No. 3 singles. After a three-set loss to Hudson's Grace Diedrich in the semifinals, Metropulos cruised to a 7-5, 6-2 win in the third-place match over Menomonie's Journey Winsand.
Nichols credited Metropulos for improving throughout the season, in particular for adding a slice and a drop shot to her arsenal, which helped down the stretch.
"She lost that first match. It was a really tight match, a three-setter to the No. 1 seed crossing over, Hudson, very strong (player) and then she went on to win her second," Nichols said. "It was exciting to see her win that. She deserved that win. She earned that win and it's exciting for a senior to make that progress and then for the hard work to pay off."
Kaylee Pontell (10-2) dropped her first two matches of the season at No. 2 singles, falling to Hudson's Lily Holmberg and Menomonie's Olivia Klass in straight sets. Tori Riopel (9-2) also suffered her first two losses of the season at No. 4 singles. She fell 10-8 in a first-set tiebreaker to Menomonie's Sammy Jacobson in the semifinals and ended up dropping the match in straight sets. Riopel then lost in straight sets to Wausau West's Molly Schaefer.
"Kaylee's first match, she played the No. 1 seed from the other subsectional, a very strong player," Nichols said. "She competed well that first set, lost 4-6. She was a little bit outgunned there. The other girl was consistent, hit with a little more pace and played a great game and just outplayed us there.
"Tori, she earned her spot in that sectional and I think that the minimal matches through out the season played against us there. She didn't see many competitive teams at No. 4 singles. She was put in a position she's not used to, just playing a really competitive match and losing some first sets."
Rhinelander 7, Lakeland 0
The Hodags closed out team play on Thursday, finally getting in their weather-plagued match against Lakeland which had been postponed three times over a two-week period due to rain.
Rhinelander controlled play Thursday taking all seven matches in straight sets.
"The girls played well," Nichols said. "We talked about trying some new things going in. We looked at Lakeland. They looked a little weaker than our time. We decided to try some new things, push ourselves and the girls did just that and we came out victorious.
"It was just a fun way to end the season. Everyone ends on a win."
Johnson, Pontell and Metropulos cruised in the first three singles flights, dropping a total of two games between them in six sets. Tori Riopel added a 6-4, 6-2 win over Juliana Ouimette in the fourth flight.
Seniors Kathryn Borski and Alexis Engelking were able to close out their careers with wins as well. Borski and Taylor Riopel (4-5) were 6-2, 6-4 winners over Britta Salquist and Amaya White at No. 1 doubles, while Engelking and Kylee Younker (6-4) won by the same score in the second lift over Phoebe Wirtz and Hailey Curtis.
Nichols noted it was nice to see all three RHS seniors - Metropulos, Borski and Engelking - end their careers on high note.
"The seniors, they all had their own goals of what they wanted out of this last match and it wrapped up a good season for all of them," he said.
Paige Oleinik and Shayla Coppenger (6-3) added a 6-3, 6-1 win at No. 3 doubles as Rhinelander closed out GNC play at 6-1. The 14 points earned Thursday moved Rhinelander into second in the final conference standings, 10 points behind Antigo.
Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].
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