September 6, 2020 at 8:08 a.m.
Hodag netters best wind, Phillips in 7-0 sweep
Hodag netters best wind, Phillips in 7-0 sweep
"It was a solid, solid day. The girls played well," coach Matt Nichols said.
The wind might have been the more difficult opponent for the Hodags, courtesy of a passing cold front.
The team dodged a couple of passing showers without much delay, but the strong, westerly winds provided a challenge.
"We talked about using the wind to our advantage, what to expect, what kind of shots we want to be hitting on either side," Nichols said. "I think the girls, they warmed up well, keeping that in mind and played through, using the wind the best they could, or playing with the wind to the best of their ability."
Rhinelander lost no more than one game in any flight as it moved to 3-0 in the GNC, and remained four points ahead of Antigo in the conference standings.
The Red Robins also moved to 3-0 in the conference with a 7-0 sweep over Marshfield Columbus.
In singles, Annika Johnson took the top flight for Rhinelander with a 6-0, 6-1 win over Allison Kulwicki, Kaylee Pontell was a 6-0, 6-0 winner over Sophie DeByl at No. 2, Kat Metropulos defeated Ella Teeters, 6-1, 6-1 at No. 3 and Tori Riopel downed Isabelle Teeters, 6-1, 6-0 in the fourth flight.
"Annika, we've been working on an approach shot quite a bit. It's good to see her hitting those shots well," Nichols noted. "Kaylee, at singles, she's another player with really consistent and powerful shots. Kat, very consistent all the way around, solid serves. She had some good serves throughout the match. Tori, again, just the hustle and consistency. She gets to almost every ball hit. She's a very consistent player, keeps it back and puts some pace on it."
Kathryn Borski and Taylor Riopel led the doubles' sweep for Rhinelander with a 6-0, 6-1 win over Alyssa Huffman and Amy Kernes in the top flight. Alexis Engelking and Kylee Younker were 6-0, 6-0 winners at the No. 2 flight, as were Paige Oleinik and Shayla Coppenger in the third flight.
"Watching No. 2 doubles, I thought their serves are really coming along. They're serving well. At No. 1 doubles, there was some really nice net play," Nichols noted. "Shayla and Paige, they were very consistent and with the doubles play, they finished a lot of points at the net. So that's fun to see. And the service returns, I saw some really nice returns, especially from Shayla."
The win over Phillips marked the one-third point of the Hodags' modified nine-match schedule due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Though Rhinelander has two home matches remaining on the calendar, the team opted to use Thursday's match as its senior night, honoring the three seniors on the squad - Metropulos, Borski and Engelking.
"Looking ahead at the season and all of the unknowns regarding COVID, I wanted to get it in early," Nichols said. "If the season was canceled later on, we still would be able to honor and celebrate our seniors because they have brought so much to the team over the years. Wanted to get that in, just in case anything would go haywire and we wouldn't have the opportunity in the future."
The Hodags will be back in action this afternoon, hosting Ashland in the first of two non-conference matches between the team this season. Rhinelander returns to GNC play Thursday at Wausau Newman.
Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].
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