October 11, 2021 at 8:52 a.m.
Hodags go 1-6 at tennis sectionals, Johnson receives state bid
Hodags go 1-6 at tennis sectionals, Johnson receives state bid
Senior Annika Johnson lost her lone match at No. 1 singles, though found out late Friday that she has earned a special qualifying spot for the WIAA state tournament.
As for the rest of the squad, which qualified its entire singles lineup for sectionals, Wednesday's play was a learning experience.
"It's the best of the best and everyone's going to have a strong game," coach Matt Nichols said.
Johnson's match against Hudson's Lily Holmberg was the longest of the four quarterfinal matches in the No. 1 flight as she fell 6-3, 6-4. Johnson defeated Holmberg 7-5, 6-3 Aug. 23 in Wausau, but Nichols said both players have improved since that match.
"There were longer rallies. They were both hitting more consistently," he said. "I think that played into it. I didn't see as many errors from Hudson. I didn't see as many attacking shots from Annika in the mid court around the service line, putting balls away. It just lent it self to some longer rallies."
Sectional quarterfinal winners at the No. 1 flight, along with sectional champions at the No. 2 flight, receive automatic bids into the state tournament. The WIAA can award up to 16 special exemptions - including one from each sectional - into the state draw. Johnson received one of those special exemptions and ausau West's Quin Babiarz, the sectional champion at No. 2 singles, at approximately 11:45 a.m. Thursday at Nielsen Tennis Stadium in Madison.
Nichols said Johnson's 22-4 overall record, the fact she beat Holmberg earlier in the year and that Holmberg wound up winning her third-place match later Wednesday, all helped Johnson's case for a special qualifier.
"I think we have a strong argument, so I'm excited to see if it goes through," he said prior to receiving word of Johnson's exemption.
Johnson was one of two seniors on the court for the Hodags Wednesday. The other, Kaylee Pontell, had a tough go in the No. 2 singles bracket. She lost to Hudson's Grace Diedrich 6-2, 6-1 in the semifinals and then to New Richmond's Onalie Dennis 6-0, 6-1 in the third-place match.
"Unfortunately, she was off more than she was on. She also faced some good competition. Those two factors led to two losses," Nichols said. "She finished off each game strong and had a very good finish to a very successful high school tennis career."
Pontell finished 22-6 on the season and was 87-16 overall in her four years at RHS. Nichols said Johnson and Pontell have left a lasting legacy with the program.
"Both of them have brought a lot of consistency and a lot of talent," he said. "Fundamentally, they have some great strokes. It's been huge for developing players to watch them play and use them as examples on the court. They've found a lot of success. They've put in a lot of time. They came to summer tennis. Annika was out serving most of the summer. It helps mold the younger players ... All that experience is going to be missed. The younger players, I don't think they realize it, but they're going to miss those two and every thing they brought to the team."
Freshman Kelsey Winter picked up Rhinelander's lone win on the day, defeating Stevens Point's Addison Jandrain 6-3, 6-2 in the third-place match at No. 4 singles. Winter fell 6-0, 6-1 to eventual flight champion Ava Wilber of Hudson in the first round, but validated her performance at subsectionals by knocking off Jandrain, who was the No. 2 seed Monday in Wausau. Winter (15-12) was the fifth seed at subsectionals and pulled off two upsets to advance to the sectional round.
"We really worked hard after conference to change, not necessarily her swing, but the preparation into the swing," Nichols said. "That led to a very increased consistency of her shots. She also developed a really nice slice. Moving through subsectionals and now sectionals she was able to show off those new talents. She's a freshman. She competed against some awesome girls. She realized that, at least in that first round, they were better than her when she lost, and she was just soaking it all in and watching some great tennis."
Tori Riopel (20-8) finished fourth in the No. 3 singles flight. She lost her opening match to Hudson's Claire Keech, 6-1, 6-0. In the third-place match she pushed Wausau West's Ruby Edmundson, the top seed in the Wausau subsectional, to a first-set tiebreaker before falling 7-6 (2), 6-2.
Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].
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