September 16, 2021 at 7:07 a.m.
Hodag tennis tops Antigo 5-2
Hodag tennis tops Antigo 5-2
The Hodags won everything except the bottom flights in singles and doubles to defeat the Red Robins 5-2 at the RHS tennis courts.
Rhinelander knocked off the defending GNC champs, who came into the day 12 points behind the Hodags for the conference lead. Rhinelander padded that margin to 22 points over the Robins as it continues to pluck off its major conference challengers one by one.
"It's another nice victory that will set us up well for the conference tournament," coach Matt Nichols said. "We talked a lot about the mental game the last couple days. We have strong girls and good strokes so they're able to use a variety of skillsets if needed and they can adjust."
Only one of Tuesday's seven matches went the distance. It proved to be the match-clinching point for the Hodags as the No. 2 doubles team of Kylee Younker and Helena Wisner fended off Antigo's' Bailee Vander Sanden and Molly Neufeld 6-1, 3-6, 6-3.
"I think we just started hitting some shots we had earlier and then capitalized on the net play," Nichols said. "Both are great volleyers and Helena's just super aggressive out there and puts ball aways, which is nice to see."
Moments after No. 2 doubles secured the dual victory for Rhinelander, Annika Johnson improved to 17-3 on the season as she outlasted Antigo's Margo Kelly 6-3, 6-4 at No. 1 singles. Both players struggled to hold serve in the second set. After getting broken to go back on serve at 4-4, Johnson broke Kelly to get back up 5-4 and eventually held serve to close out the match in a game that featured four match point opportunities. Johnson finally closed it out with a cross-court winner to the back left corner.
"Both are good players, both are very consistent and no surprise that they pushed each other like that. It was nice to see Annika on top," Nichols said. "It looked like she was struggling a bit with her finishing shots, missing some shots she normally wouldn't and then it became longer rallies because she wasn't as trusting of that shot. Later on, I think she not only had the consistency, but she was also starting to put balls away like she normally would."
Kaylee Pontell and Tori Riopel had the easiest wins of the day at Nos. 2 and 3 singles. Pontell downed Brechlyn Flannery 6-0, 6-4 while Tori Riopel was a 6-3, 6-0 winner over Sierra Oelke.
"Antigo is just very consistent in their singles and we had a lot of long points and we were pushed to earn those points. It was nice to get those two wins," Nichols said.
Rhinelander was also victorious at No. 1 doubles as Taylor Riopel and Paige Oleinik held off Ellie Packard and Faith Bussiere 6-4, 6-4.
"That's huge for them. The two of them have come a long way and it's great to see them get another win in the conference," Nichols said. "Their team chemistry has improved so much and their play at the net. We worked a lot on volleys and overheads yesterday. Today they could place that ball wherever their opponent wasn't or right through their opponent."
Antigo's MaKayla Roberts defeated Kelsey Winter 6-3, 6-0 at No. 4 singles while Antigo's No. 3 doubles tandem of Claire Musolff and Anna Evans defeated Claira Bramm and Shayla Coppenger 6-4, 6-3.
Overall, Rhinelander's lead in the conference remained at 12 points but over a new second-place challenger in Pacelli. The Cardinals got to 6-0 in the GNC with a 7-0 win over Phillips on Monday and a 4-3 win over Wausau Newman on Tuesday. Pacelli has won six fewer individual matches in conference play than Rhinelander, resulting in the 12-point deficit.
Rhinelander and Pacelli were set to face off Thursday in Stevens Point. Any result, aside from a 7-0 sweep for Pacelli, would ensure that the Hodags will enter next Saturday's GNC tournament in Antigo with the conference points lead. Nichols said Thursday's objective was to build as much of a cushion as possible.
"It's nice going into the conference tournament. Crazy things happen there, so it's always nice to have a little cushion leading up to it," he said.
Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].
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