April 28, 2022 at 12:23 p.m.
Hodag tennis downs Lakeland in dome again
Hodag tennis downs Lakeland in dome again
The results were pretty similar as well, with the Hodags rolling in most of the matches, taking a 6-1 victory and improving to 4-0 in Great Northern Conference play.
Tuesday's match was supposed to be at Lakeland but, with the thermometer struggling to reach 32 degrees, Lakeland gave up its home date for the much warmer confines of the Hodag Dome.
"Back in the dome, playing Lakeland again, it all looked pretty similar," Hodag coach Matt Nichols said.
No. 1 singles was the only result to swing from the opener as Lakeland's Jesús Hoyos, an exchange student from Mexico, downed Rhinelander's Luke Ring in three sets 2-6, 6-2, 6-4. Ring defeated Hoyos 6-4, 6-0 when the two players meet April 7.
"It was a great match. Both guys were hitting way better than they did that first time around. It was very tight. We're hoping to see him again at the conference tournament and get another crack at it," Nichols said. "I think that Lakeland was a lot more consistent. They kept the ball in. Luke was consistent as well. We're just missing a bit more than they were. There were a lot of long rallies, really great shot, but he just kept the ball in."
The Hodags had a sight change in their lineup, debuting a new No. 3 doubles tandem. Senior Gavin Ostermann and sophomore Dawson Pontell won in their debut together, defeating Lakeland's Sawyer Brown and Jayson Wahlgren, 6-3, 6-2.
Nichols said the two defeated the previous starters at No. 3, Eli Lundt and Gavin Denis, in a challenge match earlier this week at practice to take the spot for the time being.
"They took that spot for today and they got the win. That was nice to see," Nichols said. "Dawson is probably the more consistent player, very good ground strokes, and Gavin is just super aggressive at the net. That pair works out well. It was nice to see the balls getting put away."
Rhinelander rolled in the two other doubles matches. Layne Roeser and Elijah Evers were 6-0, 6-0 winners over Axle Jacobs and Isaac Olson in the top flight. Charlie Heck and Leo Losch downed Angus and August Callendar, 6-1, 6-0 at No. 2.
"No. 2 doubles didn't face much opposition. They put balls away," Nichols said. "Same with No. 1 doubles. They did a nice job of generating power off of weak shots. That was good to see."
Joey Belanger rolled at No. 2 singles, defeating Dominic Gironella, 6-2, 6-3. John Currie and Dalton Fritz picked up matching 6-1, 6-2 wins for the Hodags at the Nos. 3 and 4 singles flights.
"Joey, he was hitting a lot better. We've worked on depth of the court and he was doing a really nice job, deeper shots past the service line and just keeping his opponent from making any aggressive shots," Nichols said. "On top of that, he was able to capitalize on good opportunities and he put balls away. That's what we wanted to see there.
"John and Dalton were consistent, just kept the rally going which is huge at those lower flights. Dalton was also putting some balls away. All four of them have good serves and I think that's just a strength throughout the team."
Rhinelander (6-3, 4-0 Great Northern) was at Pacelli for a GNC match on Thursday and travels back outside of conference play today and tomorrow in an invitational at Wausau West High School.
"This is where we get pushed. This is where we grow. We need that," Nichols said. "We play a subsectional team and two other teams that our outside of our section, so it would be nice to get some wins. All the teams there are going to be good competition."
NOTE: Ring and Fritz won matches for Rhinelander Friday, April 22 in a 5-2 loss to Appleton Xavier as part of the De Pere Super 10 Invite. Results from that match were received after press time for our Tuesday, April 26 edition. Ring defeated Josh Horak at No. 1 singles, 6-7 (5), 6-1, 11-9. Fritz was a 4-6, 6-1, 11-9 winner over Grant Polzin at No. 4 singles. Lundt and Denis dropped a match tiebreaker at No. 3 doubles to Xavier's Patrick Smith and Joel Pfaff, 3-6, 6-0, 10-5.
Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].
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