June 15, 2022 at 11:30 a.m.
Ring named Hodag tennis MVP
Ring named Hodag tennis MVP
Ring went 17-8 for the Hodags this season, finishing second in the Great Northern Conference singles player of the year race to Antigo's Garrett Husnick. He also finished one win shy of the WIAA Division 1 state tournament, bowing out in the sectional quarterfinals.
"When I think of Luke, I think of him in the zone," Hodag coach Matt Nichols said during the banquet. "When he gets in a match, it's like something clicks and he's no longer all smiles and happy, his normal self. He's in the zone."
Team MVP was determined by a vote by the players, as were the majority of Monday's awards. Ring also earned the lone objective award of the night, the three-setter netter award as he played in a team-high six matches that went to either a 10-point supertiebreaker or a full third set this spring, going 4-2 in those matches.
He nearly got into a seventh three-set match, rallying from down 0-5 in the second set to Husnick in the GNC championship match at No. 1 singles for force a set tiebreaker, before falling short.
"It was a valiant effort on his part and it just goes to show his determination on the court," Nichols said.
The bulk of the awards went to players on the doubles side of the lineup. No. 1 double player Layne Roeser won the team spirit award. No. 2 doubles teammates Leo Losch and Charlie Heck were given the Mr. Hustle and Hodag Citizen awards, respectively. Dawson Pontell, who finished the year at No. 3 doubles, was named the team's most improved player.
Roeser went a combined 17-8, playing all of his matches at No. 1 doubles this spring. He started the year 6-5 with senior Elijah Evers before he moved to singles. Roeser was 11-3 the rest of the way with sophomore Joey Belanger, including a conference championship in the top doubles flight. In the context of the team spirit award, Nichols said Roeser, "had a positive attitude and shared that attitude with everyone on the team."
"Layne always reached out and connected with people, different grades, different abilities. Just a great leader on the court. I could always hear you cheering on people not only in a match, but just in drills and games at practice," he said.
Leo Losch won the Mr. Hustle award for a second straight year. He settled in at No. 2 doubles with Heck early in the season and the two went 20-7 together, including a GNC title and a third-place finish in their flight at sectionals.
"You wouldn't have to look at the court. You could just listen and hear this guy breathing," Nichols said, describing Losch's hustle.
For Heck's part, his leadership on and off the court, were the driving factors to winning the Hodag Citizen Award.
"He values team improvement most of the time over his own self-improvement," Nichols said. "He leads by both words and example. Even today, there were a couple of balls that were left out at tennis lessons, not even on his court, and he walked over there and got them. He's also involved in Headwaters Christian Youth."
Pontell, a sophomore, was 15-6 overall this year, with the majority of those matches coming with junior Eli Lundt at No. 3 doubles. Nichols noted the two made a textbook pairing in doubles, especially when Lundt was serving and Pontell was putting points away at the net.
"I saw tremendous growth in this athlete's game," Nichols added.
The team also presented a pair of JV awards, with sophomore Zacha King being named most improved and freshman Payton McCue winning rookie of the year honors.
The Hodags went 15-4 overall in dual meets this spring, including an 8-0 record in GNC duals as the team won its eighth straight conference title. Rhinelander won its subsectional and finished fourth overall in Division 1 sectional play.
"As a whole team everyone improved on their strokes, I think that was the biggest thing, watching the progress and development from the newest players to the most experienced," Nichols said. "We got complemented on sportsmanship by some other teams and we were also complemented our hustle and scrappiness by a team from around Milwaukee. They said we were the scrappiest team they've ever played. I took that to heart."
Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].
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