October 26, 2022 at 11:05 a.m.
Taylor Riopel earns Hodag tennis top honors
Taylor Riopel earns Hodag tennis top honors
The senior was voted the team's most valuable player and also earned the team's Hodag Citizen Award during a banquet Monday in the RHS commons.
Riopel was one of nine players recognized by the team, with the majority of the awards being voted on by the players.
On the court, Riopel played 30 matches this season, all at the No. 1 doubles position. She went 18-12 overall splitting time with partners Paige Oleinik and Helena Wisner. Riopel and Wisner won the Great Northern Conference title at No. 1 doubles - a victory that clinched the overall conference title for the Hodags - and the pair qualified for sectionals before falling in straight sets to Eau Claire Memorials' Livy Parrett and Kimberly Harvey.
"As a senior, she's really brought a lot and she's really pushed herself," Hodag coach Matt Nichols said. "She's been to tennis lessons. I know she goes to open hits. She hits on her own. She's been to Whitewater for a camp. She's really just passionate about the sport and his really pushed herself in-season, out of season and it's just really exciting to see all of that come to fruition with the results she's had."
Additionally, Riopel was honored for her impact off the court with the Hodag Citizen Award. Nichols said the award is presented to, "a person who gave back to the community in positive ways," and Riopel fit that description with her involvement in both tennis and non-tennis related activities.
"Tennis-wise, she's volunteered at a lot of different functions," he said. "She's worked with small children with tennis lessons, volunteering her time that way. She's helped out with fundraisers. She's also heavily involved in DECA as an officer."
There were a number of split decisions for awards. Sophomores Kelsey Winter and Karmen Lopez shared the Ms. Hustle award. Two more sophomores - Evelyn Sawyer and Wendy Fronk - split the team's most improved player award. Seniors Paige Oleinik and Echo Gustafson were co-recipients of the Team Spirit Award.
Oleinik was a combined 16-9 this season between Nos. 1 and 2 doubles. Gustafson saw varsity action in five matches, going 3-2 at No. 3 doubles. Both were captains, along with Taylor Riopel and Olivia Jones.
"This recognizes an athlete on the team that had a positive attitude and shared that attitude with everyone on the team," Nichols said of the Team Spirit Award. "This really goes beyond their individual performance. They pushed others to try their best, work hard and focus on that mental game."
Lopez went 0-7 in singles play early in the season. Winter went 14-15 on the season and was the GNC runner-up at No. 2 singles this year after playing at No. 4 singles as a freshman.
"She really took a big jump and I think she felt it that first tournament," Nichols said of Winter's season. "We played some of the most competitive teams and jumping up to that No. 2 singles spot really pushed her. She's all about competing and she grew into that position."
Sawyer and sophomore teammate Brooke Sisel solidified themselves at No. 3 doubles late in the season, finishing second in the flight at the conference tournament. Sawyer was 11-8 overall on the season, including a 10-7 record at No. 3 doubles.
Fronk did not see any varsity action this season, neither did freshman Teagan Turcotte who was voted the team's Rookie of the Year.
Wisner took home the lone award not voted on by the players - the Three Setter Netter Award. As the name suggests, that award goes to the player who was involved in the most matches that either went to a third set or a match tiebreaker. Wisner was involved in five matches that went beyond two sets, going 2-3 in those matches. That included the GNC championship match with Riopel at No. 1 doubles in which the two defeated Lakeland sisters Julianna and Kristina Ouimette 6-3, 4-6, 6-3.
Additionally, Nichols announced five members of the team - Sawyer, Sisel, Winter, Wisner and sophomore Dawsyn Barkus - earned Academic All-State honors from the Wisconsin High School Tennis Coaches Association. To be eligible, players must be sophomores, juniors or seniors, have cumulative GPA of 3.5 or higher and have played in at least 75% of a team's varsity matches during the course of the season.
The Hodag girls' tennis team went 14-12 overall on the season. The team recovered from a 2-9 start, which including a loss to Lakeland in the first GNC dual meet of the season. Rhinelander finished 6-1 in league play and rallied to edge the T-Birds by five points for the overall conference title.
"It was just a nice, steady climb up - building some confidence, getting some conference points and then, eventually, taking us to the conference tournament where the team won," Nichols said of the season.
Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].
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