September 22, 2022 at 8:29 a.m.
Hodag tennis looks to fend of Lakeland, Pacelli at GNCs
Hodag tennis looks to fend of Lakeland, Pacelli at GNCs
The team or teams that have entered the conference tournament with the points lead have gone on to win the title each of the first 13 years the GNC has sponsored the sport.
However, it's been a long time since the conference has seen a title race this close.
Rhinelander leads Lakeland by four points and Pacelli by eight heading into Saturday's tournament in Minocqua. Should the Hodags hold on, it would mark their 11th conference title in 13 seasons. Pacelli is vying for its first GNC title while the Lakeland would claim its second conference title, should they rally past the Hodags.
Lakeland and Marshfield Columbus tied for the GNC championship back in 2009, in the only example in conference history of a race as close as this year's. That year Lakeland and Marshfield Columbus were dead even after the dual meets with Merrill only four points back in third. Lakeland and Columbus then tied with 29 points at the conference tournament to split the title.
"It's going to be an exciting day. I'm looking forward to it," Hodag coach Matt Nichols said.
Rhinelander, of course, had to play catch-up much of the dual meet season after losing the season opener 6-1 to Lakeland. Performing better than the Thunderbirds in the remaining six conference duals allowed Rhinelander to move in to the lead.
This is not the first time Rhinelander has had to recover from a dual meet loss in an effort to win a conference title. The most notable example came in 2018 when Rhinelander fell to Antigo 4-3 in the dual meet season, but entered the GNC tournament with a narrow four-point lead after the Robins were tripped up by Wausau Newman later in the season. Rhinelander went on to win that conference championship by two points thanks to Emma Roberts' match tiebreaker win over Antigo's Ellie Kelly in the championship match at No. 2 doubles.
Ironically, that conference tournament four years ago was also held at Lakeland.
"Coming from there to where we currently are is huge," Nichols said when asked how gratifying it would be for this year's team to rally and win the conference title. "We've really worked for it and the harder you fight for it, the more it means. I know that they're going to fight hard and it's going to be close. We'll see how it goes."
Pacelli, meanwhile, is in position to play spoiler in the Oneida Country rivalry. The Cardinals are within striking distance thanks in large part to a 5-2 win over Lakeland earlier this month.
"Pacelli is a very strong team. They just beat Lakeland and they have individual flights that could go far at the tourney," Nichols said. "Both are very solid teams. It's no surprise that the three of us are at the top. It's really going to be who has the better day. So many matches throughout the season were three sets (or) tiebreaks. It could go either way."
As much as it will be a battle when the players take the court tomorrow morning, there could be just as much contention tonight when the GNC coaches meet to seed the flights for the tournament. The parity within a number of flights, and the maneuvering of players in lineups, will make tonight's meeting much more difficult than a simple exercise of awarding seeds based on conference dual meet records.
Rhinelander went either 6-1 or 5-2 in all seven flights during league play. While that may not get the Hodags many, if any, No. 1 seeds, it should ensure some favorable matchups in the quarterfinals.
"When I look at it on paper, I would expect seeds in the top four. Doubles, I think we're looking at ones and twos. Singles, I think Tori (Riopel)'s the most clear cut with a two-seed (at No. 1 singles). From there it gets messy, but I would expect a top-four seed, if not a top-three seed for all flights."
The conference tournament gets underway at 9 a.m. tomorrow at Lakeland Union High School. Here's a closer look at each flight entering the event:
No. 1 singles: This may be the most clear-cut of any of the flights heading into the conference tournament. Pacelli's Natalie Cooper was 6-0 in the flight in league play, winning five of those matches convincingly in straight sets. Rhinelander's Tori Riopel will likely be the No. 2 seed after going 6-1 in GNC play. Marshfield Columbus' Maria Laura Garcia-Moya is 5-2, with her losses coming in three-setters to Cooper and Riopel. Lakeland's Sarah Barton was 3-4 in the flight.
No. 2 singles: Marshfield Columbus' Akosua Yeboah appears to have a lock on the No. 1 seed. The conference runner-up at No. 3 singles last year went 7-0 in the second flight this fall. Pacelli and Rhinelander both went 5-2 in the flight, with Rhinelander's Kelsey Winter holding a key 6-4, 6-2 win over Pacelli's Lauren Loesl for seeding purposes. Lakeland's Maria Gironella was 4-3 in the flight. She beat Winter, but lost to Loesl.
No. 3 singles: Seeding here may depend on where Wausau Newman's Reagan Hedrich plays. She's 4-0 in the conference in the flight, but played up at No. 2 singles against Phillips and Marshfield Columbus. If she moves up, Lakeland's Phoebe Wirtz and Rhinelander's Shayla Coppenger both went 5-2 in the flight. Wirtz would likely have the inside track on a higher seed based on a 6-2, 7-5 win over Coppenger Aug. 18, but Wirtz lost to Pacelli's Alaina Sbonik (4-2), who played doubles when Pacelli lost to Rhinelander.
No. 4 singles: Wausau Newman's Addie Schmidt appears to be the No. 1 seed. She was 6-0 in league play heading into Thursday's match at Antigo, which concluded after press time. Lakeland's Norah Strassburg is 6-1, and defeated Rhinelander's Dawsyn Barkus, who's 5-2. Pacelli could be in danger of not advancing out of the quarterfinals in this flight, as the two players they've had at in that position - Cabrini Brandl and Samantha Schoepke - are a combined 2-5.
No. 1 doubles: Both Rhinelander and Lakeland went 6-1 in the flight, with Lakeland beating Rhinelander head-to-head with the sister tandem of Juliana and Kristina Ouimette. However, Rhinelander is 4-0 at No. 1 doubles in the GNC since Tori Riopel was paired with Helena Wisner. The Marshfield Columbus pair of Maria Elizabeth Garcia-Moya and Declyn Tracy (5-2) is a sleeper. They upset the Ouimettes and pushed Riopel and Wisner in a long first set before falling to the Hodags. Pacelli is likely a No. 4 seed after Amelia Jacoby and Julia Storch went 4-3 in conference duals.
No. 2 doubles: Lakeland's Hailey Curtis and Cassidy Cleveland are the likely No. 1 seed based on a perfect record in league duals. However, like No. 1 doubles, Rhinelander is 4-0 at No. 2 since pairing Paige Oleinik and Kayla Tessman together. The Hodags are the likely No. 2 seed while Pacelli's Anabelle Arnold and Julie Milbauer are likely the third seed at 5-1. Arnold lost to Oleinik and Tessman, however she was paired with Sbonik that day as Pacelli switched players at No. 3 singles and No. 2 doubles.
No. 3 doubles: Pacelli is the clear-cut favorite as Shannon Lepak and Lucy Gwidt went 7-0 in duals. The second seed appears to be a three-way fight between Lakeland, Medford and Rhinelander, who all went 5-2. Brooke Sisel and Evelyn Sawyer are 4-0 in league play since taking over the No. 3 spot for Rhinelander, however they did not play against Lakeland or Medford. Medford's Chloe Werner and Madison Clarkson are 4-0 together in the flight, including a three-set win over Lakeland's Charley Cleveland and Ali Timmerman.
Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].
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