June 14, 2023 at 1:28 p.m.
Roeser, Belanger named Hodag tennis MVPs
Roeser, Belanger named Hodag tennis MVPs
They were presented their award Monday as the squad hosted its season-ending banquet in the RHS commons.
Belanger and Roeser headlined a list of award winners, most of which were voted on by the team. No. 1 singles player Dalton Fritz took home most improved honors, senior Leo Losch won the team's hustle and Hodag Citizen awards. Senior Charlie Heck won the team spirit award.
Belanger and Roeser capped off a decorated 2023 season with a trip to the WIAA Division 1 state doubles tournament, where they advanced to the round of 32 before falling in a second-round match.
The pair went 24-4 together this season, won GNC doubles player of the year honors for the second year in a row, and took third place in the No. 1 doubles flight in their Eau Claire sectional tournament.
Hodag coach Matt Nichols said the two demonstrated plenty of intangibles and leadership skills and also, "played tennis at the highest level."
"Their gameplay is obviously that next level," he said. "You talk about stroke development and then, from there, you get the strategy. They have that and then they have such good vision on the court. Watching them at state, we've talked about, 'In this situation, you should take this shot,' and that works 90% of the time. They find the 10% of the time where, 'you know, that might be the best shot, but if I hit (a different) shot, we're going to get the winner,' and they would do it. That took them to that next level."
While Fritz's record took a hit this year - going 12-13 compared to 20-6 last season - the level of competition the junior faced was significantly tougher. Fritz vaulted from the No. 4 singles spot to the top flight this year. He managed to win the Great Northern Conference title at the flight and advance to the sectional round of the tournament, avenging a pair of losses earlier in the season to Marshfield's Kai Rens.
"There's a big difference between No. 4 singles and No. 1 singles and I think he felt it right away, especially when we were down in Bay Port, (against) some of those Wausau teams," Nichols said. "You look at his record, it's 12-13. That's, statistically, a losing record but, when we look at his season, I think it was anything but. People that he lost to early in the season, at the end of the season he beat. He beat Lakeland. He beat Marshfield to qualify for sectionals. It just goes to show the mindset he had. When he went to these tournaments and got beat, he got beat on paper but he truly grew from it, learned and then became better because of it. It was really exciting to watch."
Losch and Heck made a formidable pair, on and off the court, at No. 2 doubles. They went 23-4 together at the flight and were stopped one match short of joining Belanger and Roeser at the WIAA state tournament, falling in straight sets in the sectional finals.
Nichols pointed out that Losch won the hustle award for the third straight year, and alluded to the number of times that Losch skinned his knees in efforts to track down shots. In a poignant moment Leo's dad, assistant tennis coach Wil Losch, presented him with the Hodag Citizen Award which goes to the player who's actions and words improved and continue to improve the Rhinelander community.
"In addition of being a student-athlete and taking care of stuff in the classroom, he's tutored his own peers, he's been down in the elementary school, been involved with Key Club, out helping youth hockey even after a practice and has given back," Wil Losch said. "Of all the positive words that I've heard, the one that has landed with the most amount of pride - both as a coach and his dad - has been kind."
Coach Losch also presented Heck with the Team Spirit award and said Heck possesses many of the same leadership traits as his doubles partner.
"This person consistently rounded up the rest of the team to make sure our guy, the last match of the day, had teammates cheering him on," he said. "I've observed how he communicates with other students, even in a non-sports setting. I've observed how he communicates about ideas and I can tell you that the team spirit, it's more than just Hodag tennis or Hodag swimming. It's whoever's around him, he's talking respectfully and he's kind and that's a big part of why he's getting this."
In addition to earning the most improved award, Fritz also won the team's Three-Setter Netter award. Nichols noted there were multiple players who had three matches that went to a third set or match tiebreaker. Fritz (2-1) had the best record on the team in those matches.
Additionally, the team gave its most improved JV award to freshman Aiden Ostermann and its rookie of the year award to sophomore Van Tulowitzky.
The team also handed out a number of academic achievement awards. Roeser, Heck, Losch, No. 2 singles player John Currie and No. 3 doubles player Eli Lundt were all named Academic All-State by the Wisconsin High School Tennis Coaches Association. To be eligible, players needed to be either sophomores, juniors or seniors with a cumulative GPA of 3.5 or better and played at least 75% of matches on varsity.
Nichols also handed out team academic awards to Eric Berger, Payton McCue, Ostermann, Michael Schiek and Gabe White - who all had GPAs of 3.5 or higher but did not meet at least one of the other criteria for the WHSTCA award.
The Hodags went 17-6 overall this season and won their ninth straight Great Northern Conference championship. Additionally, Rhinelander tied for second in its Division 1 subsectional and took third at sectionals.
Nichols thanked this year's senior class - led by Roeser, Heck, Losch, Lundt and varsity reserve contributor Max Durkee - for their contributions to the team's success.
"You've put in a lot of time and effort. You look at the overall success of the program and it's no doubt because of what you've done, the time you've put in to build it, push the younger players and set that example of what it means to be a Hodag tennis player," he said. "I wish we could keep you, but I know there are bigger and better things for you."
Freelancer Bob Mainhardt contributed to this report. Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].
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