May 8, 2023 at 8:23 a.m.
Hodag tennis makes short work of Pacelli
Conference showdown vs. Medford looms
Hodag tennis makes short work of Pacelli
Rhinelander dropped a total of four games on Friday as it cruised past Pacelli 7-0 in the Hodag Dome. The win vaulted Rhinelander (4-0, 52 points GNC) back into first in the conference standings. Medford (4-0, 46 pts.) briefly moved into the lead following a 6-1 win over Antigo on Thursday. After a couple of postponements due to weather, the Hodags and Raiders will play both of their conference dual meets in Rhinelander this afternoon. The Hodags will also face D.C. Everest in a non-conference match later today.
"It's a big day," Hodag coach Matt Nichols said, looking ahead. "I just hope we have good weather, but it's going to be a lot of play, should be a lot of fun. We'll probably shift our lineup a little bit with the three matches throughout the day. Both are important, being conference or that subsectional opponent match."
Light rain just before Friday's match forced the action indoors, but the Hodags made short work of the Cardinals once inside. The result mirrored Rhinelander's 7-0 win over Pacelli back in early April.
"I think it was similar. I thought Pacelli looked much improved, so props to their coach and the team. I also saw the same thing from our team," Nichols said. "We got a pretty similar result. Scores were about the same. Play, though, I was really impressed to see the things we worked on in practice incorporated into gameplay. That's what we want to see in these matches."
Rhinelander did not drop a game in any of the three doubles matches on Friday. The teams of Joey Belanger and Layne Roeser, Charlie Heck and Leo Losch, and Eli Lundt and Dawson Pontell all cruised to 6-0, 6-0 wins.
"They proved to be super strong, consistent and just top-notch competitors," Nichols said.
Things weren't much more difficult in singles. Dalton Fritz won the top flight 6-1, 6-1 over Ben Westrick, John Currie was a 6-0, 6-1 winner over Bennett Eckendorf at No. 2 and Gavin Denis won the third flight 6-0, 6-1 over Evan Pekarek. Pacelli did not fill the No. 4 singles position as Nick Lesch picked up an uncontested victory.
"I'm getting a lot more confident in them and I think they're getting more confident in themselves and it's starting to show in the play," Nichols said of his singles lineup. "Just the consistency and positioning on the court we've worked on a lot at practice and they did a nice job getting ready for every ball, setting themselves up for the next shot. With that, they were able to finish shots, too. We have the consistent game but we can also put the balls away and that's exciting to see."
It sets Rhinelander up for a big showdown with the Raiders this afternoon. The Hodags have won three more individual matches than Medford so far this season in GNC play, which is why they have a six-point lead in the conference despite both teams sitting at 4-0 in the league.
Looking ahead, Nichols said Medford's lineup boasts arguably the top singles player in the conference in Brayden Balciar.
"It looks like their strong in singles. It kind of depends on where they swing people, but their No. 1 singles proves to be one of the top in the conference," Nichols said. "He'll be the biggest competition, flight-wise. I don't know that their depth is necessarily there with their No. 3 doubles, No. 4 singles but it should be a good match and we should get pushed a little more than some of the matches today."
Rhinelander and Medford will play back-to-back, beginning at 1 p.m. The Hodags' non-conference match against D.C. Everest is slated to begin at approximately 5:30 p.m.
Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].
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