May 10, 2023 at 2:27 p.m.
Triple play
Hodag tennis grabs control of GNC with Medford wins, beats Everest in non-conference clash
Triple play
The Hodags swept a conference doubleheader from Medford 5-2 and 7-0 at the RHS tennis courts. Rhinelander handed Medford its first two GNC losses of the season and took a 26-point lead in the conference standings with two duals remaining before next Thursday's GNC tournament.
Rhinelander did it without what would be considered its top lineup in either match. The Hodags rested No. 1 singles player Dalton Fritz and No. 3 doubles teammates Eli Lundt and Dawson Pontell in the first match. Nichols gave normal starters John Currie, Nick Lesch and Layne Roeser a rest in the second match.
Nichols said it was a calculated risk, considering the Hodags also had a non-conference match with subsectional seeding importance against D.C. Everest on Tuesday. Rhinelander won that one too, edging the Evergreens 4-3.
"I think of the depth of the team, not only that but just the development and three matches, we wanted to come into Everest semi-fresh," Nichols said. "We kind of did roll the dice hoping that we would get it and everyone performed really well. We got the 5-2, 7-0. I couldn't be more happy with how the guys played.
"We got some new varsity starts out there and redeeming that loss against Everest was very satisfying," Nichols added.
Tuesday was not originally scheduled as a tripleheader for Rhinelander. The Hodags were supposed to play Medford once and then take on Everest, but weather twice postponed the Hodags' GNC dual at Medford, so the sides decided to make up that match as part of a doubleheader on Tuesday.
Nichols' move to rest Fritz in the first Medford match turned up an ace when Currie rallied from a first-set loss to knock off last year's GNC No. 1 singles runner-up Brayden Balciar, who was undefeated in conference play entering Tuesday's matches.
Currie dropped the first set 3-6 but then rattled off six straight games to take the second set 6-1. Because Rhinelander played three matches on Tuesday, WIAA rules mandated a 10-point match tiebreaker in lieu of a full third set. The tiebreaker went back-and-forth for much of a way, with Currie serving up an ace down 11-10 to stave off defeat. From there, Balciar hit one long to give Currie match point. The two then exchanged a long rally, with Currie scrambling to stay in the point before coming up with a cross-court winner to take the tiebreaker and the match, 13-11.
"It was good experience for him and I think it's going to throw a wrench into how the conference lies," Nichols said of Currie's win over Balciar. "I wanted to see Dalton play him as well. I thought he would play there twice but, obviously, things shifted. It is what it is and that was a big part of today, getting a lot of people tennis, good experience and everyone getting some of that."
After falling in the first match, it was Medford's turn to roll the dice, moving Balciar and No. 2 singles player Saskatoon Damm to No. 1 doubles. It seemed as though that matchup was in their favor with the Hodags resting Roeser and moving Belanger to No. 2 singles for the second match. Instead, Medford's gamble came up snake eyes as the senior pair of Leo Losch and Charlie Heck controlled the match en route to a 6-2, 6-3 win.
"Watching Leo and Charlie play No. 1 doubles that second round I'm thinking, 'Yep, they could play there easily. We just happen to have a better team, which is awesome,'" Nichols said. "Charlie and Leo went through without much opposition. They're just a very quality team, very disciplined."
The Hodags dominated doubles in the first match, dropping just one game in the sweep. Max Durkee, playing at No. 4 singles, picked up Rhinelander's other win in the first match, a 6-4, 6-2 win over Medford's Brett Lundy.
Durkee, a senior, won both of his matches against Medford, picking up a 6-1, 6-0 win in the second match at No. 3 singles against Cole Zenner.
The lineup shuffle also gave Rhinelander an opportunity to put some new players in at No. 3 doubles. Gavin Ostermann and Michael Schiek rolled to a 6-1, 6-0 win the first match while Karter Massey and Payton McCue cruised 6-0, 6-1 in the second match. Lundt and Pontell, who normally occupy the No. 3 position, played at No. 2 after taking the first match off and cruised 6-1, 6-3 over Conner Klingbiel and Lundy. Zacha King stepped in at No. 4 singles in the second match and won 6-1, 7-5.
"It's always nice to see some of those younger players grow into will end up being future varsity roles and contributing to the conference (standings)," Nichols said. "It was cool to see them hold their own in those spots and get, not just wins but convincing wins."
Rhinelander reverted to its standard lineup for the final match of the day against D.C. Everest and avenged a 5-2 loss to the Evergreens back on April 14.
The Hodags flipped two flights they lost in the first meeting. Lundt and Pontell defeated Sean Flemming and Max Hoffman 6-1, 7-6 (5) on Tuesday. Lundt and Denis had lost in straight sets at No. 3 doubles in the first meet. Denis, now at No. 3 singles, earned the match-clinching point for the Hodags on Tuesday, defeating Calvin Gasall 6-4, 7-6 (5). Pontell lost to Gasall in straight sets during the first meeting.
"That was a fun one, heart-pounding, really intense," Nichols said as Denis rallied from down 4-1 in the set tiebreaker to clinch the dual. "I figured it was going to come down to that or John's and he got the win, which was huge, putting us at that 4-3 victory."
Belanger and Roeser rolled at No. 1 doubles, while Heck and Losch cruised at No. 2 doubles. Currie dropped a set tiebreaker at No. 2 singles against Ted Kitchell in a straight-set loss. Durkee fell 10-7 in a match tiebreaker against Ethan Giese at No. 4 singles.
"Everest is stronger on the singles side, for sure, but we played hard and they have some good depth there, so it was good to see our guys get pushed and be able to rally back and get wins across the doubles board," Nichols said. "I don't know what they're going to do for subs but, regardless, getting wins there is huge moving forward."
Rhinelander all but locked up first place in the GNC heading into the conference tournament with Tuesday's wins. The only remaining questions are how large will the margin be and will it be enough for the Hodags to mathematically clinch their ninth straight conference title before the start of play at next Thursday's conference tournament at Lakeland.
The Hodags are in a midst of a home-and-home series with Antigo to close out conference dual meet play. Antigo came to Rhinelander yesterday in a match that concluded after press time for today's edition and the Hodags will make the return trip to Antigo this afternoon.
"We've got Antigo coming up here and then we've got the conference tournament. It was a good day, setting ourselves up well to achieve that goal of a conference title," Nichols said.
Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].
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