May 15, 2023 at 7:51 a.m.
Hodag tennis downs Antigo twice, controls GNC fate
Hodag tennis downs Antigo twice, controls GNC fate
The Hodags find themselves with a nearly insurmountable lead after finishing conference dual meet play undefeated thanks to a 6-1 win over Antigo at home Thursday and a 7-0 win on Friday in a rematch against the Red Robins in Antigo.
Rhinelander closed dual meet play at 8-0 with 102 points. Medford sat 40 points back, pending a make-up match at Lakeland Monday that concluded after press time for today's edition. The Hodags' lead will be at least 26 points after that match and, should the advantage be 28 points or greater, it's likely that Rhinelander will clinch the title before a ball is even hit on Thursday. That assumes a plausible scenario in which the Hodags get a top-three seed and a bye into the semifinals in each flight.
"The main goal, they set the goal of winning conference, so clinching those points (was big)," Hodag coach Matt Nichols said after completing the sweep of Antigo on Friday. "But also it's fun and good for development to get other people playing different flights and positions."
The Hodags had plenty of opportunity to change their lineup Thursday and Friday as Antigo, low on numbers this season, did not field a team in any of the doubles flights.
Rhinelander went with its standard singles lineup on Thursday. Dalton Fritz, John Currie and Gavin Denis took the first three flights in straight sets. Max Durkee fell in three sets at No. 4 singles to Antigo's Garrett Tomyczk.
In Friday's rematch, Nichols bumped Currie up to the top flight, put No. 2 doubles partners Leo Losch and Charlie Heck at Nos. 2 and 3 singles, and had Nick Lesch at No. 4 singles. All four won their matches in straight sets.
"Especially seeing them just a day ago, it was kind of a nice opportunity to mix things around, getting our doubles to play some singles," Nichols said of playing Losch and Heck on Friday. "The games complement each other. Reflecting on both of them, they talked about different parts of the singles game that they worked and how it can play into their doubles game moving forward to make it stronger."
Fritz and Currie had identical results against Antigo's No. 1 Nolan Bunnell in the two matches. Fritz won Thursday and Currie prevailed Friday by matching 6-4, 6-1 scores.
"That Antigo player's a good player," Nichols said. "There were a lot of good rallies, both today and yesterday, I was just proud of their consistency and the way they could move the ball, the vision and then their finishing shots. Everything is starting to come together and click. That was really cool to see."
Currie was a 6-3, 6-2 winner over Landon Nelson at No. 2 on Thursday, Denis defeated Michael Hagerty 6-1, 6-2 at No. 3 and Durkee lost to Tomyczk 2-6, 6-4, 6-3.
Losch knocked off Nelson 6-2, 6-2 on Friday. Heck was a 6-2, 6-0 winner over Haggerty and Lesch controlled Tomyczk 6-0, 6-2.
"Gavin, that same idea. He's really improving consistency. His serve has come a long way," Nichols noted. "Then No. 4 singles, both Max and Nick had some great points out there. It was kind of fun to have that common opponent when we're trying to finalize where we're going with that flight. It was great to see them both play and get some competitive tennis in and help us out as we move to the conference tournament this next week."
Rhinelander (16-6, 8-0 Great Northern) will play its final dual meet of the season this afternoon at Marshfield. The Hodags defeated the Tigers 5-2 April 28 at a tournament in Wausau. Nichols said it will serve as a final opportunity for the team to fine-tune some things ahead of Thursday's conference meet at Lakeland. He added the team will roll into conference with high expectations.
"I think as a team everyone's pretty excited," he said. "I think we have good points moving forward. I think that each flight is going to be really competitive and if we play well we have the opportunity to win at each flight, which is super exciting to know that the ceiling is that high. I think they're in really good standing and super excited about it. Can't wait for Thursday."
The meet is scheduled to begin at 9 a.m.
Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].
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