Riopel, Coppenger share Hodag tennis MVP award

By the numbers, seniors Tori Riopel and Shayla Coppenger had the most successful individual seasons for the Rhinelander High School girls’ tennis team in 2023. Those numbers translated into sharing the team’s top honor on Monday.

Riopel and Coppenger were named co-winners of the team’s MVP award during a banquet in the RHS commons. That award, and several others presented by the team Monday night, was voted on by the players. 

Riopel had the best winning percentage of any of the regular starters on the varsity squad. She went 24-13 overall, playing all but one of those matches at No. 1 singles. Her season included a dramatic match tiebreaker win over Eau Claire North’s Miah Nelson in the sectional quarterfinals to clinch a berth in the WIAA state tournament. 

Coppenger went 22-12 overall on the season, primarily playing at No. 3 singles. She contributed the most points to the team in Great Northern Conference play, going undefeated in dual meets at the flight before finishing second in the GNC tournament. 

“In both regards I see our most valuable player,” coach Matt Nichols said during the banquet. “They both put in a lot of time. They hit over 100 hours between last season and this season and it shows in their skill level. When you look at MVP, that’s not always the criteria, but we can also look at them as two of the winningest players on our roster. 

“Two senior captains that have put in so much time to the program. I’m just really excited to see them earn this award and represent everything the program embodies.”

Riopel added the team’s Hodag Citizen Award to her haul on Monday. That award recognizes a player’s positive impact on both the Hodag tennis program and to the community at large.

“She was a leader when it came to fundraising,” Nichols said. “She was at the pickleball tourney, helped rack leaves in the past. She came to help run elementary school lessons. Things tennis related, she came and helped. Then she reached out to freshmen, made sure they were still part of the community, made sure they had a ride.”

There was another tie in the voting as senior Kayla Tessmann and junior Dawsyn Barkus shared the team’s Ms. Hustle Award. Tessmann went 13-18 on the season with No. 1 doubles partner Karmen Lopez while Barkus jumped from No. 4 singles to No. 2 this year, going 17-15 overall.

“I’ve seen it time and time again, Kayla sprinting to a ball,” Nichols said. “There are times where it would go to the far side of the court, she’d hustle it down. It would go to the other side of the court, she’d hustle it down and she’d still get the ball. It was impressive to watch. 

“The one regret I had for Dawsyn was that the season wasn’t just a little longer. Right at the end of the season you could see her progressing, progressing, progressing, and things started to click. That was because Dawsyn, she really tries to process what you say and incorporate it into her game. Her shots became more refined, especially on the baseline it was fun to watch her rally.”

Lopez took home the team’s most improved honor. In presenting the award, Nichols read what Tessmann wrote on her ballot, stating the case for her junior teammate. 

“She came up from JV this year and played No. 1 doubles with me. We beat some teams I hadn’t beaten before and I saw a major improvement in her hits and serves,” Tessmann wrote.

Rookie of the year honors went to freshman Becca Brost, who went 3-5 on the year while making a handful of starts in singles. She was pressed into duty during the Wausau Invite Aug. 22 and went 1-2 in her varsity debut, picking up a win against Green Bay Preble.

“Her first varsity match was kind of unexpected for both me and her,” Nichols explained. “She was traveling as a reserve to a tournament and someone wasn’t able to make it that day, they were sick, and it’s like, ‘Hey Becca, do you want to jump in and play No. 4 singles?’ Not only did she jump in and played but she competed really hard and got some wins there.”

Tessmann and Lopez took home the only award on the night not voted on by the players. They eared the Three Setter Netter award by going a team-best 5-2 this year in matches decided by either a full third set or a match tiebreaker. 

Sophomore Eva Heck received the Team Spirit award and freshman Morgan Cahee took home most improved honors for the JV team. 

    Rhinelander High School girls’ tennis award winners for the 2023 season pose for a photograph following the team’s banquet in the RHS commons Monday, Oct. 16. Pictured from left to right are Morgan Cahee, Tori Riopel, Shayla Coppenger, Dawsyn Barkus, Becca Brost, Karmen Lopez, Eva Heck and Kayla Tessmann. (Bob Mainhardt for the River News)
  

Additionally, Nichols announced that four members of the team earn academic All-State honors from the Wisconsin High School Tennis Coaches Association —Barkus, Evelyn Sawyer, Brooke Sisel and Willow VanDenHeuvel. To be eligible for the award, athletes must be either sophomores, juniors or seniors, have a cumulative grade point average of 3.5 or higher, and have played in at least 75% of varsity matches on the season. Nichols further honored Heck, Elizabeth Jozwick, Maddie Legrey, Willow Mutter and Kelsey Winter, who fulfilled the age and GPA requirements for the academic all-state award, but did not make the 75% match threshold. 

Rhinelander went 15-14 in dual meets this season, including a 5-2 mark and a third-place finish in the GNC. The Hodags were fourth at subsectionals and seventh at sectionals this year. 

“You’re an awesome group to work with. I really appreciate all the time and effort you’ve put into the program,” Nichols said in his closing remarks. 

Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].