Hodags conquer wind, T-Birds in GNC dual

Conditions were far from ideal on Tuesday when the Rhinelander High School boys’ tennis team traveled north to face Great Northern Conference rival Lakeland, but not even Mother Nature could slow down the Hodags.

Rhinelander swept doubles and split the singles flights as it picked up a 5-2 victory over Lakeland.

After Lakeland beat Medford to start the season, the T-Birds (3-5, 1-1 Great Northern) figured to be Rhinelander’s chief contender in this year’s GNC race. Lakeland indeed pushed four of the seven flights to either set or match tiebreakers, but the Hodags (5-1, 2-0 Great Northern) prevailed in three of those matches to secure the win.

Singles was competitive in particular as the first set in the top three flights was either decided in the 12th  game or a set tiebreaker.

“We kind of predicted that going into it,” Hodag coach Matt Nichols said. “I think we had an opportunity there at singles, we anticipated those being more challenging. It was just great to get the win as a team. We only see them once, so got to make each one count, and we did.”

Aside from the play on the courts, the weather was the main story on Tuesday. The wind gusted in excess of 40 MPH at times ahead of an incoming storm system. Play was completed within an hour of rain arriving in Minocqua that would have forced the suspension of the match.

“It was crazy. It was gusty. It was strong,” Nichols said of the blustery conditions. “It was brutal to just watch, let alone play in, but the players went in with a good mindset. We’ve talked a lot about controlling what you can control. We talked about the wind and how we can use it to our advantage. Both players (are playing) in the same thing so how can we use it to help our own game? I think they did a nice job with that.”

John Currie picked up the win for Rhinelander at the No. 1 singles flight, fending off Lakeland’s Dominic Gironella 7-6 (5), 6-2. Nichols called it a strong win for Currie against Gironella, who beat Dalton Fritz once in the top flight last year and pushed the other two meetings to match tiebreakers.

“It was a tight first set. He closes the set 7-5 in a tiebreak and then kind of commands the second, winning 6-2,” Nichols said. “We know (Gironella’s) a strong player. He beat Dalton last year, in real close matches there. (John getting the win) was cool to see. He’s worked on a lot of different strategies, so it was cool to see him try those out and get the win using them.”

    Rhinelander’s Joey Belanger plays a point at the net while teammate Dalton Fritz looks on during a GNC boys’ tennis match against Lakeland in Minocqua Tuesday, April 16. Belanger and Fritz were straight-set winners for the Hodags at No. 1 doubles. (Brett LaBore/Lakeland Times)
  

Rhinelander rolled in the top doubles flights on Tuesday. Joey Belanger and Fritz were 6-1, 6-1 winners over Yaroslav Myschychyn and Gage Bowe in the top flight while Gavin Denis and Dawson Pontell took care of Angus Callender and Jayson Wahlgren 6-3, 6-0 at No. 2.

The team of Aiden Ostermann and Michael Schiek completed the doubles sweep for the Hodags. After defeating Lakeland’s No. 3 pair of Tyler Wallace and Sawyer Brown 7-3 in a first-set tiebreaker, the Hodag duo controlled the second set, winning it 6-1.

Freshman Calvin Loomis added the fifth victory for the Hodags, fending off August Callender in a match tiebreaker at No. 4 singles 6-2, 4-6, 10-3.

“No. 3 doubles, it was nice for them, another tiebreak win right away and then a commanding second set to get some momentum going into the weekend. Same with Calvin, it was just a nice confidence boost for him,” Nichols said.

The Hodags faded after competitive starts in both of their match losses. Nick Lesch dropped the No. 2 singles match to Jack Stepec 7-6 (4), 6-2. Payton McCue fell in the third flight to Mika Rempp 7-5, 6-2.

The win gives the Hodags an early eight-point lead over Lakeland in the conference standings. Antigo sat as the only other team in the conference without at least one dual meet loss after Tuesday’s play, but the Robins did not field a full lineup in a 3-2 win over another team struggling for numbers, Pacelli.

The Hodags are back in action today in tomorrow in the De Pere Invite. 

“We have five matches — three Friday, two on Saturday — all competitive D1 teams, and I think we’re ready for it,” Nichols said. “We had a nice tune-up tourney this last weekend. We’ve done some conditioning. The boys are looking forward to it, I’m looking forward to it and it will be fun to get pushed.”

Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].