Hodag tennis sends 5 flights to sectionals

The Rhinelander High School boys’ tennis team did not quite reach its preseason goal of advancing all seven flights to the sectional round of the WIAA tournament but it turned in a solid showing as it hosted a WIAA Division 1 subsectional on Monday.

The Hodags took third in the seven-team event that included the entire Wisconsin Valley Conference and Rhinelander sent five flights on to Wednesday’s sectional round in Eau Claire, which was ongoing as of press time. 

Five of Rhinelander’s six seniors were among those who advanced. The team punched tickets to sectionals at Nos. 1, 3 and 4 singles, as well as Nos. 1 and 2 doubles.

“It was a good day, a lot of competitive tennis. Even the losses, both were in match tiebreaks,” Hodag coach Matt Nichols said. “It was exciting to see good tennis there, and great tennis from those moving forward with more to come.”

Seniors Dalton Fritz and Joey Belanger (19-4) moved on without lifting a racquet on Monday. They received the No. 1 seed in the seven-team draw and an automatic bye into the sectionals quarterfinals. They clinched a WIAA state tournament berth Wednesday morning by defeating Hudson’s Henry Mechelke and Noah Brueske (9-3), the fourth seed out of the Eau Claire Memorial subsectional, 6-1, 6-1.

“They definitely earned it. They had a great season. It’s a great way for them to enter sectionals,” Nichols said Monday.

John Currie needed to win only one match to advance at No. 1 singles. After falling behind a break point early in the first set to Wausau West’s Andrew Lipowski, Currie (15-13) took control of the match, winning 12 of the final 13 games in a 6-3, 6-0 victory. 

“He was just missing some shots. There are some nerves that always play into the postseason,” Nichols said. “Once he got a little more comfortable, he started hitting his serves, his shots and he was able to walk away with it.”

Currie lost to top-seeded Isaac Johnson from Menomonie 6-2, 6-1 in Wednesday’s sectional quarterfinals. That was almost identical to the previous result between the two players, when Johnson beat Currie 6-1, 6-2 in Wausau earlier this season.

Currie was joined at sectionals on the singles side by junior Payton McCue and senior Zacha King, who made it through at Nos. 3 and 4, respectively. McCue (10-10) had the top seed and a bye into the second round where he held off Wausau West’s Eli Hackett 6-1, 7-5 to advance. Up 5-2 in the second set, McCue dropped three straight games as Hackett got back on serve at 5-5, but McCue broke Hackett in the 11th game and then served out for the match in the 12th.

King (9-9), as the second seed, raced past Wisconsin Rapids’ Parker Rendmeister 6-0, 6-0 in the first round before punching his ticket with a 7-5, 6-3 win over Marshfield’s Aran Tripathi in the second round. 

“Zacha just brings a lot of variation. He’s always had a nice slice, but his serve has come along as a weapon and he’s really developed nice top. Top and slice paired together work out a really good strategy. We can do a lot with that,” Nichols said. “Payton, we’ve kind of worked his swing and he is also working on more top and depth. His serve has improved a lot too. Both of them just great games, a lot of variation we can use and its fun to see them put it in action.”

Rhinelander’s No. 2 doubles pair of Dawson Pontell and Gavin Denis (16-6) also advanced. They were the top seed and drew a bye into the second round where they handled Wausau East’s Chaz Weiss and Elliot Harding 6-3, 6-2. Denis, after being warned of a potential foot fault violation on his serve late in the second set by one of the Wausau East coaches, responded with three consecutive aces to close out the match. 

Nichols said the pairing was hopeful of bigger and better things on Wednesday as the sectional champion in the No. 2 flight earns an automatic berth to state, along with the top four finishers in the No. 1 flight. 

“They didn’t look especially pushed. They had the No. 1 seed, very well-deserving there and hoping for big things (at sectionals),” he said. “It’s not easy, but with that position, there the opportunity to qualify for state. I think that’s the goal for them, and they’re right there.”

The Hodags nearly had a sixth flight make it through. Juniors Michael Schiek and Aiden Ostermann were upset by third-seeded Sebastian Nelson and Drew Rust 6-4, 3-6, 10-5. After taking the second set to force a match tiebreaker, too many unforced errors ultimately decided the Hodags’ fate. 

“Some net errors that we had kind of put us down,” Nichols said. “Then you’ve got more pressure and it kind of went downhill from there. They had a great season. There’s a lot of growth there and I think it will make them stronger for next season.”

    Rhinelander’s Nick Lesch reacts after losing a point in a tiebreaker to Wausau West’s Micah Boismenue during a WIAA Division 1 boys’ tennis subsectional in the Hodag Dome Monday, May 20. Lesch was eliminated from the tournament with a loss to Boismenue. (Bob Mainhardt for the River News)
  

Senior Nick Lesch came up short in a bid to extend his season. As the fifth seed in the No. 2 singles draw, Lesch rallied after dropping the first set to Wausau West’s Micah Boismenue 6-2 to take the second 6-1 and force a tiebreaker, but Boismenue held on 10-7 in the tiebreaker after both players struggled to win points on their serve. 

“On a positive, it was just fun watching him play. It looked like he was having fun,” Nichols said. “He was hitting amazing shots, great rallies. If he were to go out, that’s a great match to go out on.”

Ten automatic qualifying spots were up for grabs Wednesday in the D1 sectional hosted by Eau Claire Memorial at the Menard Tennis Center. Those who don’t advance could still earn a special invite to the state tournament determined by the WIAA and announced over Memorial Day weekend. The state tournament begins next Thursday in Madison.

Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].