Belanger, Fritz set to finish in Madison

    Belanger & Fritz
  

Rhinelander seniors Joey Belanger and Dalton Fritz are set to bid farewell to high school Friday night when commencement exercises are held at Mike Webster Stadium. Although one wouldn’t fault them if they have to rush to make it to graduation on time or wind up missing the event altogether.

That could happen, should the two make a deep run in the WIAA boys’ tennis tournament, which gets underway Thursday in Madison. The Hodag pair made it there with a third-place finish in the No. 1 doubles draw at sectionals in Eau Claire last Wednesday. If Belanger and Fritz make it past the opening round, they will be playing on graduation day and the further they progress in the tournament, the less likely they’ll be back in time to don cap and gown. 

That thought was far from their minds Wednesday after clinching a spot in the tournament with a 6-1, 6-1 win over Hudson’s Henry Mechelke and Noah Brueske at sectionals. For Belanger, who made it to the second round at state last year with partner Layne Roeser, playing one more time at Nielsen Tennis Stadium on the UW-Madison campus will be an excellent capper to his high school career.

“I’m excited to go play in Madison. It’s a cool experience and it’s fun, being my senior year, knowing it will be the last place that I play tennis competitively,” he said. 

Fritz will be making his first appearance in Madison. He reached the sectional round of the WIAA tournament at No. 1 singles last year, but then moved to doubles this year to play with Belanger following Roeser’s graduation. After watching the state tournament from the bleachers last year, Fritz will get to be part of the action this year. 

“It was pretty nice last year being able to go down there, see what Madison’s like,” he said. “I’d say that got me a head start to knowing what I’m going up against, how the arena is and everything. I’m sure it will be fun.”

The Hodags were set to find out who they will face to begin the tournament over the weekend as the WIAA released the draw for the tournament Saturday after the early holiday press time for today’s edition. Belanger and Fritz will come in at 20-5 overall after winning two of their three matches at sectionals last Wednesday. 

After their quarterfinal win, they were competitive but fell to eventual sectional champions Noah Reckin and Brady Goodman of Menomonie 6-3, 6-2 in the semifinals. Belanger and Fritz responded with a hard-fought 6-7, 7-5, 10-8 win over Henry Whipkey and Sam Majerus of River Falls in the third-place match. 

“I think this was the scrappiest I’ve seen them play,” Hodag tennis coach Matt Nichols said. “There were picking up a lot balls. Even overheads, I think Dalton’s touch has improved a lot. Net play, that was kind of a decisive factor. When we were killing it at the net we were getting points and games. If we kind of took a back seat and weren’t as aggressive, then we started losing.  Their serves and groundstrokes were really consistent, but just finishing at the net made all the difference today.”

Belanger and Fritz faced a 4-1 deficit in the second set against Whipkey and Majerus before taking six of the next seven games to force the decisive tiebreaker. 

“We lost a tough first set, but we lifted each other up and battled back to bring home the W,” Belanger said.

That was part of a bigger day for the Hodags overall last Wednesday at sectionals as they tied for fifth in the 15-team field. After advancing five flights through to the sectional, the Hodags went 3-6 in their matches on the day. 

Two other flights had a chance to punch automatic berths to state, but came up short. Senior John Currie had a tough draw in the sectional quarterfinals at No. 1 singles with a trip to state on the line. He ran up against Menomonie’s Isaac Johnson, the top seed from the Eau Claire subsectionals, and lost 6-2, 6-1. That was almost the exact same result the two had when they met in a non-conference invite in Wausau last month, with Johnson winning that match 6-1, 6-2.

“He’s improved a lot. You don’t see it in the score, but it was good rallies,” Nichols said of Currie, who finished the year 15-13. “There were a lot of opportunities where, in the rally, John would force an easy ball where he’s coming in for an overhead or a volley. We missed too many of them to win the games, but played really well. His serve was great. His groundstrokes have improved. He played a good player and it was a nice way for him to end his season.”

    Rhinelander’s Dawson Pontell plays a point at the net while teammate Gavin Denis watches in the background during a WIAA Division 1 subsectional in Rhinelander Monday, May 20. Pontell and Denis finished third at sectionals at No. 2 doubles, splitting their matches in a pair of match tiebreakers. (Jeremy Mayo/River News)
  

Seniors Dawson Pontell and Gavin Denis (17-7) also had a chance to make it through by winning the No. 2 doubles draw. They came tantalizingly close to having a shot in the finals, falling in a match tiebreaker to New Richmond’s Isaac Noll and Luke Mews 6-2, 4-6, 10-7 in the semis. The Hodag pair responded with a 2-6, 6-2, 10-7 win over D.C. Everest’s Max Hoffmann and Gavin Burress to take third in the bracket and end their careers on a high note. 

“That first round was kind of a heartbreaker. I was really looking forward to them having a run at state, maybe getting to the championship match,” Nichols said. “They played well. They just started a little slow. They had a great second set and, you know, tiebreaks are challenging. I thought they played well, it just didn’t work out in their favor. 

“It was nice for them to end their high school career with a win, place third in the section and kind of avenge the previous tiebreak loss with a tiebreak win. After losing that first set of the second match they were like, ‘we’re not going to end our career like this.’ They fought back, closed it out with a tiebreak and I think they’re pretty happy with their season and they should be. I’m proud of those two.”

Rhinelander had two other flights at sectionals. Payton McCue and Zacha King finished fourth at Nos. 3 and 4 singles after dropping both of their matches Wednesday. McCue (11-12) lost to Eau Claire Memorial’s Andrew Halfen 6-3, 7-5 and Stevens Point’s Will Matthews 6-2, 6-2. King (10-11) lost to Eau Claire Memorial’s Ben Fesenmaier, 6-0, 6-1 and then in a match tiebreaker to D.C. Everest’s Marcus Heineck 2-6, 6-4, 10-7.

“I think it was a great finish for the two of them. They really locked down those flights,” Nichols said. “They had great performances at the sub and they both competes today. They’ve grown a lot and it was fun to watch them put all the skills they worked on over the years into practice.”

After sectionals, the team’s attention has turned to getting Belanger and Fritz prepared for state. Nichols said there wasn’t a lot the coaches needed to work on in the pair’s game, rather this week is about getting the two ready for the caliber of tennis they will see down in Madison.

“I think having Dawson and Gavin will be an integral part in that,” Nichols said. “We’re just blessed with a really strong team. Hearing from other coaches, they just don’t have guys to push their top flights and we do. Props to them. It is truly a huge honor for Joey and Dalton, but it really speaks to the team that helped them get there, pushed them in practice.”

Prior to knowing the pair’s opening round opponent, Nichols said the two had a chance to at least repeat what Belanger and Roeser did at state last year when they won their first match before falling to the 15th seed in the second round.

“The draw will kind of be a big factor, but they’re a strong team,” Nichols said. “I see them comparable to where Joey and Layne were last year. I see no reason that they couldn’t make it through that first round. No one’s going to play a top seed there. We definitely could make it through and I think they could push matches beyond (that). That third-place match really showed their mental strength. They have the skills, but they also have the stamina. I expect some big things.”

Regardless, Fritz said it will be fun to end his tennis career on a high note — even if that makes for some uncertain graduation night plans. 

“It’s been a fun four years of tennis and it’s nice knowing that we for sure end our seasons in Madison,” he said.

Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].