RHS No. 2 doubles team advances to sectionals

On the brink of watching its season come to an end, the lone remaining hope for the Rhinelander High School girls’ tennis team delivered at home Monday in WIAA tournament play. 

The No. 2 doubles squad of Evelyn Sawyer and Maya Patrick dug in after dropping the second set to Medford’s Lily Holmes and Hayley Metz to prevail in a match tiebreaker 10-6 and advance to sectionals during Monday’s WIAA Division 1 subsectional tournament at the RHS tennis courts.

Sawyer and Patrick were the only two Hodag players to move on to Wednesday’s sectional round. The team went a collective 3-6 on Monday and finished tied for sixth in a nine-team tournament that included the entire Wisconsin Valley Conference plus Great Northern Conference rival Medford.

“It’s sad to end your season, but still a great experience for a lot of these players. I think they all played hard, whether they won or lost. They can be proud of the game they played,” Hodag coach Matt Nichols said afterward. 

It wasn’t an easy road for Sawyer and Patrick, despite coming in as the third seed in the nine-team draw. Up 5-2 in the first set of their opening match against Wausau West’s Layne Fuller and Stella Olson, the two had to withstand a furious West rally to hold on to win the set 7-5 before taking the second 6-0.

The match against Holmes and Metz — to whom Sawyer and Patrick lost in a tiebreaker during the first round of the GNC tournament — was a challenge as well. The Hodag pair pulled away late to get a 6-4 win in the first set, but couldn’t recover from falling behind a break point early in the second as they lost 3-6 to force another match tiebreaker. 

    Rhinelander’s Evelyn Sawyer hits a return during a match in a WIAA Division 1 subsectional tournament at the RHS tennis courts Monday, Oct. 7. (Bob Mainhardt for the River News)
  

In the tiebreaker, the Hodags trailed 5-3 following a Patrick double fault. That’s when the two, and Sawyer in particular, took over the match. The Hodags finished the tiebreaker on a 6-1 run and their six points were either Sawyer winners or errors forced by Sawyer shots that were difficult to return. 

The only hiccup in that stretch was a double fault by Sawyer that trimmed Rhinelander’s lead to 7-6. From there, she put away a smash at the net, hit a strong cross-court return that led to a weak reply and then put away one more point at the net to seal the match.

“In that tiebreak, there was drive and that’s not something we’ve seen at every flight throughout the season,” Nichols said. “It’s just something that we didn’t see every day. That flight has really turned it on at the end of the season here and it’s not a huge surprise for them to pull that win out. They’re a good team and they’ve been in tight matches before and they pushed through.”

Rhinelander ended up one match away from moving on in three other flights — falling short at No. 3 doubles with Eva Heck and Willow VanDenHeuvel, at No. 1 doubles with seniors Dawsyn Barkus and Brooke Sisel, and at No. 1 singles with senior Kelsey Winter. 

    Rhinelander’s Willow VanDenHeuvel plays a point during a match in a WIAA Division 1 subsectional tournament at the RHS tennis courts Monday, Oct. 7. VanDenHeuvel and No. 3 doubles partner Eva Heck won their first match on Monday, but lost in straight sets in the second round to miss sectionals by one match. (Bob Mainhardt for the River News)
  

Heck and VanDenHeuvel won a first-set tiebreaker and then a match tiebreaker to get past D.C. Everest’s Shela Lee and Brynn Kampmann 7-6 (6), 4-6, 10-6 in the opening round, but ran into top-seeded Rachel Daniels and Hannah Dahl of Medford in the 2nd round, falling 6-1, 6-2.

“To qualify on to the second round was big in itself,” Nichols said. “For them to come in, move forward and then, not super-close scores, but to compete, there was a lot of improved points and strategy and shots from the beginning of the season. For two juniors, they get to bring that improvement into next season.”

The Hodags needed only one win to move on in the No. 1 flights at singles and doubles but were able to advance. 

    Rhinelander’s Kelsey Winter plays a point during a match in a WIAA Division 1 subsectional tournament in the Hodag Dome Monday, Oct. 7. Winter fell in straight sets at No. 1 singles to Medford’s Audrey Ruesch and was one of four Hodag seniors who played her last high school match on Monday. (Bob Mainhardt for the River News)
  

Winter faced Medford’s Audrey Ruesch for the third time in 15 days Monday. Winter got the fourth seed ahead of Ruesch thanks to a 6-0, 6-2 win over the Medford senior at the GNC tournament. Ruesch, who beat Winter in Rhinelander during the teams’ dual meet Sept. 23, did so again Monday, cruising to a 6-3, 6-3 win, ending Winter’s season with a 14-18 mark.

“Kelsey to lose to Medford is a bummer, especially after that most recent win, but that’s a good player and it truly comes down to who’s better on the day. I think Kelsey had a good day, but Medford had a better day,” Nichols said.

The Hodags faced longer odds at No. 1 doubles as Barkus and Sisel came in as the sixth seeded and fell to third-seeded Mali Palmer and Lily Meeks of Stevens Point, 6-1, 6-1.

“I think that the No. 1 doubles team from SPASH did a really nice job lobbing. They had some great topspin lobs, which we have not seen,” Nichols said.

The Hodags had four of their six seniors in the starting lineup play their final match on Monday. In addition to Winter, Barkus and Sisel, Karmen Lopez fell to eventual sectional qualifier Brooklyn Costa of D.C. Everest 6-2, 6-2 in her first round match Monday.

“The seniors, they put in a lot of time and effort,” Nichols said. “They’ve really put their heart and soul into the team. I thank them for that. At some point, everyone besides the state champ is going to end on a losing note. We did it a little earlier than we had hoped, but it’s nice to see them play hard at their home courts and to bond over the experience as a team.”

Junior Maddie Legrey was defeated in straight sets 6-3, 6-3 in her opening match at No. 3 singles while sophomore Sam Aschenbrenner lost to Wausau West’s Carmen Ghidorzi 6-2, 6-3 at No. 4 singles. Both Hodag players were the sixth seed in their brackets. 

Sawyer and Patrick lost their two matches at sectionals in Eau Claire just prior to press time Wednesday. A full report will be published on Tuesday’s River News.

Nichols said the main goal going into the day was for Sawyer and Patrick to enjoy their first trip to sectionals, regardless of the outcome. 

“That’s no easy feat, whatever flight you’re at,” he said. “For them to finish top two here, they’re automatically top four in the section. That’s exciting and everything we do down there’s just a little cherry on top.”

Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].