Sawyer and Patrick finish fourth at sectionals

The Rhinelander High School girls’ tennis season came to an end Wednesday as the team’s No. 2 doubles team of Evelyn Sawyer and Maya Patrick finished fourth in a WIAA Division 1 sectional tournament in Eau Claire.

The Hodag tandem dropped both of their matches, falling to Eau Claire Memorial’s Gracie Boughton and Shay Fisher and Marshfield’s Aubrey Layton and Audrey Luedtke in straight sets. 

The Hodag seniors finished 15-11 together in the No. 2 doubles flight this season and, despite the losses, coach Matt Nichols said Wednesday’s matches were a nice way for the two to cap off their RHS careers. 

“I think they had a lot of fun,” Nichols said. “They came off the court and said they had a lot of fun. They played hard and lost both matches, but it was just icing on the cake at this point. They made it to sectionals and that was a huge goal for them to have met.”

Sawyer and Patrick were the lower seed to advance out of Rhinelander’s subsectional, which meant a matchup against the top seeds from the Eau Claire Memorial subsection —Boughton and Fisher. Nichols said the two struggled to match Memorial’s pace in a 6-2, 6-0 loss. 

“That team was very heavy hitters. They were putting a lot of pace on the ball,” he said. “Maya and Evelyn started to, later on in the match, work to control the ball, control the pace, not necessarily try to power it back, but work on placement, slow it down and make them hit a different shot. They were opening up shots at the net. They were getting some nice putaways, hit some nice serves.”

The two then lost to Layton and Luedtke, the top seeds from the Rhinelander subsectional, 6-1, 6-3 in the third-place match. Nichols noted that Sawyer and Patrick improved as the day went, but it was not enough to get past the Marshfield tandem.

“We saw a much improved team from the beginning of the season, just a lot of different shots, a wide selection. We could change strategies. We could change shot placement, shot type,” he said. “There were a lot of close games, a lot of deuce-ad games. I think ultimately, in both matches, while we saw a lot of amazing points and great plays, we were just not able to string enough to them together to get games.”

There was only one automatic qualifier spot for the WIAA Division 1 state tournament up for grabs in the flight. That went to Eau Claire North’s Megan Drollinger and Aubrey Wendtland, who knocked off Boughton and Fisher 6-3, 6-3 in the championship match. 

Though Patrick and Sawyer were the only Rhinelander players to advance from the subsectional round, Nichols said virtually all of the varsity team made the trip to Eau Claire on Wednesday to support the two in their final matches. 

“They wanted to watch and support and I think that shows a lot to the team and it’s just a great way to end with the varsity squad down there supporting Evelyn and Maya as their played their last high school tennis matches. It was a great experience for everyone,” he said.

The losses closed the book on what, by Rhinelander’s standard over the last decade-plus, was a markedly down year for the program. Rhinelander went 13-17 in dual meets, finished fifth in the Great Northern Conference and advanced only one flight to the sectional round of the WIAA tournament. 

Rhinelander is set to lose six varsity starters off of this year’s squad. In addition to Sawyer and Patrick the team will graduate its top two singles players, Kelsey Winter and Karmen Lopez, along with it’s No. 1 doubles team of Dawsyn Barkus and Brooke Sisel. Nichols said it will take plenty of work in the offseason for the returning players to fill those roles and get the Hodags back toward the top of the GNC.

“We had a strong contingent of sophomores and juniors that came down to watch. That was twofold. They got to support their teammates, but also got to watch some high-quality play and see what the next level looks like,” he said. “As we departed, a lot of those younger girls are very motivated. They’re talking about hitting in the offseason, getting groups together, playing leagues, coming to camp. It was very motivating for them to see how close they are and what an offseason can really do. They’re already talking about it. I have high hopes that they put in a lot of time. We have a strong group of JV athletes ready to move up and fill the holes the seniors left. I’m hoping for a good offseason, hoping the team works together in the offseason and comes back stronger next year.”

Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].