Hodag tennis gets back on track with Phillips, Wausau Invite wins

The Rhinelander High School girls’ tennis team bounced back late last week following a tough string of matches.

The Hodags dispatched Phillips 7-0 at home Thursday and then won four of their five matches Friday and Saturday in the Wausau West Invite.

Rhinelander (12-14, 2-2 Great Northern) came into the three-day stretch having lost seven of its prior eight matches and off of a 7-0 loss to Lakeland in a key GNC match. After sweeping the Loggers Thursday, the Hodags took two of their three matches on Friday — beating Wisconsin Valley Conference and subsectional opponents Wausau East (6-1) and D.C. Everest (5-2) before falling to Menomonie (5-2). Saturday’s play included a tight 4-3 win over Wausau West and a 7-0 sweep of Antigo.

“I think it was really good for the girls to get out there, to play and build a little confidence and get a little rhythm and mojo back into their game,” Hodag coach Matt Nichols said. “Hopefully we can carry that forward.”

Rhinelander dominated singles play on Thursday as the quartet of Kelsey Winter, Karmen Lopez, Maddie Legrey and Sam Aschenbrenner did not drop a game en route to straight-set wins on that side of the lineup. The Hodags were nearly as dominant at the top of the doubles lineup. Dawsyn Barkus and Brooke Sisel were 6-0, 6-0 winners over Ariel Henney and Ivy Schlub at No. 1 doubles while Maya Patrick and Willow VanDenHeuvel won 6-1, 6-0 at No. 2.

“I think consistency (was key),” Nichols said. “Obviously it’s easier if the other team is going to make the error before we do, but that’s something we focused on at practice Wednesday. Especially in the singles flights we saw a much improved, consistent game from the Hodags.”

Phillips, the perennial last-place team in the GNC has shown improvement this season, beating Ashland in non-conference play before a tight 4-3 loss to Antigo. The Loggers pushed the Hodags at No. 3 doubles, as the team of Teagan Turcotte and Eva Heck won a second-set tiebreaker to complete a 6-4, 7-6 (5) straight-set win.

“I thought they were much improved. They had some nice rallies in there. Obviously, we were pushed at No. 3 doubles. It was nice to see,” Nichols noted.

The Hodags juggled their lineup around and won a number of close sets Friday and Saturday in Wausau. Rhinelander avenged a 4-3 loss to Wausau West by defeating the Warriors by a match on Saturday, albeit with altered lineups for both teams.

Rhinelander took two of the three matches that were decided by match tiebreakers. Becca Brost rallied past Jersey Haubert 5-7, 6-2, 10-5 at No. 4 singles while Lopez and Patrick, paired together at No. 2 doubles, were 5-7, 6-3, 10-8 winners over Layne Fuller and Sophie Cotey. The Hodags also got straight-set wins from Legrey at No. 2 singles and the team of VanDenHeuvel and Heck at No. 3 doubles. 

Winter moved to No. 1 doubles with Barkus in a rematch against Antigo, where they rolled 6-0, 6-0. Lopez, Sisel, Patrick and Legrey swept singles against the Robins. VanDenHeuvel and Heck won at No. 2 doubles while Aschenbrenner and Brost played together at No. 3 doubles, earning a 6-2, 6-3 win.

Rhinelander won at every flight except No. 2 singles Friday against Wausau East. Winter (No.1 singles) and Legrey (No. 3 singles) used match tiebreakers to secure their victories. The Hodags were swept in singles by the Mustangs, but pushed all three doubles flights to match tiebreakers. Barkus and Sisel (No. 1) and Lopez and Patrick (No. 2) came away victorious in their matches.

Winter (No. 1), Legrey (No. 3) and Brost (No. 4) got singles wins against Everest. Heck an VanDenHeuvel (No. 2), and Mutter and Taylor McKinney (No. 3) scored wins in doubles. 

The Hodags return to Wausau again this afternoon to face Wausau Newman in another pivotal GNC dual. The Cardinals currently sit third in the conference standings, four points ahead of fifth-place Rhinelander.

Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].