Team Preview: RHS boys’ tennis

It has been 12 years since anyone other than Rhinelander has won the Great Northern Conference boys’ tennis championship. In order for the Hodags to keep that steak going this year, they’ll need to reload after graduating a number of players from the top of their varsity lineup.

Rhinelander will begin that title defense today with a pair of matches on the road at Ashwaubenon — an impromptu add to the schedule after the deflation of the Hodag Dome due to damage sustained March 30 postponed a scheduled non-conference match against D.C. Everest. 

It won’t be easy for Rhinelander after graduating seven seniors off of last year’s squad. That list includes GNC doubles players of the year and state qualifiers Dalton Fritz and Joey Belanger as well as conference singles player of the year John Currie. 

The Hodags bring back six seniors and a couple of sophomores who had some varsity experience last year. They will be called upon to fill larger roles in the lineup this season.

“We have a lot of seniors but it also seems like a really young team,” Hodag coach Matt Nichols said. “We have six seniors, but then we really just have one junior. The rest of the team is freshman and sophomores. I guess the majority of sophomores, it’s their first time playing high school tennis. It is kind of like a big learning curve. It’s a weird balance of returning talent and experience with the seniors, and then a lot of new faces on the lower end.”

Rhinelander was able to shake some of the rust off on Saturday as it scrimmaged Wausau West down in Wausau and then stuck around afterward for some additional practice and challenge matches in order to pencil in a lineup to start the season.

“I think everyone got at least two different opponents to play in the scrimmage,” Nichols said. “They got to hit against some new people see different opponents, and then the drilling in the playoffs after. It’s just a huge jump start, kind of accelerating our season now that the dome is down, and really helping solidify our at least our early-season lineup.”

Of the six seniors in Rhinelander’s lineup, four are returning all-conference recipients. Payton McCue is in line to take over Currie’s spot at No. 1 singles. He went 11-12 last season, predominately playing at No. 3 singles. He finished third in that flight at conference and advanced to the sectional round of the WIAA tournament. 

“Going from three to one, it’s a big jump,” Nichols said. “We got not only faster serves, faster ground strokes, but it’s really going to start exposing some weaknesses. I think we really got to work on positioning, where we put the ball but also where are we putting our body after we hit the ball on the court. It’s going to be something that he’s going to grow into. I think he’s done a lot of work in the offseason. He hit a lot over the summer, has been playing in the dome tennis leagues. He’s made a lot of strides, but that experience is really going to be valuable early on and it’ll help him grow into that spot.”

    Rhinelander’s Aiden Ostermann hits a return during a boys’ tennis scrimmage against Wausau West in Wausau Saturday, April 5. Ostermann, who won a conference title at No. 3 doubles last season is projected to move up to No. 1 doubles this year. (Bob Mainhardt for the River News)
  

Michael Schiek, Aiden Ostermann and Karter Massey round out the list of all-conference seniors. Schiek and Ostermann played much of the season together at No. 3 doubles, though Schiek bumped up to No. 2 for the conference tournament with Gavin Denis unable to attend that meet and won a conference title with Dawson Pontell. Massey paired with Ostermann to win the No. 3 doubles title. 

Nichols said Schiek and Ostermann, who were 13-7 as a tandem last year, are slated to fill the No. 1 doubles role. Massey, who was a combined 11-5 between singles and doubles last year, is slated for the No. 2 singles role, replacing Nick Lesch, who graduated.

“We had Michael, Aiden and Payton finishing the season and in that varsity 10 and they’re bringing quite a bit experience. That experience is invaluable especially preseason when we’re relying on our previous games and practices to pull from,” Nichols said. 

“Karter was essentially kind of our No. 5 singles last year, but even moving into No. 4 he would’ve been a great four and he had a lot of varsity experience. He was that 11th guy and whether it was No. 3 doubles, No. 4 singles or more. It’s hard to say he wasn’t really varsity 10 and discredit all that work and experience he has,” Nichols added.

Sophomore Calvin Loomis, who went 6-5 on varsity last year, is slated to take over McCue’s spot at No. 3 singles while another sophomore, Asher Rivord, is penciled in at No. 4. He’ll fill the role of Zacha King, who won a conference title at that flight last year. 

“Calvin brings in a lot of experience getting varsity starts last year and then Asher, he was right there with Calvin, suffered an injury so it kind of cut his freshman season short but he’s an athlete,” Nichols said. “He’s a hockey goalie. He’s quick, he has quick reactions and he’s poised to have a good season where ever he falls.”

Two more seniors — Van Tulowitzky and Hart Hokens — are slated for the No. 2 doubles spot. They primarily played JV last year, though Hokens filled in twice at No. 3 doubles last spring, going 1-1.

Nichols said No. 3 doubles is unsettled as the season begins, with six players vying to be the two who take over the position.

“That No. 3 doubles, I think, is going to be kind of the most pivotal at this point of the season,” Nichols said.

Two matches Tuesday and a tournament this coming Saturday at Wausau West will help the Hodags solidify their lineup before opening GNC play at Ashland April 15. Nichols said Lakeland and Medford are the teams likely to challenge Rhinelander’s quest for an 11th straight conference title. Lakeland brings back seven starters from last year’s GNC runner-up squad. Medford returns six starters, including virtually its entire doubles lineup from last year’s conference meet.

Nichols noted Ashland and Pacelli may struggle to fill all of the varsity flight this season while Antigo — the last team to beat the Hodags for a conference championship back in 2013 — will not field a team this year due to low numbers. 

“Medford, I think we’ll compete really well with them. I think when we look at kind of the top of the conference, Lakeland is up there returning I believe seven out of their 10 varsity and returning their Nos. 1 and 2 singles, both already tough players,” Nichols said. “So, when we look at it, that dual is going to be huge. I feel like it’ll really come down to every single flight and I think every flight, we can be and will be competitive. I’m curious to see how that’ll shake out. 

Rhinelander will host Lakeland April 22 in GNC dual play and, with Antigo folding for the season, the conference tournament has moved from there to Lakeland May 22.

Rhinelander remains in Division 1 for WIAA postseason play and is slated to host a subsectional May 27. Nichols said non-conference play will be primarily focused on getting the Hodags ready for the postseason. The team has two invites in Wausau, another in Sheboygan and will take part in a two-day invite in Stevens Point April 25-26. Nichols said that tournament is in lieu of the De Pere Invite, which was moved this season due to Green Bay hosting the NFL Draft that weekend. 

“We know we’re going to face some tough competition and in subsections and at sectionals, so I think our schedule prepares us very well for that. We’ll get to see tough teams,” he said. “A lot of D1 teams we get to see, a lot of tournament experience. We know what is coming ahead so it makes it, not necessarily easier to get the results we want, but we know how we need to prepare and we know what we need to do.”

Despite all the new faces, and returning faces in different roles, Nichols said the team still has the same expectations that it has had the previous few seasons.

“When we talk as a team, looking at repeating conference champs. We lost a lot of guys, Lakeland is returning a lot of theirs, but the question is are the returners that we have this year who didn’t necessarily have a crack at varsity last year compare to what Lakeland has,” he said. “The team’s goal is can we get five out of the seven flights over to sectionals and can we get someone, at least one flight onto state. I think those are big goals — both conference end and subsectional, sectional run — but definitely something that doable as long as we can put in the focus and preparation through these practices and the rest of the season.”

Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].