Hodag netters win in season opener

The Rhinelander High School boys’ tennis team’s first match of the season took place roughly 2 1/2 hours away from where it was initially scheduled, and included one more opponent, however the end result was a pair of close victories for the Hodags.

Rhinelander swept doubles in both matches and claimed 4-3 victories over Green Bay West and Ashwaubenon as part of a triangular in Green Bay on Tuesday.

The meet was a last-minute add-on to the Hodags’ schedule with an originally planned non-conference match against D.C. Everest pushed back to April 29 due to the unavailability of the Hodag Dome. Rhinelander had the luxury of an opening on its schedule after Antigo folded its boys’ tennis program for the year due to low numbers and the Hodags were able to tag along with the Jaguars and Wildcats for a non-conference triangular.

“Just getting out on court is great,” Hodag tennis coach Matt Nichols said. “We’ve been limited to the gym at this point early season, so just getting some swings and some competition and then obviously the cherry on top is walking away with two wins starting the season off, so it’s a great start.”

The seniors at the top of Rhinelander’s doubles lineup walked away with 2-0 records on the day. Aiden Ostermann and Michael Schiek won both of their matches at the No. 1 flight while Hart Hokens and Van Tulowitzky won both matches at No. 2. Both tandems won their matches in straight sets.

“Aiden and Michael, you could tell that they are returning off the varsity roster,” Nichols said. “They were just very composed. They know strong pieces of a doubles game, where to place the ball and it was a great day, going 2-0. Neither match really pushed them, but just good to get back into it.

“Van and Hart, you can tell kind of same thing that they’ve had varsity experience in the past. The basic double strategies is there. We even saw with both flights moving from one up, one back to two-up position. So, a little more advanced doubles play getting a little of that in there and I think as we continue to clean up strokes, just get some more time outside, they’ll just continue to improve.”

The Hodags trotted out a pair of different combinations at No. 3 doubles as they try to solidify that spot in the lineup. Freshman Owen Evers and sophomore Aidan Lueder won 6-0 6-0 at the flight against Green Bay West. Junior Danek Koniar and freshman Braydon Lorman scored a 6-4, 6-2 win against Ashwaubenon.

“I think that Owen is a really well-rounded player. He’s played a lot. He’s done some lessons here and there. I’m sure he plays with his family, (Hodag tennis alum) Elijah (Evers) being his older brother, so just kind of a nice well-rounded game. I think Aidan, you know, he’s new to the sport but definitely not to athletics and he reads things really well. He just has good vision of the court and fundamentally he’s coming along with his strokes.

“Danek has improved a lot with his strokes, fundamentally. His slice, especially, is very consistent and then Braydon Lorman, he brings a lot of power to his shot. Sacrifices some consistency there, but he’s also another athlete you know just brings a lot of hustle to his game.”

Sophomore Asher Rivord rolled to a 6-0, 6-0 win over Leon Seong at No. 4 singles against Green Bay West, securing the point the Hodags needed on that side of the line to pair with the doubles sweep to secure the win against the Wildcats and suffered a match tiebreaker loss to Ashwaubenon’s Landon Gottfredson 6-3, 2-6, 10-2. Sophomore Calvin Loomis got the decisive point at No. 3 singles against Ashwaubenon, defeating Elliot Hujet, 6-3, 6-3.

“That was huge the double sweep and then Asher pulling through largely uncontested. I think it was 6-0, 6-0 but nonetheless being consistent on the court,” Nichols said. “He has good vision, another athlete who brings a lot of hustle to his game. Then you have Calvin, very fundamentally strong. It was a tight match. He played the kid last year at No. 4 singles and he had a lot of good points in there. He can adjust well to different game. Play different opponents and once he kind of changed a couple things early that first set he walked away with a tight. but commanding, win.”

Seniors Payton McCue and Karter Massey went winless in their first matches at Nos. 1 and 2 singles, respectively. 

Rhinelander (2-0, 0-0 Great Northern) travels to Wausau this Saturday where it will face Wausau East and Wausau West in a non-conference triangular. 

Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].