Hodag tennis goes 1-4 in Wausau

The Rhinelander High School boys’ tennis team tinkered with its lineup once again over the weekend, winning only one of the five matches they played at the Wausau Invite.

The Hodags scored a 5-2 win over Wausau East on Friday, but suffered a 4-3 loss to Bay Port and a 5-2 loss to Pulaski. Rhinelander dropped two more matches Saturday, falling to Marshfield and Menomonie 5-2.

Rhinelander trotted out its standard lineup only twice, against subsectional opponents Wausau East and Marshfield. Otherwise, there was plenty of experimentation as the Hodags had nine different players in singles and six different doubles combinations over the weekend. 

“It was nice to be able to shift around and get people different positions,” coach Matt Nichols said. “Overall it’s good. We’re looking at mid-season right now, so kind of solidifying things but also making sure that we keep growing as a team.”

Doubles proved to be Rhinelander’s strongest suit over the weekend. Seniors Aiden Ostermann and Michael Schiek went undefeated at the No. 1 flight in four matches, scoring wins over Bay Port, Wausau East, Marshfield and Menomonie. They improved to 10-2 together as a tandem and bolstered their resume for postseason seeding and, potentially, a special invitation to the WIAA state tournament, should they not make it directly through their sectional.

“There were a couple big matches in there,” Nichols said. “East and Marshfield, obviously in the sub(sectional), nice wins there. Then beating the Menomonie doubles team looks great on paper, gives them some confidence but also (helps) if it would come to potentially a special qualifier.”

Not that the win over Menomonie’s Jack Winterfeldt and Jacob Rue came easily. Ostermann and Schiek dropped the opening set 6-0, but rallied back to take the second 6-4 and the match tiebreaker 10-6. That came on the heels of a 7-5, 7-5 win over Marshfield’s Rahul Dissenyake and Kevin Buth earlier Saturday in which Nichols said Ostermann and Schiek struggled to find energy.

“They just they looked kind of sluggish. They weren’t setting themselves up for balls that they would normally hit, and we just weren’t getting good hits because of it,” he said. “It carried over until the first set (against Menomonie). The second set, it was all about energy — can we not only bring energy like win some points, celebrate that, congratulate your partner, but also can we bring that energy back into our physical movements of our shots. They did and they moved forward through that second set, and they kept going all the way through the tiebreak and obviously were able to capitalize on the match win.”

Fellow seniors Payton McCue and Karter Massey also racked up four wins on the weekend, finding most of their success in doubles. They teamed up for a 6-2, 6-1 win at No. 2 doubles against Bay Port and later won a pair of matches via lengthy match tiebreakers. They bumped up to No. 1 against Pulaski and edged Ryan Symons and Henry Piczkowski 6-3, 3-6, 13-11. On Saturday, they got by Menomonie’s Tristan Webb and Davin Ellis at the No. 2 flight 6-2, 3-6, 14-12.

“In both of them they either had match point multiple times or they were down match point multiple times. Props to them, two in a row, not that we want to get there but if we do, we’re playing them well,” Nichols said. “They had a great weekend, just all around. It was nice to see them in doubles. They played you know a good No. 2 team from Bay Port, a very nice No. 2 team from Menomonee and then to get the win at No. 1 doubles against Pulaski was another big one.”

McCue also got his first win of the season at No. 1 singles, routing Wausau East’s Julio Flores in straight sets, 6-0, 6-0.

Sophomore Asher Rivord scored three wins on the weekend, earning straight-set wins in matches against Pulaski, Wausau East and Marshfield. His two losses came in matches where he was bumped up to No. 2 singles against Bay Port and Menomonie.

“He’s a really good No. 4 player. He can just rally with anyone out there, which is part of the reason we bump him up, have him see some really good competition at No. 2,” Nichols said. “I really push him. I think at some points he gets a little bored, but every match is a match. You can learn something from everything.”

Rhinelander swept singles in that match as it beat the Lumberjacks for the second time this season. Massey won in straight sets at No. 2 while Calvin Loomis cruised in the No. 3 flight. The Hodags swept doubles against Bay Port, with seniors Hart Hokens and Van Tulowitzky edging Brady Wahlen and Maddox Cornette in a tiebreaker, 6-2, 4-6, 11-9.

Rhinelander (8-8, 2-0 Great Northern) will be in Stevens Point for a pair of matches this week, beginning this afternoon with a non-conference matchup against SPASH that will hold postseason significance. 

“For a team that’s looking probably top two the Valley, and potentially the sub,” Nichols said. “This is going to be a really important one, kind of pivotal and where some of these guys are going to end up in the postseason bracket. We just got to bring right that energy that Aiden and Michael had, going from that first the second set (against Menomonie). That’s energy that the whole team needs.”

The Hodags will return to Stevens Point Thursday to face Pacelli in GNC play. 

Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].