WIAA DIV. 1 GIRLS TENNIS - Ruesch, number-three doubles team qualify for tennis sectional

WIAA DIV. 1 GIRLS TENNIS

Four of Medford’s entries won at least one match at Monday’s WIAA Division 1 Rhinelander girls tennis subsectional, two advanced to the sectional meet and one still had a chance to qualify for state heading into Wednesday’s sectional meet hosted by Eau Claire Memorial.

Senior Audrey Ruesch extended her season by at least one more match by winning the third match she had with Rhinelander’s Kelsey Winter in the past two weeks. Another win Wednesday would have qualified her for next week’s WIAA Division 1 state tournament in Madison.

Seniors Rachel Daniels and Hannah Dahl got two more matches by qualifying for the sectional meet thanks to a 2-0 record at Monday’s subsectional. Being in the flight-three doubles bracket, they are not eligible for state but they competed for first through fourth placement in the bracket at Wednesday’s sectional held at the Menard Tennis Center in Eau Claire.

After splitting Great Northern Conference matches with Winter Sept. 23 and 26, Ruesch got the rubber match Monday as the two squared off as the fifth and fourth seeds in the subsectional flightone bracket. Ruesch won 6-3, 6-3 in the only match she had to play to improve to 12-8 and get into the eight-player sectional bracket.

Ruesch beat Winter 7-5, 6-4 in a GNC dual meet Sept. 23. Winter got her revenge 6-0, 6-2 in the GNC tournament three days later. But Ruesch got back to playing her game Monday and advanced.

In the flight-one sectional bracket Wednesday, all quarterfinal winners earned state berths. Ruesch met Eau Claire Memorial junior Katelyn Anderson (18-13) in one of those quarterfinals. Along with a state trip, the winner earned a semifinal matchup against either Miah Nelson of Eau Claire North (14-6) or Hayley Jensen of Wisconsin Rapids (15-7). The other side of the bracket had Menomonie’s Amy Liu (23-6) facing Marshfield’s Lillian Griesbach (12-10) and Hudson’s Laney Hanson (24-5) meeting Wausau West’s Mia Bailey (25-1).

Daniels and Dahl drew the number-one seed in the flight-three subsectional bracket and backed that up Monday. They beat ninth-seeded Parker Wagenaar and Rose Dornbrack of Merrill 6-1, 6-2 in the quarterfinal round and swept fifth-seeded Willow VanDenHeuvel and Eva Heck of Rhinelander 6-1, 6-2 in the semifinal round to advance to Wednesday’s sectional. While improving to 10-1 together, Dahl and Daniels beat Rhinelander’s team for the second time, also earning a 6-1, 6-2 win back on Sept. 23.

At Wednesday’s sectional, Daniels and Dahl were paired with Hudson’s Sophia Yacoub and Molly McConnell (22-4) in the semifinals, while Eau Claire Memorial’s Sophie McBride and Kate Berg (17-4) met Stevens Point’s Lilly Harger and Elaine Titus (3-0). Winners played for the sectional championship, while losers played for third place.

Medford’s number-two doubles team of senior Lily Holmes and junior Bayley Metz played two three-set matches and nearly joined their teammates at the sectional.

Playing as the second seed in the flighttwo subsectional bracket, Holmes and Metz dropped the first set of their opening match 6-1 to Stevens Point’s KayBri Marchel and Isabel Feist. They regrouped and took the second set 6-4 to force a 10point third-set tiebreaker Holmes and Metz won 10-8 to advance to the semifinal round. There, a win would have extended their season to at least Wednesday.

But third-seeded seniors Evelyn Sawyer and Maya Patrick took the first set 6-4, Metz and Holmes took the second 6-3 to force another tiebreaker, which the Hodags won 10-6. Metz and Holmes finished 8-5 together since becoming partners on Sept. 12.

Senior Natalie Preuss drew the eighth seed at number-two singles, requiring her to play a first-round match with ninthseeded Sarah Rell of Merrill. Preuss won that 6-2, 6-3 to earn a shot at upsetting top-seeded Lilly Wittwer of Wausau West. Wittwer, though, rolled to a 6-1, 6-0 win ending the year for Preuss, who went 8-9 in flight two this fall and 10-11 overall in singles matches.

At number-three, junior Makenna Tlusty, the fifth seed, got into a three-set match with fourth-seeded Kelsie Kerchefski of Stevens Point in the quarterfinal round. Kerchefski won the first set 6-2, then Tlusty stayed alive by taking the second set 6-4. The tiebreaker went into overtime, but Kerchefski got the last points, winning it 12-10 to take the set. Tlusty, who figures to be a candidate for flight one next fall, finished her season 144 in flight three and 18-4 overall in singles play.

In flight four, senior Emily Kiselicka also drew a five-seed and took her match to a third set. Stevens Point’s fourthseeded freshman Emma Ekstrand outlasted Kiselicka 3-6, 6-2, 10-4 to advance to the semifinal round. Kiselicka finished 11-4 in flight four and 13-4 overall in singles matches.

Medford’s number-one doubles team of seniors Indya Mann and Grace Holmes drew the seventh seed. Needing one win to advance, they were defeated by secondseeded seniors Lucy Luedtke and Isabel Krueger of Marshfield 6-2, 6-4. Holmes and Mann were 6-11 together in that top doubles spot.

Marshfied was the top scoring team in the subsectional with 16 points. The Tigers were just ahead of Wausau West and Wisconsin Rapids, who scored 14 points apiece. Stevens Point scored 12. Fifth-place Medford scored eight and finished ahead of Rhinelander (6), D.C. Everest (6), Merrill (0) and Wausau East (0).

Eau Claire Memorial scored 24 points in its subsectional and was in excellent position to earn the WIAA Division 1 team state berth out of Wednesday’s sectional. Eau Claire North took 16 points into the sectional.

Hannah Dahl

Medford’s Audrey Ruesch pushes a baseline backhand over the net, keeping the last rally alive in her match with Rhinelander’s Kelsey Winter at Monday’s WIAA Division 1 Rhinelander subsectional. Ruesch won this point to end a 6-3, 6-3 win. JEREMY MAYO/NORTHWOODS RIVER NEWS