Raiders sit in 2nd as they prep for Hodags

MEDFORD BOYS TENNIS

High school tennis matches don’t get much tighter than the one that took place Tuesday at the Medford Area Senior High courts.

Four of six contested matches went the full three sets, while even one of the two-set matches took two hours to play. And, when it was all said and done, the Medford Raiders and Antigo Red Robins found themselves in a 3-3 tie.

With both teams missing a player, the number-four singles match was not played. Confirmed by Great Northern Conference statistician Wednesday, the tie is the first in GNC boys tennis history.

At 4-0-1 in league play and with 52 match points, Medford sits in second place in the GNC standings, six points ahead of 3-1-1 Antigo. The Raiders, however, have two meets left with league-leading Rhinelander, the first of which comes today, Thursday, on the Hodags’ home courts.

“I’m happy with it,” Medford head coach Kyle Ranum said of Tuesday’s team effort. “Antigo’s a really good team. We were missing a one-doubles player. They were missing their one-singles player. We’re pretty even squads. I think by the way the matches played out, it shows we’re pretty even across the board. You don’t often get that many three-setters. Numbers wise, we have a small squad but we come in and compete.”

Medford got a key win at number-one doubles, where senior Brayden Machon teamed with Saskatoon Damm, who filled in for Dante Axon, who was out sick. They won their first set against Antigo’s Braden Nelson and Calvin Jansen 6-3, but Antigo tied things with a 6-4 win in the second set. The third set went all the way to a tiebreaker, which Machon and Damm won 7-4 to take the set 7-6 and the match.

“Brayden is playing really well this year,” Ranum said. “He’s playing above my expectations. Saskatoon is playing above expectations. He filled in at numberone doubles today, played a really good Antigo team and they won. He hasn’t played doubles since last year.”

The number-two team of Brett Lundy and Conner Klingbeil kept rolling. They outlasted Aaron Beaber and Aaron Converse 4-6, 6-1, 6-2. Antigo’s Cole Umland and Michael Hagerty took the number-three match 5-7, 6-4, 6-3 over Medford’s Alex Wilson and Mason Reimann.

“(Three doubles) played three sets. I was happy with that,” Ranum said. “There was improvement there. Across the board I think we’re all improved. (Lundy and Klingbeil) are undefeated together. They like to lose the first set every time, but they’re undefeated so I can’t ask for much more than that.”

Brayden Balciar remained undefeated at numbertwo singles, but he had to work for it in a 6-3, 7-5 win over Nolan Bunnell. Sam Bretl downed Raider senior Quinton Tlusty in flight one 6-3, 6-1 and Ezra Santiago beat Nathan Willman 6-0, 6-0 in flight three.

“We won two of the four three-setters today, which in years past that’s been an issue,” Ranum said. “We couldn’t close out third sets. So I’m happy to see that improve from the last couple of seasons.”

After today’s dual with the Hodags, Medford will travel to Wausau East Tuesday and host Altoona on May 12 before getting Rhinelander at home on May 13.

Medford 7, Pacelli 0

On Monday, Medford didn’t have too much trouble with visiting Stevens Point Pacelli in a 7-0 sweep. Tlusty was a 6-0, 6-0 winner over Ben Westrick and Balciar swept Keagan Austreng 6-0, 6-0. Damm and Reimann took forfeits at three and four singles.

Machon and Axon beat Mateo Koch and Eli Robinson in straight sets 7-5, 6-2. The number-two doubles match was the best of the day. Lundy and Klingbeil outlasted Marcus Lansing and Hunter Wrezinski 6-2, 5-7, 6-2. Wilson and Willman took a forfeit at flight three.

Medford 5, Lakeland 2

The lineups and scores were a little different, but the end result was the same as it was 24 hours earlier in Medford’s 5-2 win at Lakeland Friday afternoon. The teams met in GNC duals in back-to-back days.

Like the Thursday dual, Medford forfeited one match

MATT FREY/THE STAR NEWS

and went 5-1 in contested matches. This time, the forfeit came at number-three doubles, where Lakeland’s Sawyer Brown and Jayson Wahlgren were credited with a 2-0, 2-0 win.

The number-four singles match went the distance with Reimann pulling out a down-to-the-wire win over Jack Stepec. Reimann grabbed early control by winning the first set 6-1, but Stepec evened things by taking the second set 6-4. The third set was tight, but Reimann won it 7-5 to take the match.

The rest of Medford’s four wins came with little resistance. Balciar beat Dominic Gironella for the second straight day at number-two singles. That score was 6-1, 6-3. Damm was a straight-set winner over Carson Tegland for the second straight day 6-1, 6-1.

In doubles play, Machon and Axon downed Axle Jacobs and Isaac Olson in flight one 6-1, 6-1 and Lundy and Klingbeil swept Angus and August Callendar 6-0, 6-0 at number-two.

Lakeland’s Jesús Hoyos turned the tables on Tlusty in the number-one singles match, evening their season series with a 6-3, 6-0 win over the Medford senior.

Medford 5, Lakeland 2

In the first of back-to-back meetings with the TBirds, Medford earned five straight-set wins to cruise past Lakeland 5-2 Thursday in the Raiders’ long-awaited home opener.

Tlusty’s match at number-one singles with Hoyos was the most competitive of the day. Both players displayed fine shot-making at times despite a challenging breeze. Tlusty had the edge in power, however, and outlasted Hoyos 6-3, 6-4.

Balciar coasted to a 6-0, 6-2 win over Gironella at number-two and Damm rolled to a 6-0, 6-2 win over Tegland at number-three. Medford forfeited the number- four match to Stepec. In doubles, Machon and Axon had little trouble with Jacobs and Olson, winning 6-2, 6-1. Lundy and Klingbeil won by the same score, 6-2, 6-1, over the Callendars in flight two.

Lakeland’s lone on-court win came at number-three doubles, where Brown and Wahlgren defeated Nathan Willman and Reimann 6-3, 6-1.