Wins over Antigo, Columbus keep Raiders in GNC scramble

MEDFORD GIRLS TENNIS

Medford’s girls tennis team took care of business Tuesday, beating overmatched Antigo 6-1 to stay in the thick of the most competitive Great Northern Conference title chase in recent memory.

While winning the league would take some luck for Medford, who holds a 3-3 dual-meet record in league play, no one is running away from the pack either, which has made the jockeying for position among the top five squads quite interesting as the Sept. 21 conference tournament approaches.

The 12 points picked up Tuesday gives Medford 50 for the season and leaves the Raiders four points behind 5-0 Lakeland, who visits Medford today, Thursday, at 4:30 p.m. for the Raiders’ last GNC dual meet. Lakeland is the current GNC leader, but still hosts Rhinelander on Tuesday. The Hodags, the two-time defending GNC champs, sit at 38 points but also still have three meets left following a rainout Tuesday at Columbus Catholic. Newman Catholic is in good shape as well with 46 points.

Newman (5-1) hosts 1-4 Columbus Catholic today and Phillips Monday. Rhinelander (3-1) hosts 2-4 Antigo today and goes to Columbus Catholic Monday.

Medford’s win at Antigo Tuesday was driven by a doubles sweep and two threeset victories.

Playing at number-one doubles, juniors Indya Mann and Grace Holmes picked up a dominant 6-2, 6-0 win over Red Robins Anna Vandeweerd and Amanda Waite. The pairing of Madison Clarkson and Makenna Tlusty continued to click at number-two as they took down Anna Heuss and Evie Trabant-McKenna 7-5, 6-0 in flight two. Clarkson and Tlusty are 10-1 together over the past two-plus weeks.

At number-three, juniors Lily Holmes and Sydnie Peterson hooked up in quite the battle with Antigo’s Haven Baumgartner and Maddy Ratliff. The Raiders took the first set 7-6, winning the tiebreaker 7-5. Antigo’s team took the second set 7-5, but Peterson and Holmes came back to take the third set 7-5 to win the match.

Senior Morgan Strebig was the other three-set winner. Playing at numberthree singles, she outlasted Antigo’s Hailey Burhop 6-2, 3-6, 6-2. Natalie Preuss continued to roll, improving to 11-2 in flight-four singles play this fall with a 6-1, 7-5 win over Julia Volpentesta.

Audrey Ruesch was an easy 6-0, 6-1 winner over Antigo’s Jacqueline Belling at number-two, while the Red Robins got their lone win from their number-one, Molly Neufeld, who beat Masaeda Krug 7-6 (4), 6-2.

After today’s meet with Lakeland, the Raiders will host their annual triangular with Ashland and Wisconsin Rapids Assumption on Tuesday, starting at 1:30 p.m. before heading to Rhinelander two days later for the GNC meet, which will start at 9 a.m.

3-2 at West

Medford won three of five matches over the weekend, including a 4-3 win over Lakeland, during the two-day, 10team Wausau West Invitational.

Half of the event field featured Great Northern Conference teams and Medford faced two of them, getting the noteworthy win over Lakeland and getting handed a second 4-3 loss in a five-day span by Rhinelander. The Raiders went 2-1 against Wisconsin Valley Conference squads.

The win over Lakeland highlighted Medford’s two-meet day Friday.

Masaeda Krug and Audrey Ruesch got a key win at number-one doubles, holding off a late charge from Lakeland’s Kristina Ouimette and Savannah Barton 6-2, 7-6 (5). Madison Clarkson and Makenna Tlusty were 6-3, 6-3 winners at number- three doubles over Lakeland’s Alyssa Erickson and Lila Biller.

The Raiders continued to do well in the lower singles flights. Morgan Strebig was a 6-4, 6-3 winner over Elise Lamers in the third flight and Natalie Preuss defeated Ellie Baker 7-6 (4), 6-1 in the fourth flight. Sarah Barton beat Medford’s Marcy Razink 6-2, 6-0 in flight one and Norah Strassburg beat Jaylin Machon 6-4, 6-0 in flight two. Lakeland’s Ali Timmerman and Charley Cleveland won a good threeset match over Raiders Indya Mann and Grace Holmes at number-two doubles 2-6, 6-2, 10-5.

Wausau West swept Medford 7-0 in the Raiders’ other Friday dual meet. In singles, Mia Bailey beat Krug 6-0, 6-0, Alexis Kloth beat Ruesch 6-0, 6-1, Willy Wittwer downed Machon 6-0, 6-1 and Charlotte Bell beat Hannah Dahl 6-4, 6-0. In doubles, Miranda Nelson and Chloe Vandenberg beat Holmes and Mann 6-2, 6-0, Rachel Harder and Mallory Smogoleski defeated Strebig and Razink 6-1, 6-0 and Savannah Danielson and Ingrid Mahler were 6-2, 6-2 winners over Clarkson and Tlusty.

On Saturday, Medford earned its second 4-3 win of the season over D.C. Everest. Strebig and Preuss again got key singles wins. Strebig swept Ruth Xiong 6-0, 6-2 in flight three and Preuss cruised past Emily Ringwelski 6-1, 6-0 in flight four. Krug and Ruesch filled the top doubles spot and defeated Makenna Kampmann and Brianna Cook 6-2, 6-4. Clarkson and Tlusty were 6-1, 6-1 winners over Sandra Bierton and Kaylee Dunow in flight three.

D.C. Everest’s Madison Sazama and Kali Rutta won a good number-two match with Holmes and Mann 6-4, 6-3. Mila Bublick also won a tight one with Razink in flight-one singles 4-6, 6-2, 10-4. Brooklyn Costa beat Machon at numbertwo singles 6-1, 6-2.

A doubles sweep and additional wins from Strebig and Preuss propelled Medford to a 5-2 win over Wausau East. Strebig downed Salome Ujarmeli 6-2, 6-3 and Preuss swept Isabella Vue 6-0, 6-0.

In doubles play, Krug and Ruesch took down Daeisha Chang and Alaina Baken 6-4, 6-1; Holmes and Mann had no trouble with Naomi Potter and Scout Sweeney 6-2, 6-0 and Clarkson and Tlusty breezed by Ianna Hubert and Megan Schwartzer 6-1, 6-0.

Abbey Olson defeated Razink 6-1, 6-1 at number-one singles and Talis Schlindwein beat Machon 6-0, 6-0 at number-two.

Medford got another doubles sweep against Rhinelander, but the Hodags used a singles sweep to secure the 4-3 team win.

Holmes and Mann bumped up to the top doubles slot and beat Kayla Tessman and Karmen Lopez 6-2, 6-3, while Clarkson and Tlusty moved up to number-two and took down Brooke Sisel and Evelyn Sawyer 7-5, 6-3. Lily Holmes and Peterson won their number-three match with Maddie Legrey and Willow VanDenHeuvel 6-3, 6-3. They improved to 4-0 together for the season.

Rhinelander’s top player Tori Riopel defeated Krug 6-0, 6-2, Dawsyn Butkus beat Ruesch 6-1, 6-1, Shayla Coppenger beat Machon 7-5, 6-1 and Maya Patrick was a 6-3, 6-3 winner over Dahl.

Medford 5, Columbus 2

On a day where the GNC race tightened with Newman Catholic upsetting Rhinelander 4-3, the Raiders stayed eight points behind the co-leaders at the time, Newman and Lakeland, with a 5-2 home win over Columbus Catholic.

The Dons’ two best players got wins in the top two singles flights, but Medford dominated everything else, winning in straight sets.

One of those matches was close. At number-three singles, Machon won a tight first set with Maggie Callaghan 6-4 and then outlasted her in the second set by taking the tiebreaker 7-1 to win the set 7-6.

Preuss was a 6-2, 6-1 winner in flight four over Callie Hanson.

Medford had no problems in the doubles matches. Mann and Grace Holmes filled the number-one spot and cruised 6-0, 6-1 over Claire Graham and Anna Callaghan. Clarkson and Tlusty also were 6-0, 6-1 winners over Hannah Loucks and Monica Thill in flight two. Peterson and Lily Holmes got the number-three assignment and crushed Jade Kuhn and Kenai Volkman 6-0, 6-0.

Krug came up just short in the first set at number-one singles and then ran out of steam as Columbus Catholic’s Akosua Yeboah won 6-4, 6-1. Maria Elizabeth Garcia, an excellent flight-two player, was a 6-0, 6-0 winner over Ruesch.

Medford’s Jaylin Machon takes a swing during a long rally with Columbus Catholic’s Maggie Callaghan during number-three singles play Thursday on the MASH courts. Machon won a tightly-contested match 6-4, 7-6 (1).MATT FREY/THE STAR NEWS