WIAA DIV. 2 BOYS TENNIS - Hehli holds serve as the favorite; Balciar’s run ends at sectional

WIAA DIV. 2 BOYS TENNIS

Medford senior Brayden Balciar was in the position Thursday where he had to just take his best shot and let the chips fall where they may against highly-ranked Kyle Hehli of West Salem at the WIAA Division 2 boys tennis sectional, hosted by Eau Claire Regis.

Those chips fell Hehli’s way as he clinched his third straight appearance in the state tournament with a 6-0, 6-1 quarterfinal win in number-one singles play at the sectional. The defeat ended Balciar’s season and put a bow on the 2024 season for the Medford Raiders overall.

Medford finished in an eighth-place tie with Osceola in the sectional standings with 12 points, all earned in the subsectional portion of the tournament on May 21.

Balciar finished 9-7 in singles play. The flight-one quarterfinalists needed just one win to clinch their spots at state, but Balciar, the three-seed in the subsectional, got a tough draw meeting the second seed from the La Crosse Aquinas subsectional in his quarterfinal match. Hehli, a junior, finished fifth in state singles play a year ago and was 24-1 this season coming into the sectional meet.

After defeating Balciar, Hehli took care of Altoona’s Ryan Hays, who was the top seed in the Altoona subsectional, also by scores of 6-0, 6-1. But in the final, he met the only player who had beaten him this year, junior Anderson Fortney of La Crosse Aquinas. Fortney (23-1) beat him again, 7-6 (4), 4-6, 10-6, to win the sectional championship.

Fortney is the third seed in this weekend’s WIAA Division 2 state individual tournament in Madison, while Hehli is the fifth seed. Fortney finished third in last year’s state meet and was the seventh seed as a freshman. Hehli made it to state as a doubles player as a freshman.

Also in the flight-one singles bracket Thursday, Osceola’s Gavin Almlie (19-4) qualified for state by beating Lakeland’s Dominic Gironella in the quarterfinal round 6-3, 6-0. Hays (15-6) got to state by beating Amery’s Blake Anderson 6-2, 6-4. Fortney beat Almlie 6-3, 6-0 in the semifinals after sweeping Tony Resner of Regis 6-0, 6-0 in the quarterfinals.

Aquinas won the sectional championship with 45 points, six more than Altoona, and clinched a spot in the WIAA Division 2 team state tournament in Madison set for June 8. Regis was third with 27 points, followed by La Crosse Logan (23), Baldwin-Woodville (17), Lakeland (14) and West Salem (14).

Amery (8), Black River Falls (2), Stevens Point Pacelli (2), Antigo (0), Ashland (0), Ellsworth (0) and Providence Academy of La Crosse (0) rounded out the team standings.

Under third-year head coach Kyle Ranum, the Medford Raiders finished the season with a 5-11 dual-meet record this spring, including a 3-2 mark in the Great Northern Conference, good for third place. Balciar is one of four seniors who were part of the regular lineup with singles players Conner Klingbeil and Jude Stark and doubles player Caleb Egle playing their final matches at the Altoona subsectional.

Balciar was Medford’s top singles player the past two springs. He was the GNC runner-up in flight one last year and took third in the conference this year.

The GNC has just one state entry this year. Rhinelander’s Joey Belanger and Dalton Fritz are in the Division 1 doubles tournament.