For the Antigo Times

The Antigo boys tennis team competed in the WIAA Subsectional, hosted by Rhinelander, with mixed results.

“The good news is that three boys moved on to the Koehler Sectional on Wednesday with resounding victories,” Coach Dave Zalewski commented.

Co-captain Tyler Husnick, anchoring the team at the top singles spot, was seeded number two. HusnicV squared off against an unfamiliar opponent, Jared Petham of Fox valley Lutheran in Appleton. After being tied at 2-2, Husnick jumped into the lead and never looked back, winning the next 10 straight games to move on.

“Ty never served better and he is hitting the ball with more authority,” Zalewski said of his top singles player.

Antigo’s outstanding and undefeated No. 1 doubles team of Drew Schwarz and Ben Bartletti took another step towards getting to state. Seeded No. 1, the pair took on Shawano’s Rameriz and Peplinski, taking both sets 6-2.

“Going into sectional competition 13-0, these two are playing with a lot of confidence. Hopefully this will propel them through the next stage,” Zalewski added.

The end of the season arrived for the rest of the team.

Andy Turunen played tough at No. 2 singles against Xavier’s Patrick Barhouse, losing both sets by the same score of 2-6.

At No. 3 singles, Tanner Stueck had a nice win against Shawano’s Donald Chen, winning 6-4, 6-1. In the next round, he and Rhinelander’s Matt O’Melia exchanged blows across the net, with many 20-plus rallies. Stueck lost the first set 2-6 and it was knotted up at 3-3 when rain delayed the match. After drying the courts, O’Melia came back strong to win the next three games to put an end to Stueck’s very good season.

Tommy Blink lost to Newman’s Mike Krasowski, a player he crushed a week ago. Antigo’s No. 4 singles player grabbed the first set but lost his lead, dropping two sets 3-6.

The No. 2 and No. 3 doubles teams each secured a win but lost in the match that would move them on. At the No. 2 spot, Collin Schedlbauer and Cole Johnson dominated Medford’s Wiegel and Reimann 6-1, 6-0. Playing well against the two seed, Knott and Vanstraten of Xavier sent Antigo home by a 4-6, 3-6 score.

Jake Waters and Brody Bunnell ended their successful season at No. 3 doubles first with a 6-4, 6-1 win over Pacelli’s Wysock and Milbauer. In their second match, they fought Rhinelander’s Bessette and Oestrieh for the fourth time this season and once again could not solve the puzzle, losing 3-6, 2-6.

“This has been a wonderful season, seeing the improvement in the players. Hopefully, Husnick, Schwarz, and Bartletti can end their high school tennis careers with a trip to the state tournament,” Zalewski said.