FROM COACH DAVE ZALEWSKI

The Antigo Boys not only took on Pacelli in a conference duo, but both teams also fought the unseasonably cold weather, strong winds, and mist on the air, making the meet uncomfortable for both teams. On a day more suited to football than tennis, the Red Robins continued their momentum. The team was depleted with Ezra Santiago gone for the week, Aaron Converse was sick, and the line-up had to be shuffled. The singles had no trouble at all. Both Garrett Husnick and Sam Bretl boggled their Pacelli opponents. Landon Nelson moved up to the third flight, easily won, dropping only one game.

Doubles was a different story, with Pacelli grabbing its lone team point in a contested battle at the two flight. The first time pairing of Seth Beaber and Cole Umland started out very slowly, falling behind 0-5. They found their footing and won the next three games before losing the set. The second set was a back and forth battle, but Beaber and Umland came up just short, losing 5-7.

The most entertaining match was at one doubles and it went the distance. After grabbing a 3-0 lead, Nolan Bunnell and Calvin Jansen became the victims of their own unforced errors and opened the door for Pacelli to push the set to a tie break and outplayed Antigo in it to secure the first set. But that first set loss lit a fire under the Robin players and motivated them to step on the gas. Playing solid, with a combination of deep ground strokes and aggressive net, quickly turned the match in Antigo’s favor. Jansen and Bunnell dropped only one game in the next 13, securing the victory and giving Antigo a 5-1 win over Pacelli.

Antigo next plays at Medford on Tuesday.