MEDFORD GIRLS TENNIS - Medford clings to GNC lead, goes 3-2 at two-day West Invite

The Medford Raiders started the twoday Wausau West Invitational with losses to two Division 1 teams but finished strong with three straight wins, including two over Great Northern Conference rivals.

The 3-2 finish put Medford at 13-8 overall as they head into the back end of their 2025 fall season. The Raiders close out the dual-meet portion of the Great Northern Conference season today, Thursday, by hosting Stevens Point Pacelli at 4:30 p.m. The GNC championship tournament is set for Sept. 25 at Rhinelander.

Medford still sits in first place in the GNC standings with 80 points, though Newman Catholic and Rhinelander are now right on their heels with 76 and 70 respectively, and Pacelli could still make things interesting as the Cardinals have 62 points and two dual meets left.

On Saturday, Medford finished the West tournament with a 4-3 win over Menomonie and a 6-1 win over GNC rival Antigo.

The Raiders got three big tiebreaker wins to edge Menomonie, a Division 1 squad from the Big Rivers Conference.

Kady Weix got one of those wins, taking the number-two singles match over Eme Gamez. Gamez won the first set 7-5, but Weix tied things up with a 6-3 win in the second set. The 10-point match tiebreaker went the distance and one point beyond with Weix winning it 11-9.

In the flight-one doubles match, Medford’s Makenna Tlusty and Bayley Metz won the first set handily against Tehya Johnson and Dylan Watkins 6-2, but the Mustangs answered by winning the second set by the same score 6-2. Metz and Tlusty also won their tiebreaker set 119.

In flight-three doubles, Raiders Raylin Rothmeier and Averie Werner fell in the first set 7-5 to Menomonie’s Kylah Gilbertson and Elodie Long, but they stayed alive by taking the second 6-4. They earned the match by taking the tiebreaker 10-5.

Medford’s fourth win came from the number-two doubles team of Chloe Kapitz and Ellie Eckert, who beat Danica Holcomb and Paula Flores in straight sets 6-3, 6-0.

Menomonie’s Isabel Sorenson was a 61, 6-0 winner in flight one over Tallula Hahn, Presley Verdon beat Uliah Etsitty 60, 6-0 at number-three and Emma Lorenzen beat Autumn Cooley 6-1, 6-0 in flight four.

In the win over Antigo, Hahn had no trouble with Hailey Burhop 6-0, 6-0, Weix defeated Elyse Packard 6-4, 6-0 and Eckert played her first singles match of the fall, winning 6-2, 6-2 over Evie Lucht in flight three.

The Raiders swept the doubles matches. Tlusty and Metz beat Matty Ratliff and Faith Casetta 6-2, 6-0. Rothmeier and Werner shut out Madalyn Wilhelm and Lindsey Beck 6-0, 6-0 and Elle Strasburg and Raylyn Liske won their second match of the weekend at numberthree, beating America Cruz Morales and Alexxus DesJarleis 6-2, 6-3.

Addison Burhop was a 6-3, 6-4 winner over Cooley at number-four singles.

Medford closed out play on Friday with a 6-1 victory over the Lakeland Thunderbirds. That dual meet included another doubles sweep by the Raiders.

Kapitz and Eckert filled the one-spot and defeated Sierra Wallace and Addison Trapp 6-3, 6-3. Rothmeier and Werner downed Katy Janowiec and Nora DeVries 6-0, 6-4 in flight two and Strasburg and Liske held off Vella Walden and Maelle Lamers 6-4, 7-6 (3) in the number-three match.

In singles, Weix won a tiebreaker to defeat Olive Stockinger in the number-two match. The two traded 6-4 wins before Weix took the tiebreaker 10-3. Hahn easily beat McKenna Byram 6-1, 6-0, Metz filled the three-spot and won 6-0, 6-4 over Carman Istudor. Lakeland’s Ellie Glisczinski defeated Etsitty 6-1, 6-3 at number-four.

Medford swept the doubles matches against Wausau West but the Warriors got all of the singles matches to defeat the Raiders 4-3.

Tlusty and Metz beat Stella Olson and Abby Hynes 6-3, 6-2 in the top doubles match. Kapitz and Eckert went to a tiebreaker at number-two against Sophie Seubert and Layne Fuller and won it 3-6, 7-5, 11-9. Rothmeier and Werner took the number-three match 6-3, 6-4 over Zoe Hoff and Jerzy Haubert.

In singles, the Raiders weren’t quite able to push the top two matches to a tiebreaker. Mallory Smogoleski beat Hahn 6-2, 6-4 and Sophie Cotey beat Weix by the same score. Ellery Weddle downed Etsitty 6-2, 6-2 at number-three and Emily Lucht won the number-four match 6-0, 6-0 over Liske.

A solid New Richmond team bounced Medford 6-1 in the first round of play Friday. Tlusty and Metz got the Raiders’ only win, beating Lily Gess and Olivia Tyvoll in three sets 6-4, 1-6 and 10-8.

Carlee Ritzer and Heidi Vogler beat Kapitz and Eckert in a three-set battle 6-4, 4-6, 12-10. The loss was Medford’s first in a number-two doubles match this season. Medford is 20-1 at that flight this year, 183 in number-one doubles matches and 174 in number-three doubles matches. In flight three against New Richmond, the Tigers’ Jon’na Heiss and Anna Engelhart beat Werner and Etsitty 6-4, 6-3.

In singles, Lyndsey Ritzer beat Hahn 60, 6-0, Allie Harold beat Weix 6-1, 6-1, Etta Carlson beat Rothmeier in a nail-biter at number-three 7-5, 2-6, 10-3 and Natalie Graham beat Liske 6-2, 6-2.

Medford 7, Phillips 0

On Thursday, Medford took care of GNC business at winless Phillips, quickly sweeping the Loggers 7-0 to add 14 key points to their season total.

In singles play, Hahn swept Elsie Bending 6-0, 6-0, Weix shut out Audrey Hueckman 6-0, 6-0, Caidyn Zenner defeated Emily Lamy 6-0, 6-0 and Rothmeier took care of Maddie Makovsky 6-0, 6-1.

It was all shutouts for Medford in doubles play. Metz and Tlusty beat Saige Stein and Sarah Brateng 6-0, 6-0, Kapitz and Eckert beat Lexi Moore and Ana Meives 6-0, 6-0 and Etsitty and Werner were 6-0, 6-0 winners over Maddy Macholl and Sailor Madsen.