MEDFORD GIRLS TENNIS - Medford among four teams with title hopes at today’s GNC meet

There has never been a Great Northern Conference girls tennis tournament where four teams came into it with a realistic chance to win the league title. That is, until today. The Medford Raiders are one of those four teams who enter today’s 2025 tournament in Rhinelander with championship aspirations. Despite a 5-3 dual-meet record in the GNC, a series of early-season sweeps helped Medford compile 86 team points, good for a tie atop the standings with 7-1 Rhinelander. Newman Catholic, who went 8-0 in the duals, is just two points behind with 84 and the Pacelli Cardinals have made a late surge to get to 82 points after going 6-2 in the duals. One of Pacelli’s latest wins came Thursday when the Cardinals edged Medford 4-3 in the Raiders’ home finale for the fall. The key match in the meet was in flight-one doubles, where Pacelli’s Maddy Pionek and Vivian Berna rallied for a three-set win over Medford seniors Makenna Tlusty and Bayley Metz. Medford’s top duo started strong with a 63 first-set win, but the Cardinals took charge in the second set, winning 6-3, and they didn’t let up in the 10-point match tiebreaker, winning that 10-3. Medford won the other two doubles matches. Chloe Kapitz and Ellie Eckert were straight-set winners in the flight-two match over Hailey Zvara and Ella Tess 61, 6-4. Averie Werner and Raylyn Liske played together for the first time in flight three and were winners over the Cardinals’ Abby Johnson and Haylee Cisewski 7-5, 6-4. Raider Raylin Rothmeier was a convincing winner in the number-four singles match, defeating Alyssa Ladick 62, 6-1. In the first flight, Medford’s Tallula Hahn had a tall task, facing Morgan Matowitz, who is undefeated in GNC play this season. Hahn led for much of the first set and had a 6-5 lead and won the first two points of the next game, but Matowitz came back to win the game and then won the tiebreaker 7-4 to take the set 7-6. Matowitz carried that momentum into the second set and won it 6-1. Pacelli’s Reese Abel held off a late surges by Medford’s Kady Weix in each set and won the number-two match 6-4, 6-3. Reagan Abel was a 6-2, 6-0 winner over Raider Caidyn Zenner in flight three. Since the GNC’s girls tennis conference was formed in 2009, the Raiders have never won the title. They finished as high as second in 2011 and 2012. Team points earned in today’s tournament will be added to those earned during the dual meets to determine final placements for the conference season.