Rapids seniors make good decision

WISCONSIN RAPIDS - Until this season, seniors Kaitlyn Hess and McKenzie Wentland have been singles players on the Wisconsin Rapids Lincoln girls tennis team.

The past two years, the girls filled the top two spots in the lineup.

At the end of their junior season, they approached Raiders coach Kate Maloney about playing doubles. Maloney gave them the green light and the two worked during the summer to get used to the change.

The decision turned out to be a good one as the duo qualified for the WIAA state individual tennis tournament by placing second Oct. 4 at the Division 1 Stevens Point sectional.

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The state tournament runs from Thursday through Saturday at the Nielsen Tennis Stadium on the University of Wisconsin campus.

Hess and Wentland (16-4) play Kenosha Tremper juniors Bryce Bigelow and Madalyn Bigelow (24-6) in the their first-round match at 12:45 p.m. Thursday.

"We were really close to each other between No. 1 and 2 singles and we didn't think we had a chance to get too far as singles players so we decided to give doubles a try," Hess said.

Added Wentland, "We thought we would have more success at doubles. The competition at No. 1 and 2 singles is really tough and those girls play all year long and we don't. We've had success this year. I think it was a good switch."

At the sectional, the Rapids duo won their first match, beating Lexi Hastings and Lindsey Johnson of Menomonie 7-6 (2), 7-6 (5) to earn their state berth.

Next they beat the SPASH team of Suzie DeBot and Emily Beier 6-2, 6-3, before falling to Emily Pepperl and Devon Bourget of Eau Claire Memorial 6-0, 6-1 in the sectional final.

"I didn't realize it at first that we qualified when we beat Menomonie," Wentland said. "After that we had nothing to lose, so beating SPASH, a team we lost to earlier in the year, was the icing on the cake."

Maloney, who had watched the two develop during the season, was pleased with their progress throughout the season.

"It was fun to watch them put all the pieces of the puzzle together last Tuesday," Maloney said. "That's what has been holding them back. They played fearlessly at the sectional and all their hard work came to fruition.

"The tough part for them was getting their communication down. The key to doubles is two people moving as one team and they have that down now."

Should the girls beat the Kenosha Tremper team, they would play a second round match against the top-seeded team in the bracket, Frankie La Londe and Sasha Shapsis of Mequon Homestead.

"I want to win our first match for sure," Hess said. "After that it will be really tough against the No. 1 seed."

Mark Massoglia: 715-424-7309 or mark.massoglia@gannettwisconsin.com; on Twitter @markmazzy.