It has been a full year of transition for the Wisconsin men's tennis team. First-year head coach Greg Van Emburgh has lead the squad to a 10-11 season, mostly under a youthful roster.
Now, the slowly improving Badgers are set to take part in the Big Ten Championships starting Thursday in the University of Minnesota's Baseline Tennis Center.
The Badgers have claimed the No. 8 seed in the tournament and are scheduled to compete against No. 9 Purdue, a team the Badgers easily defeated 6-1 two weeks ago.
Despite the near sweep, both teams will enter the tournament with the same conference record, 3-6, and Van Emburgh is not ruling out Purdue's talent.
"We don't want to take any team for granted," he said. "We want to make sure we are ready to play and focused. We are just concentrating on one match at a time, and that's Thursday at 9 a.m.; that is the most important thing for us right now. We also want to build some confidence and build some momentum."
If the Badgers defeat Purdue, they will face top-ranked Ohio State Friday morning in the second round. Both teams squared off last weekend, with the Buckeyes taking the upper hand 6-1.
"I think we can play better against Ohio State if we get there," Van Emburgh said. "I think the guys realize that, and I think we are going to be up for the task on Friday, making sure first we get that win against Purdue."
Finding success against Ohio State last weekend was sophomore Nolan Polley, who defeated No. 38 Bryan Koniecko in two sets, 6-2, 6-3. Polley has won his last five matches and holds an 8-2 conference record.
The Kentucky transfer is looking forward to a team rematch against the Buckeyes and believes with some skill and luck, the Badgers can pull off an upset.
"This weekend, I just want to try and win both of my matches to help the team," he said. "I think if we go out there and we play well, we can definitely beat [Ohio State]."
Along with Polley, fellow sophomore Jeremy Sonkin has also had a successful season in the No. 1 position. Sonkin's last win came against Purdue's Scott Warner 6-2, 6-1 for his 15th win of the season. Sonkin finished 6-4 in Big Ten and has also seen a fair amount of success with partner Polley in doubles action.
The duo has finished the dual meet season with a 10-4 overall record and 5-4 conference record. Polley and Sonkin's last victory was against Purdue's Colin Foster and Kurt Zaska.
"Nolan Polley has done pretty well this year," Van Emburgh said in Monday's news conference. "Jeremy Sonkin is a three-time (Big Ten) athlete of the week … so we're getting help throughout the lineup.
"[The team] has really tried their butts off to get wins and competed hard," Van Emburgh added. "If we're getting wins, it's because it's a team effort. … If we get through that Purdue match and we just play loose, with nothing to lose, and [could] go after [Ohio State] again … as long as the guys are out there and they're giving it their all, and you never know."
