The Wisconsin men’s tennis team has plenty to be proud of despite its recent losing slump. The Badgers had an impressive record from their non-conference season and are drawing confidence from those past wins during this drought.

Wisconsin had a trying non-conference season this winter, one which they hoped would prepare them for the several ranked opponents they would face in Big Ten play. Wisconsin opened the 2011-12 season with nearly flawless home wins over Butler and Western Illinois at 6-1 and 7-0, respectively. However, the Badgers were unable to carry their momentum with them on the road as Notre Dame swept them. Wisconsin saw even stronger competition further south as the squad dropped back-to-back matches against Clemson and Georgia Tech.

Despite the team losses, the Badgers were able to celebrate key doubles wins in their first five matches, including an undefeated record in the No. 1 doubles position from partners Fredrik Ask and Billy Bertha. The pair led the Badgers to doubles point wins in four out of five matches. Despite the 5-2 team loss at Georgia Tech, Ask and Bertha extended their winning streak to 5-0 with a notable 8-4 win over the No. 2 doubles team in the nation, Kevin King and Juan Spir.

“We would have liked to squeak out a couple of wins when we took the trips down to Georgia Tech and Clemson,” Bertha said. “We wanted one of those wins because they were ranked teams, but we knew that was going to be tough. We had some young guys on the team.”

A pattern started to form as Wisconsin continued to win at home but consistently fell on the road. One such loss included the team’s Big Ten opener against the Minnesota Gophers, their border rival. The defeat ended Ask and Bertha’s doubles winning streak as Wisconsin lost the doubles point for just the second time this season.

Wisconsin returned to Madison for another set of home wins against Green Bay and Northern Illinois. The Badgers’ singles players responded much stronger after winning the doubles point than they had on the road, as Wisconsin went on to sweep Green Bay 7-0 and drop one singles match to Northern Illinois.

Strong doubles play became a theme for Wisconsin as it finished the non-conference season at 8-4, winning five of its final non-conference matches. The Badgers only lost the doubles point once in a close 4-3 loss against the No. 14 Fresno State Bulldogs.

“I think the competitiveness has been fine, we haven’t really given any matches away,” assistant coach Joe Bates said. “The fight and the heart are there and it’s just about confidence now.”

The Badgers are on a two-match losing streak in conference play despite earning the doubles point in home matches against both Michigan and Michigan State this past weekend. Highlighting Wisconsin’s doubles pairs was the No. 32 ranked doubles team of Ask and Bertha, as the two defeated the No. 15 pair of Evan King and Shaun Bernstein of Michigan.

It hasn’t been uncommon for the Badgers to see top-ranked teams and players so far this season and they still have plenty left to look forward to. Out of the eight Big Ten matchups Wisconsin has remaining, three opponents are currently ranked. Ohio State sits comfortably at No. 2 in the country, followed by Illinois at No. 15 and Indiana at No. 21.

“There is always the little extra motivation when they are ranked higher but we try to approach teams the same way every time,” Bertha said.

The Buckeyes’ singles anchor is sophomore Blaz Rola who is ranked sixth nationally. He is 24-3 overall in singles play and is 31-3 in doubles with his partner Chase Buchanan. Ohio State’s most recent win was a 6-1 victory over the No. 21 Indiana Hoosiers. Bertha and his team are aware of what lies ahead and are mentally and physically preparing now.

“I think right now we have played enough tennis that it doesn’t come down to practicing or running or conditioning, it’s getting healthy and then when we are out there playing we have to play with the right intensity,” Bertha said.

Maintaining endurance and intensity throughout a match will be key for Wisconsin, as many of its singles matches have been pushed to three sets and tiebreakers. Even when that is not the case, all sets have been close so far in conference play. In their recent duel against Michigan, the entire Badgers’ singles lineup lost its first set. However, four out of six of those sets were 6-4 or closer. Close sets make for long matches and Bates recognizes the need for good conditioning.

“We have a lot of big matches left. These first three hurt so we are really going to try to hit the weights hard and do some running because it looks like our matches are all going to third sets,” Bates said. “We need to keep the fitness high and go over some mental things so maybe we can tweak them into closing the matches.”