The Wisconsin men’s tennis team has finally found the right combination of players in the lineup, and it couldn’t have come at a better time. The Badgers have had success top to bottom in both singles and doubles recently, earning four wins in their past five conference matches. This includes an unexpected 4-3 victory over the Nebraska Cornhuskers, the first team the Badgers will face in the Big Ten tournament this upcoming weekend.

For a majority of the conference season, Wisconsin’s head coach Greg Van Emburgh has created a new lineup every match, hoping to find one that consistently works. The constant changing is partly due to the six-game losing slide the Badgers suffered in the first half of conference play. However, Van Emburgh and the young Wisconsin squad were also battling persistent injuries.

“They’re young,” Van Emburgh said. “It’s really gaining the experience and feeding off each other to try to get some significant wins and some signature wins. Early on in the season we really needed to gain that experience and gain that feeling too. I think we have some talent and potential and have the lineup the way we want it.”

It is a rare occasion for any Big Ten tennis team to play another more than once in a season since they face off just once in conference play. The Badgers find themselves in an even more unlikely situation, as they will play the Huskers in back-to-back duals. Van Emburgh admitted that he and his team anticipated this outcome since the two schools were just one spot apart in the Big Ten standings going into Sunday’s match.

Sunday, Wisconsin was swept in doubles play to relinquish the first point. The Badgers battled back in singles action and went on a three-point run thanks to wins from Rod Carey, Petr Satral and Billy Bertha. Losses on the one and three singles court by Fredrik Ask and Quinton Vega allowed the Huskers to tie the score.

The match was ultimately determined on the fifth singles court when junior transfer Alexander Kostanov pulled a win out of a three-set thriller against Tom Blackwell.

“We ended up playing them indoors at their place and I felt like it favored them, but we actually played a good match and were able to squeak through,” Van Emburgh said. “Hopefully we will be playing outdoors in Evanston. I feel confident that our team is strong outdoors so we have a great chance to take them again.”

Two players that have excelled on both indoor and outdoor courts are Carey and Satral. Van Emburgh has labeled the two sophomores as the most consistent members of the Badgers’ squad this season. Carey is 8-10 overall in singles play this year, and Satral is 10-12. Against Nebraska, both players helped propel the Badgers’ 3-0 singles run with wins on their respective courts.

Other noteworthy performances this year have come from Vega and Bertha, who have both prevailed over setbacks. Vega was ineligible to compete in the fall season due to lack of proper certification. But despite missing out on fall training, he played his way through the lineup and owns a 3-9 singles record.

Bertha was sidelined early this year with a back injury and returned in the lower half of the lineup and has been reliable for UW ever since. The junior Badger is on a four-match winning streak from the No. 6 singles spot.

“I think the guys right now are positioned well overall,” Van Emburgh said. “We’ve mixed the doubles up a little bit. [Ask] and [Bertha] have been playing the No. 1 spot, and they are ranked 28th in the country and have a chance for an NCAA bid so we are excited about having that opportunity.”

The Badgers have often relied on winning the doubles point to gain momentum going into singles play. Wisconsin has been led by the dynamic pairing of Bertha and Ask who are 11-5 overall, 4-3 in the Big Ten and 4-1 against nationally-ranked opponents. Van Emburgh expressed the value of having a right-handed and left-handed player as a doubles team.

“[Bertha] has a big serve and [Ask], as a lefty, slides his serve around,” Van Emburgh said. “They really feed off of each other well and know each other’s game. They communicate really well.”

The Badgers will take a confident, solidified lineup into Thursday’s match against the Huskers, where the winner will then face off with top-seeded Ohio State Friday.