Coming off a duo of losses to highly ranked national opponents, the No. 51 Wisconsin women's tennis team will look to return to winning form as they take on DePaul at 4:00 PM at the Nielsen Tennis Stadium today.
But the Badgers' greatest opponent may well be their own blue demons as the squad looks to take on the regional rival while still battling a flurry of health problems that have left key players at less than 100 percent and others cycling through the bench.
"[I]t appears as though we'll be playing short-handed again," head coach Patti Henderson said. "So we have to try to find a way to be successful in the win/loss column with DePaul."
Wisconsin junior Kaylan Caiati, who spent last weekend on the sidelines due to health issues, is expected to bump up to the second singles flight today in place of sophomore Nicole Beck who will likely see her playing time limited to doubles action because of her own ongoing ailment.
"You acknowledge that first, because it's going to be a lot tougher," senior Lexi Goldin said of going into today's action with a depleted roster.
Still, in DePaul, the Badgers will find a team with quite the international flair. The Chicago-based squad has only two Americans on its roster and neither is expected to start in singles play, offering a stark contrast to the Wisconsin team that is comprised entirely of Americans.
Team ace Caitlin Burke, hailing from Cedarburg, Wis., will likely face Beatrix Csordas, who comes from Budapest, Hungary, while Caiati, also a Dairyland native, is expected to take on Gergana Ganeva of Vratza, Bulgaria. Other members of the DePaul starting lineup have passports originating in Croatia, Serbia and Slovakia, while the Badgers' only non-Midwesterners come to UW by way of California, Georgia and Kentucky.
Last year, the Badgers defeated the Blue Demons 5-2, with Burke claiming the clinching point over Ganeva in a 6-2, 6-2 victory that marked the DePaul player's first drop in an unlucky 13 matches. Ironically, Burke also battled the Chicago-based squad while personally under the weather a year ago, a situation that may well repeat itself as the Badger ace comes off a rough final weekend of February play in which she missed one match due to health considerations and pulled off a convincing victory in another despite coughing audibly on the court.
"I haven't been feeling very good for the last week or so," Burke commented after her decisive victory last year. "I try not to think about, it's hard though. I have a cold."
Having claimed only one of 14 points last weekend — with Burke being the sole singles victor — various members of the Wisconsin squad will look to regain their winning ways today in what will be the team's final match before spring break play in sunny southern California — a location that may actually do some good for a physically ailing squad.
