The University of Wisconsin women’s tennis team has struggled to find its stride after the loss of No. 2 player, sophomore Alaina Trgovich, to a torn ACL. But hard work as well as the guidance of senior Elizabeth Carpenter provided a 7-0 win Friday against the Northern Illinois Huskies at Nielsen Tennis Stadium.
Trgovich tore her ACL — an injury that will require surgery — in the third game of the team’s first match against DePaul on Jan. 24, which they lost 6-1.
In the fall season, Trgovich, a transfer student from the University of Kentucky, went 6-5 in singles and 7-5 in doubles matches.
“We’re trying to figure ourselves out now and see who steps up,” Wisconsin coach Brian Fleishman said. “No. 1 player Liz Carpenter understands this is her last season, and [she] is working her tail off being a leader.”?
Carpenter, a senior who plays both No. 1 doubles and No. 1 singles, swept both of her singles sets 6-0 on Friday. Along with her doubles partner, UW freshman Angela Chupa, Carpenter also won 8-1.
Carpenter is ranked No. 25 in the women’s Midwest Rankings for NCAA Division I tennis, according to the most recent ITA rankings, and was the Badgers’ 2008 team MVP. Throughout the match, Carpenter could be heard encouraging her teammates as they played on adjacent courts.
Against the Huskies, the Badgers swept all six singles matches with six shutouts by Carpenter, junior Katya Mirnova, sophomore Emese Kardhordo and sophomore Jessica Seyferth.
Chupa, who played the position of No. 5 singles, is currently undefeated in both singles and doubles this season, although her second match was closer than she’d like — she won 6-4.
“This girl hit a really big forehand, and when I didn’t think she’d come up with a win she did,” Chupa said of opponent Emily Rogers, who was playing in her debut collegiate-level game. “[My goals are] to keep working on my game and to try to help my team come through [with] victories when we need them.”
The team’s No. 1 and 2 doubles teams defeated NIU, giving up only one game to the Huskies’ No. 1 team.
“I would have to say Wisconsin is one of the strongest teams we play,” No. 1 doubles and NIU junior Brooke Forsberg said.
Aleksandra Markovic and Seyferth played No. 2 doubles, and their ability to work well together was exemplified in their 8-0 win over NIU’s No. 2 doubles team, as well as in the way they encouraged each other after each point.
Despite a promising start in winning the first game, the UW No. 3 doubles team, consisting of Mirnova and Dana Larsen, ultimately lost 8-4.
The loss of Trgovich forced Fleishman to rearrange the team’s lineup, which likely was a contributing factor in the loss, as Trgovich was poised to play doubles with Seyferth in the opening season match against DePaul.
“I do not think we played our best,” Larsen said. “We definitely have room for improvement — especially in the serve.”
In the fall season, Larsen, a freshman, went 4-1 in singles matches but posted an 0-2 record for doubles.
The match against Northern Illinois was a dual match — one that is played against nonconference teams — of which the team will play upwards of 20 this season.
With the win over NIU, No. 68 Wisconsin improved its overall record to 2-1. Its next dual match is Saturday against Old Dominion, and its first Big Ten match is on March 4 against top-ranked Northwestern.
