The Wisconsin men’s tennis team played its last match at Nielsen Center against Minnesota Sunday.
The Badgers (8-12 overall and 2-8 in the Big Ten) fell to the Gophers 4-3 after a close game between senior Danny Westerman and Minnesota’s Harsh Mankad. The Gophers are ranked 13-6 overall and 6-3 in the conference and end the season holding onto the 23rd ranking in the nation.
It was Senior Day at the Nielsen Center, and the team played as if it were their last day as Badgers.
No. 1 singles player Danny Westerman battled Minnesota’s Harsh Mankad, the highest-ranked player in the nation. The match lasted for two hours, with Westerman winning the first set and eventually falling to Mankad.
In the third set, Westerman hit his racket against the wall in a burst of frustration that almost cost him the match. The incident seemed to intensfy Westerman’s desire to win, but it was not enough for him to pull off a win on his last day at Nielsen.
Sunday was not a day of singles for the Badgers.
No. 2 singles Scott Rutherford lost the first two sets (6-2, 6-1) to Minnesota’s Thomas Haug. It was the same story for No. 3 David Hippee and No. 4 Scott Green as well.
Senior Jason Gonzaga pulled off a win at No. 6, coming back from a second-set loss with a 7-6 (7) tiebreak in the third set over the Gophers’ Eric Robertson.
As far as the Badgers’ success, however, it was all about the doubles.
At the No. 1 doubles spot, Scott Green and Scott Rutherford pulled off an easy win in the eight-game pro set (8-4) to Minnesota’s Mankad and Thomas Haug. Green also played at the No. 4 singles spot but could not quite pick up a victory after three sets of intense play versus the Gopher’s Chris Wettengel.
At the No. 2 spot was the headband-sporting senior duo of Justin Baker and Danny Westerman. They also obtained a victory (8-5). Finally, at the No. 3 spot were sophomores David Hippee and Alex Kasarov. The excellent play from all the doubles players definitely helped Wisconsin keep the match a close one by earning the vital doubles point.
This match marked the end of the regular season of play. The next step for the Badgers begins April 25-28 when they travel to Columbus, Ohio, to attend the Big Ten tournament.
