The University of Wisconsin men’s tennis team earned a split in its weekend matches against nationally ranked Ohio and Penn State.
The team was defeated Friday afternoon 5-2 by No. 25 Ohio State. The Badgers lacked their strong doubles play but managed to pick up two singles wins.
In doubles, juniors Alex Kasarov and David Hippee were unable to defeat the No. 54-ranked duo of Conor Casey and Ross Wilson as Ohio State’s top-ranked doubles team won 8-5. At the No. 2 spot, junior Scott Green and freshman Mark Weinig were defeated 8-3 by Phil Metz and Vince Ng. Senior captain Blake Baratz and freshman Ward Bortz lost 8-6 to the Buckeyes’ Jeremy Wurtzman and Brenton Contini at the No. 3 spot.
Ohio State dropped two singles matches to the Badgers in the No. 3 and No. 5 matches. Baratz took down Casey 7-5, 6-0, and Bortz stopped Contini in a tiebreaker 3-6, 6-3 (10).
At the No. 1 spot Hippee lost 6-3, 6-4, while Kasarov lost a similar match 6-4, 6-3. Green was stopped 6-2, 6-2 in the No. 4 match and Weinig lost 6-1, 6-2 at the No. 6 spot.
“I want you to keep your heads up,” Badger head coach Pat Klingelhoets said. “We have a good matchup against Penn State and good chance at a good seed (in the Big Ten tournament) if things go our way.”
UW (5-14 overall, 2-6 Big Ten) rebounded from its Friday loss by walking off the courts Sunday with a 4-3 victory over No. 71 Penn State. The team took the doubles point and continued its success in three of the six singles matches.
In doubles, it was Kasarov and Hippee who led the charge. defeating Penn State’s Clint Keithley and Roddy Cantey 8-4. At the No. 2 spot, Penn State’s Nudell and Malcolm Seatliffe managed an 8-4 win over Green and Weinig. Combined with the victory by the No. 1 doubles team, Baratz and Bortz beat PSU’s Mark Barry and Matt Frakes 8-6 at the No. 3 spot.
The Badgers continued to stay strong through the singles round. At the No. 1 spot, Hippee took down Barry in a close match 6-4, 7-6 (4). Penn State’s Seatliffe and Cantley won points at the No. 2 and No. 3 spots, defeating Kasarov and Baratz respectively. Wisconsin stole the No. 4 and No. 5 matches with Green and Bortz winning over Keithley and Todd Stecks 6-4, 6-4 and 6-1, 6-2. Penn State’s Frakes took the No. 6 match against Weinig 6-3, 6-2, but the Badgers still came out on top.
The win left the Badgers with high hopes for the rest of the season.
“If we win our next two matches, the possibilities are out there,” Klingelhoets said. “A lot of variables will come into play here at the end of the season.”
Next weekend UW finishes up its regular season play on the road. They take on No. 59 Michigan State this Saturday, April 19 and No. 58 Michigan this Sunday.
