The UW men’s tennis team (5-15, 2-7) lost to No. 59 Michigan State (14-11, 5-5) Saturday afternoon, 5-2, in East Lansing, Mich. The loss is the 14th of the season for the Badgers against a ranked opponent.
Wisconsin lost the doubles point after the Spartans recorded wins at both the two and three spots. The Badgers’ top duo of David Hippee (Plymouth, Minn.) and Alex Kasarov (Bourgas, Bulgaria) did win their match at No. 1 with a 9-7 win over Hourani/McGuire. It was the 16th win of the season for Hippee and Kasarov against just three losses.
In singles, MSU extended its lead to 3-0 with wins at the six and four positions before Hippee put UW on the board with his 6-3, 6-4 win over Chris Mitchell at No. 2. Badger rookie Ward Bortz (Brookfield, Wis.) pulled UW to within a point at 3-2 by beating Jimmy McGuire, 6-2, 6-4 at the five spot. The match came down to the battles fought at the No. 1 position between Kasarov and Andrew Formanczyk and at No. 3 between Blake Baratz (Minnetonka, Minn.) and Cameron Marshall. Wisconsin fell short in both as Formanczyk won 6-4, 7-5 over Kasarov and Marshall defeated Baratz, 6-2, 7-6(2).
The Badgers close out their 2003 regular season at No. 59 Michigan Sunday afternoon before heading to the Big Ten championships in Evanston, Ill., April 24-27.
— compiled from staff reports
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