The University of Wisconsin men’s tennis team dropped its eighth duel of the year Wednesday as the Badgers fell 6-1 to Louisville, the No. 44-ranked team in the country. The loss drops UW to 5-8 on the season as the Badgers continue their search for consistency.

Wisconsin shot off to a very quick start, winning the doubles point 2-1 behind victories from the teams of Alex Kasarov and David Hippee, the No. 33 doubles team in the country, and the second doubles team of Scott Green and Alex Conti.

The Badgers carried the doubles momentum into the singles matches early on, as Wisconsin took three of the first six sets and looked primed to upset the Cardinals. However, the Badgers were unable to keep up the pressure and eventually fell victim to Louisville.

“This is one of the better teams we’ve played. I thought a lot of our guys came out with a little more aggressive attitude than we’ve seen,” UW head coach Pat Klingelhoets said. “Unfortunately, we just couldn’t quite maintain it. We really had good intensity in the first sets and didn’t quite maintain it and let a couple of guys in the door, and they really took advantage of that.”

Wisconsin had many bright spots in the disappointing afternoon, though, as several players had strong performances in the loss.

“I thought we played our best match of the year,” Klingelhoets said. “I think from our standpoint, it was our best match, and we just have to use it as a building block. We are getting better every week. We have got to use this and go into the weekend and keep it rolling.”

Sophomore Mark Weinig had as strong a showing as he had all season in his 6-3 first-set victory.

“I was real pleased with Weinig’s performance in the first set,” Klingelhoets said. “By far, the best tennis I have seen him play all year.”

Junior Ward Bortz also had a great opening set for the Badgers.

“I thought Bortz came out and played the best set he has played in awhile,” Coach Klingelhoets said.

The Badgers continue their season this weekend, taking on the No. 1-ranked team in the country and Big Ten rival Illinois Saturday at the Nielsen Tennis Stadium.

“Hopefully, the guys don’t get their heads down. You can take it two ways: You can be disappointed and let it bring you down, or you can say, ‘Hey, we are playing well and playing better,’ and be ready,” Klingelhoets said. “Obviously, we got a tremendously tough match on Saturday against Illinois. We just got to go in there with nothing to lose and give it our best shot and see what happens.”