Women’s tennis squad ready for road matches with Michigan State, Michigan
by Anne Strong, Tennis Writer
This weekend the UW women’s tennis team will finish up conference play on the road against the Spartans of Michigan State and the Wolverines of Michigan. The No. 52 Badgers (12-9, 5-3) hope to finish off the season with a victory before heading into the Big Ten Tournament.
Playing strong all season has been junior Katie McGaffigan, who just recently received the Big Ten Athlete of the Week award. As the No. 1 singles player for Wisconsin, she is nationally ranked at 85. McGaffigan also teams with Lindsay Martin at the No. 1 doubles position, earning a No. 38 ranking. All season head coach Patti Henderson has been impressed with McGaffigan’s performance.
“She’s just going to do what she can do and wins the match,” Henderson said. “She’s special in that way. Tennis players are not always calm and she’s got a pretty good, calm demeanor. She has things going on inside her, but she handles it well. As far as her physically, she is very talented. For her, a racket in her hand is very natural thing. If you’ve ever watched her play, it’s very easy for her to hit a tennis ball.”
For the final two matches of the regular season the Badgers hope to continue their momentum from last weekend’s victories over Ohio State and Penn State. After a season that got off on a slow start, the Badgers have defeated nationally ranked teams such as Iowa while losing to teams that sit at the bottom of the conference.
“So right now we seem to have momentum in our favor, we have confidence in our favor,” Henderson said.
Contributing to the Badgers’ recent success is the return of Caitlin Burke to the lineup. A wrist injury kept her out of any competition in the fall and she has participated in the last seven matches, giving the team more options.
“I think one of the things that we have to acknowledge is the fact that Caitlin Burke has been in our lineup now for the last seven matches and that’s given us … gave us some options for doubles,” Henderson said. “Since she’s been in the lineup and since we’ve had an opportunity to shift around some doubles combinations, we haven’t lost a doubles point.”
The Spartans of Michigan State (8-11, 3-5) split this past weekend, defeating the nationally ranked Boilermakers of Purdue but could not pull off a victory against No. 17 Illinois. The key players for the Spartans are junior Keri Thompson, who holds the No. 1 singles spot and also the No. 1 doubles spot with Caroline Ley.
The No. 27 Wolverines (14-4, 5-3) will be a tougher contender for the Badgers. Michigan is also coming off a victory over Purdue, lead by junior Michelle DeCosta and No. 72 Elizabeth Exon. At No. 1 doubles, DeCosta and Kara Delicata are the go-to women for the Wolverines.
Coach Henderson looks forward to the upcoming matches and hopes to walk away with two more victories that will help the team going into the conference tournament.
“So now, we go in to play Michigan State, Michigan for the last weekend prior to the Big Ten Tournament,” she said. “(We) hope to keep the ball rolling. Michigan State is doing the best it’s done, probably in the history of its program, certainly since I’ve been here.”
“They are 3-5, they beat Purdue 4-3. They’ve had a couple of very close matches within the conference. So, that’s not going to be easy. Michigan, right now, is about (No.) 30 in the country, they’ve had a couple losses in the Big Ten, but they are a very, very good team. So, it’s going to be a challenging weekend and hopefully we’re up for it.”
