The No. 34 Wisconsin women’s tennis team battled to a 5-2 victory over the DePaul Blue Demons Saturday. Claiming the doubles point early in the day and then emerging victorious in four of six singles matches, the Badgers improved to 6-4 on the season and showed little rust coming off a two-week sabbatical from play.
“I thought we came out strong,” sophomore Caitlin Burke said. “We won the doubles point, which was good. And I think everyone played pretty well.”
For the Badgers, it was a day of streaks continued, while for the Blue Demons, it was a day of streaks ended. Freshman Chelsea Nusslock claimed her sixth consecutive personal victory, handing Bojanna Murisic her first loss in 10 outings, 6-7(1), 6-3, 1-0(9). The match tiebreaker, played in lieu of the final set because the Badgers’ victory had already been cemented, provided some of the day’s most dramatic action. Neither player took a lead of more than three points in a race to 10 points, winning by two tallies.
Nusslock, after taking the first point of the extra frame, went up 6-3 before falling to a 7-9 deficit. Facing double match-point, Nusslock fought back and scored four consecutive winning shots to finish off Murisic 11-9.
“I started out pretty shaky. The first set was just really close, every game. I started out having game points in at least the first four games,” Nusslock said. “I just only converted one. I think if I started off a lot better and capitalized on those points, I would have won that in straight sets.”
Burke also played the role of streak-breaker Saturday, dealing Gergana Ganeva her first loss in 13 matches, 6-2, 6-2. Despite playing ill, Burke managed to secure the first set in convincing fashion before taking a 3-0 lead on Ganeva in the second frame. Matters then settled at deuce, with the two players trading advantages numerous times before the sophomore Badger overpowered her Blue Demon opponent with a hefty overhead shot to return the affair to deuce one last time. Burke would then claim the necessary two consecutive points to move ahead 4-0.
That contentious point was quickly followed by another game for Burke, going ahead 5-0 with the first set already under her belt. But with fatigue visibly setting in for the first time all day, the ailing athlete dropped two games to Ganeva before returning to dominance and claiming the requisite 6th game to win in straight sets.
“I try not to think about, it’s hard though. I have a cold and stuff,” Burke said. “I’m just going to sleep a lot this weekend and get ready to go on spring break next week.”
Burke’s victory handed the Badgers their fourth point on the day, securing a team win over the Blue Demons. This gave Wisconsin its second consecutive win, coming off a victory over Colorado State two weeks ago, but also ended DePaul’s nine-game winning streak. Before Saturday, the Blue Demons last lost Feb. 6, falling to Yale in New Haven, Conn.
Redshirt freshman Nicole Beck claimed her fourth win in five matches, dispensing of Petra Rehusova in straight sets, 6-1, 6-1. The victory came by way of several spinning point clinchers from Beck, who continues to show improvement during her spring campaign for the Badgers.
The Badgers’ final point on the day was won by Kaylan Caiati. The sophomore has now delivered five of her last seven matches for the Badgers, working out of the fourth flight singles.
Caiati quickly handled DePaul’s Brenda Leung 6-0, 6-2, taking the day’s first singles point and propelling the Badgers to an overall 2-0 lead at the time of her match’s conclusion.
The Blue Demons’ only points on the day came from Marina Parashkevova and Beatrix Csordas, who defeated Lindsay Martin and Katie McGaffigan (No. 77) 6-4, 6-1 and 6-0, 3-6, 6-3, respectively, in singles action. The pair had already defeated the Badger duo on the doubles court 8-6.
“[McGaffigan and Martin] played a good team; they played a team that put a lot of pressure on them,” head coach Patti Henderson said. “And we didn’t make them play enough balls when we needed to.”
Despite coming off of a two-week break and featuring at least one sick player, Wisconsin proved able to exorcise the Blue Demons, maintaining an unbeaten all-time team record against DePaul.
“It’s exciting,” Burke said of the victory.
