[media-credit name=’AJ MACLEAN/Herald photo’ align=’alignnone’ width=’648′][/media-credit]With a pair of dramatic victories over Michigan and Notre Dame Sunday and Tuesday, the No. 35 Wisconsin women’s tennis team has quietly strung together a six-game win streak after commencing its spring season with a 4-4 start. The recent wins come in large part thanks to the efforts of Badger sophomores Caitlin Burke and Kaylan Caiati.

Each on an individual win streak as long as the team’s, Burke and Caiati have both proven reliable rocks of stability for the squad of late, normally finishing their singles matches with decisive early victories to get Wisconsin a couple of quick points on the board in the race to four.

“I don’t like to think about how everybody else is doing as a whole. I just want to finish my match and then think about everybody else,” Caiati said of her mentality while still on the court. “Otherwise I get too nervous when I’m playing.”

Off the court, both young women are team players to the nth degree.

“I think it’s pretty exciting how our team’s doing,” Caiati said. “We’ve won the last two matches against Michigan and Notre Dame and we were the underdog. I’m just excited for this team, I’m not really thinking about the individual results.”

On the doubles court, Burke and Caiati have recently started playing together after head coach Patti Henderson changed up the lineups earlier this season. And though the Badgers have had some difficulty claiming the doubles point in recent matches, Burke and Caiati have claimed their 8-game pro sets in five of the last six matches.

“Caitlin and Kaylan … [are] playing some very good doubles together,” Henderson said.

Of course, the two sophomore Badgers are no strangers, having both played high school tennis in Wisconsin. During those prep years, Burke posted an impressive 108-0 record while Caiati was nearly equally impressive, going 106-3.

And, yes, all three of Caiati’s high school losses came at the hands of the young woman she now calls her doubles partner.

On the road again: This weekend the Badgers will travel east to State College, Pa., where they will take on the Nittany Lions before stopping off in Bloomington, Ind., for a showdown with the No. 36 Hoosiers. The Friday and Sunday matches, respectively, will mark the Badgers’ fourth and fifth showdowns in just eight days, with all but one dual coming against a Big Ten rival.

In the Nittany Lions, Wisconsin faces a squad that has dropped five of its last seven matches, including a tight 4-3 loss at the hands of the Hoosiers marked by several three-set efforts.

After resting Saturday, the Badgers will take to the court in Bloomington in what promises to be a hotly contested match with the Hoosiers, who are ranked only one spot behind Wisconsin.

Indiana, boasting of an eclectic roster with players hailing from Eastern Europe to Bayside, Wis., has claimed five of its last seven matches. This weekend will mark a homecoming for the Hoosiers, as they first host No. 2 Northwestern Friday before taking on the Badgers Sunday after playing their last four matches on the road, including a venture west to take on UNLV.

The Hoosiers currently sit tied atop the Big Ten rankings with Northwestern and Iowa, but their Friday match against the Wildcats will drop one team from unbeaten conference status. The Badgers are right behind, holding the No. 4 post in the conference rankings, having claimed victories over Michigan and Michigan State while coming up short against Northwestern.