The UW men’s tennis team (8-13, 2-8 Big Ten) heads to the Big Ten tournament Thursday for a first-round date with No. 7-seeded Minnesota.
The Badgers enter the tournament as a No. 10 seed after recording just two conference wins in the 2005 campaign. However, head coach Pat Klingelhoets’ squad did notch a win over the Golden Gophers during the regular season, and it came in convincing fashion.
Wisconsin took down Minnesota 7-0 April 8 in Minnesota. The win was the first conference victory of the season for the Badgers. However, the Golden Gophers were without three regular starters for the April matchup, including top singles player Avery Ticer.
Minnesota earned the No. 7 seed, and the right to take on Wisconsin in the opening round, by downing Purdue 5-2 in the final match of their regular season. The Golden Gophers appear to be the favorite on paper, but the April meeting between the two teams — in which Minnesota did not win a match — adds some intrigue to the matchup.
Ticer leads the Gophers on the singles court, posting a 20-7 overall record this season, including a 6-1 mark in Big Ten dual matches. Minnesota’s first-ever three-year captain, Ticer is currently ranked No. 31 in the nation in singles.
At the No. 2 spot, Adrien Debryne closed out the regular season with a 13-12 record overall and a 5-3 Big Ten mark. Debryne also saw time at the No. 1 slot when Ticer was out of action.
Ticer and Debryne also join forces on the doubles court to form the Gophers’ top pair. During the regular season, the doubles tandem notched a 15-5 overall record and a 5-1 mark in conference play. The two will take on the Kasarov brothers, Alex and Lachezar, who form the Badgers’ No. 1 pair.
Neither of the Gophers’ top singles players faced their Thursday morning adversary in April’s 7-0 thrashing. Ticer, who will face off against Wisconsin’s Alex Kasarov at the No. 1 slot, was out of action entirely, and Debryne, who will take on freshman Jeremy Sonkin at No. 2, fell 6-3, 6-2 against Kasarov in the April meeting.
Though Debryne will avoid another meeting with Kasarov, his task will be equally difficult with Sonkin on the other side of the net. Sonkin may be the Badgers’ No. 2 singles player, but he logged as impressive a season as anyone on the UW roster. The freshman finished 15-5 at the No. 2 spot and 23-12 overall in 2005, including a 7-3 mark in Big Ten play. Kasarov finished 11-10 (3-7 Big Ten) out of the top flight.
Should the Badgers advance to the second round, they will meet No. 2-seeded Ohio State Friday. The Buckeyes (17-7, 8-2) received a first round bye and await the winner of Thursday’s 7/10 match.
