The UW men's tennis team has regrouped and reloaded after a dismal 2-9 conference record in the 2004-05 season.
Led by new head coach Greg Van Emburgh, the Badgers have started fall tournament play, which precedes Big Ten competition in the spring, opening the fall with the Tom Fallon Invitational at Notre Dame last weekend.
"I think it was a great tournament for us because…I've been anxious to see how we were going to measure up against other high-profile teams, and I felt like we did a great job this weekend," Van Emburgh said.
Van Emburgh was an associate head coach at the University of Kentucky for four years before being hired as the UW head coach in the summer of 2005.
With six sophomores and a freshman on the squad against just one senior, Van Emburgh has some younger talent to work with in his first year as a Badger coach.
"We're a really young team. We have two new players that transferred in," Van Emburgh said. "I am optimistic there's a lot of potential for this team to keep getting better for the spring."
Van Emburgh will look to two of his more experienced players, as well as, junior Lachezar Kasarov and sophomore Jeremy Sonkin, to anchor the team from the start. Kasarov and Sonkin have been named co-captains for the year.
"I feel like they bring a high emotional level to the team," Van Emburgh said. "These are the two guys that will help lead this team."
Of Wisconsin's ten players, three are originally from outside the United States, including Kasarov, a Bulgaria native. Sophomore Felipe Bellido, from Peru, and Gian Hodgson, a Van Emburgh freshman recruit from Aruba, are the other two.
Sophomore Nolan Polley is a new face on the Wisconsin tennis team this fall. Polley transferred to UW after playing his freshman year under Van Emburgh at Kentucky. Joining Polley and Hodgson as fresh faces this year is Brennen Phippen. Phippen, a sophomore, joins the Badgers after spending his freshman season at Furman.
"It was kind of nice for me to not only just have the team from last year, but it was really important to also pick up some new additions," Van Emburgh said.
Sonkin, who will man the No. 1 position for the Badgers this year, has been ranked 80th in the national preseason poll for the fall of 2005, highest on the team. Sonkin and other UW players will be looking to raise their rankings for the spring poll, released in early 2006.
"Our players will be trying to get some wins over other ranked guys (from other teams)," Van Emburgh said. "We're trying to set ourselves up for a chance to be ranked higher when the conference rankings come out next spring."
On a team mixed with last year's Badgers and new transfers and freshmen, Van Emburgh believes that Wisconsin has the ability to scale the Big Ten standings in the 2005-06 season.
"The guys that we have are fully committed to the program," Van Emburgh said. "They want to get better and raise the bar.
"I see a lot of potential in these guys, and it's going to take a lot of hard work, a lot of commitment, a lot of dedication, a lot of confidence, and I feel like we can reach these goals."
