A day that started with tremendous promise ended with tremendous disappointment for the No. 34 Wisconsin women's tennis team.

After a tightly contested doubles point that ultimately went the Badgers' way thanks to clutch victories on the first and third court, the team failed to muster a win in the day's final four singles matches, falling to No. 52 Western Michigan 5-2 at home Saturday.

"On the bank that I was on, within 20 minutes, we were down … 6-1, 5-0 and 5-2," head coach Patti Henderson said of the singles performance. "As I said to our players, the biggest thing that you guys have to do is make mental adjustments on your feet much, much quicker than you're doing. I mean, to have walked out of here and having only won two out of 12 singles sets is, to me, unacceptable."

Those two victorious singles frames would both belong to junior standout No. 32 Caitlin Burke, who made quick work of the Broncos' Malena Remynse with a 6-0, 6-2 match that marked the day's second completion and, for a brief period of time, actually left the Badgers sitting on a 2-1 lead.

"[Burke] was a better player and she played as a better player," Henderson said. "From the scores today and from last weekend, she's taking care of business when she's in a position to do that."

But matters were grimmer for the Badgers elsewhere, as the squad dropped the number two, three, four, five and six singles competitions with Kaylan Caiati, Chelsea Nusslock, Morgan Tuttle, Liz Carpenter and Erin Jobe losing in straight sets to Carrie Jeanmaire, Rattiya Hiranrat, Reedina Parekh, Priyanka Parekh and Kerstin-Beeke Pahl, respectively.

With the Badgers down 3-2, Caiati and Tuttle, the last two Wisconsin players on the court, would both mount second set rallies but ultimately dropped those frames 7-6(6) and 7-5.

"Definitely what's not working is my depth," Caiati said. "I think I've improved that a little bit over the year, but playing a higher position [than last year], I definitely can't afford to hit the ball short and that's what I really need to work on: keeping the ball deep, whether or not my opponent hits a short ball or a deep ball back."

Earlier in the day, the doubles competition would prove a more successful venture for the Badgers, as the pairings of Carpenter/Burke and Nusslock/Nicole Beck claimed 8-4 and 8-5 wins over their Bronco opponents, even after Caiati and Tuttle dropped their match.

"I was pleased with how we handled ourselves at one and three doubles, knowing that we had lost at two doubles," Henderson said. "At the time [two doubles] lost, it was close at both one and three … And I was pleased with how we handled ourselves at that moment. … I felt like they played with composure. They played smart. We got a good percentage of first serves in at some crucial times."

Also on a positive note, Burke's singles victory extends her unbeaten fall record to 5-0 as the Badger ace continues to show great ease against opposing squads' top-seeded players.

"I served pretty well [today,]" Burke said with typical humility. "My ground strokes were pretty good today, too."

The day's other good news came from Beck and Tuttle, who both showed improvement from the medical ailments that had sidelined them previously. Beck made her season debut, winning with Nusslock on the doubles court. Tuttle managed her first post-injury singles match, ultimately engaging in the aforementioned rally prior to losing to Parekh.