Last week?s matches were close, but not close enough for the University of Wisconsin men?s and women?s tennis teams. The men?s team headed into their match against No. 9 Notre Dame with a 4-2 record, but their doubles losses were just enough for the Fighting Irish to squeeze by with a 4-3 victory over the Badgers. For the women?s team, they had a disappointing weekend playing in their home tournament as they finished with a 2-4 record. Players and coaches of each team agreed their main focus going into their upcoming matches must be on doubles.
The men?s team had little trouble when it came to dominating in the singles matches.Senior Jeremy Sonkin came to play as he won both his singles and doubles matches. In singles, he defeated opponent Andrew Roth in only three sets. In doubles, he and partner Luke Rassow-Kantor beat opponents Roth and Stephen Havens 8-6.Unfortunately, it was the only doubles match won that night.The Badgers? upcoming match is at Louisville Saturday Feb. 16.
?We are putting a lot of our emphasis in practices on doubles,? Sonkin said. ?Winning doubles is really crucial.?
Last year, Wisconsin lost to Louisville 4-3, and playing well in doubles will be key this time around.
?If we get that one doubles win to put us up 1-0 at the start, we definitely have three players in the lineup, if not everybody, that can win singles,? Sonkin said.
Men?s coach Greg Van Emburgh noted that while the team has been practicing their doubles game significantly throughout the week, Louisville is still a tough place to play at, especially after a seven-hour bus ride.
?They get some hostile crowds there, and we will let the guys know about that,? Van Emburgh said. ?It won?t really defer our preparation too much though.?
All three of Wisconsin?s losses this season have been to top 20 ranked teams, and while Louisville is not ranked in the top 20, the Badgers still know that it is going to take as much physical preparation as mental to win.
?We are looking to go out there and make it a war,? Van Emburgh said.
On the other side of the court, the women?s team seems to have had the same problems as those of the men?s team: doubles matches.
After facing No. 13 William & Mary in the second day of the home tournament at the Nielson Tennis Stadium, the Badgers lost two of their three doubles matches and now sit with a 2-4 record.
Head coach Brian Fleishman believes that the team needs to start off its matches better in order to win this weekend.
?If we can get the doubles points that start the match off, then we got that one point under our belt; it kind of swings the momentum in our favor,? Fleishman said. ?It?s definitely a momentum-swinger.?
