Independent Student Newspaper Since 1969

The Badger Herald

Independent Student Newspaper Since 1969

The Badger Herald

Independent Student Newspaper Since 1969

The Badger Herald

Advertisements
Advertisements

Men’s tennis wins big over weekend

The Wisconsin men’s tennis team found a way to win on both the doubles and singles court, something they have struggled with all season, which earned them a 5-2 win over the Iowa Hawkeyes. The victory advanced the Badgers to ninth in the conference and put them in the position to play for eighth against Nebraska on Sunday.

In three out of their seven conference losses this season, Wisconsin has gained points on just the singles courts. When the Badgers lost to both Michigan State and Illinois, their lone point came from doubles wins. Aside from recent victories over Penn State and Purdue, Wisconsin has struggled for majority of the season with having success in doubles and singles at the same time. However, in their final home stand of the season, everything fell into place.

“It’s our last conference match at home, and it was great to be able to play our last home match and go out with a win,” head coach Greg Van Emburgh said.

Advertisements

The Badgers got things started early by securing the doubles point despite resilience from the Hawkeyes. The number two pairing of Alexander Kostanov and Rod Carey, who have not played together in a conference doubles match before, were the first off the court after being dominated 8-1 by Jonas Dierckz and Matt Hagan. Playing in the number three spot, Alex Robles and Quinton Vega broke in their opening game and were able to bring it back to even with an 8-3 victory.

The fate of the first point of the dual resided on the first court. Billy Bertha and Fredrik Ask battled through a close match with Garret Dunn and Michael Swank. Neither team could pull away until a key Badger break at 5-3 followed by a held service game from Bertha. Another Bertha service game sealed the win at 8-5 and clinched the doubles point for Wisconsin.

“It adds a sense of urgency.” Bertha said about being in the position to decide the doubles point. “You step it up a couple of gears when the match is on the line.”

Bertha carried the momentum from the crucial doubles win into his singles play and was the first one finished with a commanding 6-1, 6-0 victory over Michael Swank in the six singles spot.

“I just didn’t let him get back into it,” Bertha said. “Before, I let a lot of guys hang around and then they get confident. I tried to battle today and I just stepped up.”

The seemingly effortless win found the Hawkeyes in a 2-0 hole and the Badgers did not let up. Rod Carey on the second singles court followed Bertha off the court, defeating Will Vasos 6-2, 7-5. After breezing through the first set, Carey appeared to be on a similar path at the start of the second. The sophomore went up 4-1 then did not win another game until he tied the score at 5-5. Carey went on to break in the next game then held serve to secure the match at 7-5.

Iowa finally broke Wisconsin’s streak when Dunn defeated Kostanov at four singles. Dunn has earned the Hawkeyes’ only point in three of their past five losses and Kostanov was not able to end his run. The junior Badger got an early lead in the first set when he went up 3-1. However, Dunn battled back with strong serving and forced the set into a tiebreaker at 6-6.

Both players showcased powerful first serves, but Dunn’s proved to be too much for Kostanov and he dropped the tiebreaker, 7-4. Kostanov was unable to fight back in the second set and lost, 6-1.

“I think he may have had a couple of set points,” Van Emburgh said. “Dunn has had a couple of great wins in conference so I knew it was going to be a tough match for [Kostanov].”

There were several other tiebreakers that faired with the Badgers and ultimately gave them the victory. One such tiebreaker victory came from the fifth singles court and Petr Satral. Like Kostanov, Satral took an early lead at 3-1 but Joey White would not go away and brought the first set to a 6-6 tie. Satral won the breaker on a service ace at 7-5. His second set was equally close as both players remained on serve. Satral broke at 5-4 then held to win his match and seal the victory for Wisconsin.

“I think the guys are digging deep and finishing those sets, and that’s the one thing we have been trying to talk about is finishing matches,” Van Emburgh said.

The remaining two courts split between the Badgers and the Hawkeyes. Playing in the number one singles position, Ask’s first set was the third of the day to be determined in a tiebreaker. Ask rallied to a 7-5 win then went on to a 7-5 second set victory and match win. Freshman Vega, who has recently been promoted to the three singles spot, was the final Badger off the court, suffering a 6-7, 6-2, 1-0 loss to Jonas Dierckx.

The Wisconsin squad moved up to eighth in the conference with a 4-3 victory over the Nebraska Cornhuskers on Sunday. They have completed the conference season with a record of 4-7, winning four of their past five matches.

Advertisements
Leave a Comment
Donate to The Badger Herald

Your donation will support the student journalists of University of Wisconsin-Madison. Your contribution will allow us to purchase equipment and cover our annual website hosting costs.

More to Discover
Donate to The Badger Herald

Comments (0)

All The Badger Herald Picks Reader Picks Sort: Newest

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *