Instead of joining fellow Madison students in Halloween festivities this weekend, the Wisconsin men’s tennis team will travel to East Lansing, Michigan where they will compete in the Big Ten Fall Singles Championship. The men will then officially end their fall season the following weekend in Flushing, New York at the USTA/ITA National Collegiate Indoor Championships.
The team is coming off of weekend play at the USTA/ITA Midwest Regional Championship where senior captain Marek Michalicka fought his way to the third round of singles play to go up against Ohio State’s Balazs Novak. Novak ultimately ended Michalicka’s run with a hard-fought 7-5 set, followed by a 6-2 set. Wisconsin’s doubles showed strength, as all three pairs made it to the second round of play.
A look back
The 2009-2010 men’s tennis team took their success to new heights last season, extending their journey all the way to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA tournament.
Sophomore Billy Bertha ended the 2009-2010 season with a singles record of 20-13 and a doubles record of 11-8. Bertha says he gains motivation from, and strives to continue, the success that their team had last year-Wisconsin finished off the season ranked No. 23 by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association, in addition to making it to the Sweet 16.
UW ended their season with a 21-9 record, made it to its first-ever NCAA Sweet 16, had two players – Moritz Baumann and Marek Michalicka – make the all Big-Ten team and in the process Baumann became the first Badger to become a four-time honoree.
Keep in mind, before last season, men’s tennis had not had a 20-win season since 1990.
Head coach Greg Van Emburgh is proud of last season and aims for similar results this spring.
“We had a great year last year, so we want to really build from that year. We always set high goals, and last year was one of those years that all those goals fell into place. We’re going to try to build off last year.”
Continued success
Michalicka entered this year with a singles career record of 74-23, and a doubles career record of 67-32. If these impressive results continue throughout his last season, Michalicka could find himself breaking UW records.
Sophomore Ricardo Martin also joins Michalicka and Bertha in returning from last year’s NCAA tournament.
Those three returners have defended their accomplishments from last year by finding success so far this fall season.
Bertha and Martin were the men’s doubles champions at the Milwaukee Classic, Bertha made it to the consolation match in the A-1 singles bracket at the Virginia Invitational and Michalicka was chosen to compete in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association’s All-American Championships, where some of the top collegiate tennis players compete.
Taste of Collegiate Level
The team lost three graduating seniors at the conclusion of last season, but was welcomed this fall with two new freshmen.
The fall season has allowed the freshmen to dip their feet into a new level of play, bringing fast-paced matches, quicker opponents and more seasoned competitors.
“I think the most important thing that we’re trying to do is to get as many matches as possible for the younger guys and gain that additional experience that we definitely need and will use for the spring season,” Van Emburgh said. “I’m hoping we’re going to be able to get some more wins this weekend and go a little further in the tournament. The guys are putting in a hard week of work in practice, so I feel confident that they’ll definitely be ready for the last tournament of the fall season.”
Off-season agenda
The fall season ends November 7, and play doesn’t begin again until January 22, where the team will kick-off the spring season against Butler and UW-Whitewater.
The off-season doesn’t necessarily mean the men will have a break; the tennis team will be working on strength and conditioning, as well as focusing on certain skills that may need improvement.
“I think we’re still going to go back and work on things individually with specific guys and make sure they’re getting better everyday,” Van Emburgh said of what preparation will look like this winter. “I think that’s the most important part. It’s kind of been our motto in the past: always try to come out and get better.”