[media-credit name=’UW Athletics’ align=’alignnone’ width=’648′][/media-credit]

After starting the year with a record of 10-2, the Wisconsin men’s tennis team has dropped five straight matches, including four Big Ten contests, which positions them near the bottom of the Big Ten standings.

One of the key issues with this year’s team deals with youth and injuries. The most notable injuries are senior Billy Bertha’s lingering back pains and Alex Roble’s bone spurs that decommissioned the senior for the remainder of the season. Because of early injuries and a generally young squad, the Badgers have been forced to put young players into high-pressure situations.

“We have a lot of new guys who are forced to play,” Bertha said. “In the past, a lot of freshman have come in and got to learn the system. But these guys have been kind of thrust into playing with some of the injuries we have had.”

In their past two matchups against Northwestern and Illinois, the team has been able to earn points in doubles matchups, a pattern that can be seen throughout the season, with the exception of a few mishaps. The true crux of the Badgers’ latest woes is their inability to win critical singles matchups. The Badgers have struggled as of late to win singles matches on an unprecedented scale.

“When it rains, it pours,” Bertha said when describing the cause of the latest slump.

The challenge the Badgers now face is how to halt the downpour and regain positioning and confidence.

“They are all very solid tennis players,” Wisconsin head coach Greg Van Emburgh said. “The biggest thing as a tennis player is to be confident, and that is what we have struggled with.”

The coaching staff is making it a point of emphasis to improve the confidence of the players. To do this, the team is using the small successes they have already achieved to help rebuild the confidence level of individual players and the team as a whole.

With the singles slumping at full speed, the doubles portion of the meets have become increasingly more important to keep momentum going into later matches. After earning four out of five doubles points in the past several weeks, the team has been able to regain small amounts of confidence.

“I think everyone is in pretty good spirits,” assistant coach Joe Bates said. “We’re going into doubles matchups with confidence. In singles, however, we have kind of let down a bit. The thing about singles is when you win, you gain confidence, and when you lose, you lose confidence, causing a catch-22.”

Starting March 23 against Michigan, Wisconsin has won only one singles match in 30 attempts, with the team’s sole singles win coming last weekend from freshman Jakhongir Jalalov against Northwestern’s Alex Pasareanu. Even this win was a hard-fought, close game that ended in a 10-8 tiebreak in favor of Jalalov.

“It was good for the individual more than the team,” Bates stated. “When you lose, you lose. For Johnny (Jakhongir) that was a big win. It really helped him gain some confidence and, hopefully, he can ride that out.”

Wisconsin’s most consistent singles player this year has been senior Alexander Kostanov, a transfer from the University of South Carolina who is originally from Kursk, Russia. With a record of 11-5, Kostanov is the only player on the team with a record above .500 in singles play. His early success resulted in a promotion to the second or third position in the lineup. Since this promotion, however, Kostanov has dropped five-straight as the team continues to slump.

“He is a senior, and he has found a way to win early and ride that a little bit,” Van Emburgh said. “He has confidence, which is the one thing that is really important for him.”

His improved play has resulted in a pairing with Billy Bertha as Wisconsin’s top doubles team. Together, the two are 3-5 against the best duos opponents have to offer. This includes a win on March 29 over Illinois’ nationally-ranked No. 1 doubles team.

“I think it took us awhile, because we both kind of play the same,” Bertha said. “We are starting to hit our stride right now and hopefully we can make a run in the NCAAs.”

However, the slump may very well continue until the Badgers return home next week. This weekend, the team faces Ohio State and Penn State. Ohio State (20-2, 5-0 in conference) holds the No. 5 spot in the nation going into the weekend.