Jan. 23, 2010

Madison, Wis. -- The 32nd-ranked Wisconsin men’s tennis team set the tone for its 2010 season, sweeping all three of its matches on Saturday against Butler, UW-Whitewater and Green Bay with strong singles and doubles play.

"This was definitely a long day for us, but we got what we needed to get done in both singles and doubles," Head Coach Greg Van Emburgh said.

Wisconsin opened the day with a 6-1 victory over Butler. With senior Moritz Baumann taking the day off, junior Marek Michalicka stepped in at the No. 1 position where he easily defeated Chris Herron 6-2, 6-3. The junior went on to win once more at the top spot, with a clean win in the match against Green Bay.

In the No. 2 position, sophomore Patrick Pohlmann persevered through a difficult first set against Bryce Warren. After battling to win 7-5 in a close first set tiebreak, Pohlmann took out the Bulldog 6-1 in a quick second set to finish the match.

Newcomer Ricardo Martin debuted for the Badgers in a 6-3, 6-4 victory over Zach Ervin. Martin, who was recently added to the roster, went on to win two more singles and one doubles match during the opening day for the Badgers.

For a complete recap of the Butler dual match, click here.

Wisconsin carried the momentum into the next match with a definitive 7-0 victory over UW-Whitewater. For the first time in his career, freshman Billy Bertha defended the No. 2 position against Kelvin Caiati. Although Bertha was challenged to a 7-5 first set tiebreak, he proved himself in the second by a clear 6-0 win over Caiati.

The rest of the squad followed suit, not dropping a set to the Warhawks.

Wisconsin capped off the day by defeating Green Bay 5-1. Senior Michael Dierberger had an easy 6-1, 6-2 victory at the No. 2 position over Matt Clegg. Sitting in at No. 5 was freshman Chris Freeman who had an impressive 6-0, 6-4 win against Josh Oothoudt. The two teams did not compete in doubles.

"It's a great way for us to prepare for the National Indoors [Championships] and hopefully we can take some of this momentum into Florida State on Friday," Van Emburgh said.

Wisconsin competes for a chance to go to the ITA National Team Indoors when the Badgers head to Florida State for the ITA Kick-off weekend.
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By Megan Kelley
Wisconsin Athletic Communications

Tennis Match Results
Butler vs Wisconsin
Jan 23, 2010 at Madison, Wis.
(Nielsen Tennis Stadium)
#32 Wisconsin 6, Butler 1

Singles competition
1. #20 Marek Michalicka (WIS) def. Chris Herron (BU) 6-2, 6-3
2. Patrick Pohlmann (WIS) def. Bryce Warren (BU) 7-5 (7-5), 6-1
3. Billy Bertha (WIS) def. Lenz Theodor (BU) 6-3, 6-1
4. Brandon Bayliss (BU) def. Chris Freeman (WIS) 6-4, 6-4
5. Ricardo Martin (WIS) def. Zach Ervin (BU) 6-3, 6-4
6. Luke Rassow-Kantor (WIS) def. Andrew Bayliss (BU) 6-1, 6-2

Doubles competition
1. Michael Dierberger/Luke Rassow-Kantor (WIS) def. Ben Raynauld/Bryce Warren (BU) 8-3
2. Patrick Pohlmann/Chris Freeman (WIS) def. Zach Ervin/Chris Herron (BU) 8-2
3. Billy Bertha/Marek Michalicka (WIS) def. Stephen McLoughlin/Lenz Theodor (BU) 8-3

Match Notes:
Butler 0-1
Wisconsin 1-0; National ranking #32
Order of finish: Doubles (1,2,3); Singles (6,1,3,2,4,5)

Tennis Match Results
UW-Whitewater vs Wisconsin
Jan 23, 2010 at Madison, Wis.
(Nielsen Tennis Stadium)
#32 Wisconsin 7, UW-Whitewater 0

Singles competition
1. Patrick Pohlmann (WIS) def. Danny Glinert (UWW) 7-6 (8-6), 6-4
2. Billy Bertha (WIS) def. Kelvin Caiati (UWW) 7-6 (7-5), 6-0
3. Luke Rassow-Kantor (WIS) def. Michael Harmatys (UWW) 6-4, 6-1
4. Ricardo Martin (WIS) def. Erik Scanlan (UWW) 7-6, 6-2
5. Michael Dierberger (WIS) def. Wiliam Krieger (UWW) 6-0, 6-0
6. Chris Freeman (WIS) def. Kyle Halweg (UWW) 6-0, 6-3

Doubles competition
1. Patrick Pohlmann/Chris Freeman (WIS) def. Danny Glinert/Kelvin Caiati (UWW) 8-6
2. Michael Dierberger/Luke Rassow-Kantor (WIS) def. Erik Scanlan/Ian Hiantz (UWW) 8-2
3. Billy Bertha/Ricardo Martin (WIS) def. Charlie Miller/Logan Covelli (UWW) 8-2

Match Notes:
UW-Whitewater 0-1
Wisconsin 1-0; National ranking #32
Order of finish: Doubles (3,2,1); Singles (5,6,3,2,4,1)

Tennis Match Results
UW-Green Bay vs Wisconsin
Jan 23, 2010 at Madison
(Nielsen Tennis Stadium)
#32 Wisconsin 5, UW-Green Bay 1

Singles competition
1. Marek Michalicka (WIS) def. Fabian Gogolin (GB) 6-0, 6-2
2. Michael Dierberger (WIS) def. Matt Clegg (GB) 6-1, 6-2
3. Paul Swanson (GB) def. Patrick Pohlmann (WIS) 6-3, 3-6, 10-2
4. Billy Bertha (WIS) def. Marko Skoric (GB) 6-2, 6-2
5. Chris Freeman (WIS) def. Josh Oothoudt (GB) 6-0, 6-4
6. Ricardo Martin (WIS) def. Gilles Cornelis (GB) 6-2, 6-3

Doubles competition
Match Notes:
UW-Green Bay 0-1
Wisconsin 3-0; National ranking #32
Order of finish: Doubles (); Singles (2,1,5,6,4)
Wisconsin and Green Bay will only play singles tonight