March 26, 2010
MADISON, Wis. – The Badgers’ shear energy and raw determination to win were evident from the first serve as Wisconsin trumped Indiana 5-2 and secured the team’s first Big Ten win of the season at the Nielsen Tennis Stadium on Friday afternoon.
“You could feel the energy in the building and that the guys were really chomping at the bit to get the win,” Head Coach Greg Van Emburgh said.
After losing by one point to No. 11 Illinois last week, the No. 34 Badgers were determined to bring this victory home.
“As a team, we were all fired up today,” freshman Chris Freeman said. “After the loss to Illinois, we really wanted to come back with a vengeance.”
And come back with a vengeance they did.
The Badgers jumped to a quick lead, snatching the coveted doubles point from No. 40 Indiana. All three matches were extremely close, with each team inching ahead game by game. Eventually, Wisconsin pulled ahead with the advantage, seeing wins at the No. 1 and No. 3 positions.
The 11th-ranked duo of Moritz Baumann and Marek Michalicka won the first match for UW with a 9-7 victory over Indiana’s Santiago Gruter and Jeremy Langer.
Following suit at the No. 3 position were Patrick Pohlmann and Billy Bertha, who took out Stephen Vogl and Will Kendall 9-7.
Despite a full-fledged effort, Michael Dierberger and Luke Rassow-Kantor fell just short at No. 2 doubles as Indiana’s Lachlan Ferguson and Josh MacTaggart won a 9-8 (7-4) tiebreaker.
“We played with a lot of emotion, we executed, and we were aggressive,” Van Emburgh said. “I think that’s what won us the doubles point today and led us to succeed in singles.”
The Badgers quickly snatched easy wins at the top two singles positions, with a 6-3, 6-1 win from No. 13 Baumann and a 6-2, 6-3 win from No. 25 Michalicka. The victory bumps Michalicka’s undefeated record to 12-0 in singles play.
However, the Hoosiers battled back with a 6-1, 6-4 win over Pohlmann at the No. 3 position.
Freshman Chris Freeman closed out the match at the No. 6 spot, securing Wisconsin’s victory over Indiana.
“For me to close the match out was big for me individually, but it was also big for our team,” Freeman said. “It really got the energy going. We began yelling on each court and pumping each other up. The energy was great today as was my confidence. “
Freshman Billy Bertha also pulled out a win for UW, defeating Isade Juneau 6-2, 7-6 (7-4) at No. 5 singles.
“The guys were decisive today,” Van Emburgh said. “We played with a lot of passion and a lot of emotion. We need to continually do that throughout the rest of our season.”
Wisconsin moves to 10-5 on the season with the win while Indiana falls to 9-3 overall.
The Badgers head to Florida this weekend for a bit of sunshine before they compete against Florida Gulf Coast University and No. 49 Miami on March 29 and March 31, respectively.
“It will be a nice trip for us, but also a great opportunity to play some good tennis and some good teams,” Freeman said.
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By Megan S. Kelley
Wisconsin Athletic Communications
Tennis Match Results
Indiana vs Wisconsin
March 26, 2010 at Madison, Wis.
(Nielsen Tennis Stadium)
#34 Wisconsin 5, #40 Indiana 2
Singles competition
1. #13 Moritz Baumann (WIS) def. Lachlan Ferguson (IND) 6-3, 6-1
2. Marek Michalicka (WIS) def. Jeremy Langer (IND) 6-2, 6-3
3. Josh MacTaggart (IND) def. #116 Patrick Pohlmann (WIS) 6-1, 6-4
4. Santiago Gruter (IND) def. Luke Rassow-Kantor (WIS) 6-4, 7-6 (8-6)
5. Billy Bertha (WIS) def. Isade Juneau (IND) 6-2, 7-6 (7-4)
6. Chris Freeman (WIS) def. Alexander van Gils (IND) 6-4, 6-3
Doubles competition
1. #11 Marek Michalicka/Moritz Baumann (WIS) def. Santiago Gruter/Jeremy Langer (IND) 9-7
2. Lachlan Ferguson/Josh MacTaggart (IND) def. Michael Dierberger/Luke Rassow-Kantor (WIS) 9-8 (7-4)
3. Patrick Pohlmann/Billy Bertha (WIS) def. Stephen Vogl/Will Kendall (IND) 9-7
Match Notes:
Indiana 9-3; National ranking #40
Wisconsin 10-5; National ranking #34
Order of finish: Doubles (3,1,2); Singles (1,2,3,6,5,4)
