April 16, 2010

MADISON, Wis. -- In its final homestand of the season, the Wisconsin women’s tennis team earned its second conference win on Saturday, upsetting the No. 60-ranked Minnesota Gophers, in a 4-3 victory. The win also marked the Badgers second win over a ranked opponent this season.

“I’m really proud of the team today.” Head coach Brian Fleishman said after the game. “We really showed how we've put together everything we’ve learned in all our previous matches, wins or losses. The team was down after doubles play but we were able to use everything leading up to now to come back and take care of business.”

Wisconsin (7-13 overall, 2-5 Big Ten) was able to come back from an early deficit after dropping the doubles point, with Angela Chupa and Katya Mirnova both continuing their winning ways from last weekend, grabbing the first wins in singles play. Mirnova is currently riding a four-match win streak and is 4-3 in conference play.

Chupa was able to take out Minnesota’s Doron Muravnik quickly winning 6-1, 6-4, in the No. 5 singles slot, to tie up the match.

Mirnova followed suit in the No. 3 singles slot defeating Jackie Sperling easily in a 6-1 first set victory. In the second set, Mirnova was able to get an early 4-0 lead but Sperling crept back to tie the set at four. Wisconsin’s lone senior was then able to finish off the match winning 6-4.

Losses in the Nos. 2 and 4 spot put the Badgers down, 3-2, to put all eyes on the third set matches in the Nos. 1 and 6 spots.

Alaina Trgovich fell early on in a back-and-forth match against Minnesota’s Tijana Koprivica in the No. 1 singles spot. With a 6-4 first set loss, Trgovich battled back to dominate the second set winning 6-2 to take the match to a third set. With two matches only still in play, the intensity continued to rise as the game score stayed close. After getting an early lead, Koprivica came back to bring the score 4-3. That was the closest the Minnesota player would get as Trgovich pulled ahead to take the 6-3 win and her first victory playing in the No. 1 spot. The win brought the match to a 3-3 tie with the fate of the match resting on the No. 6 slot.

In similar fashion, freshman Kathleen Saltarelli took her match against the Gophers Magdalena Wiecha to a third set as well, for the deciding match of the night. Saltarelli fell 6-2 in her first set, but stayed with Wiecha to take the second set to a tiebreak decision. After earning the 7-6 (4) victory, the final match of the night went to its third set.

The score was set at 2-2 tie as the intense play continued until Saltarelli pulled ahead to bring the match score to 4-2. After two long games, Wiecha answered back to bring the match to another tie at four. The Gopher used the momentum shift continuing her run to bring the match to 6-5. Saltarelli, who was playing in her first Big Ten match of the season was able to earn the next win, 6-5, and continued to fight refusing to give up the match point tying the score at six to take the match to a tiebreak decision. The freshman dominated the tiebreak, 7-6 (4), stepping up at the right time for the Badgers to earn her third win of the season and to give the Badgers the 4-3 win upsetting Border Battle rival Minnesota.

Wisconsin started the evening off falling in doubles play to give the Gophers an early 1-0 lead. Berner and Trgovich found themselves down 7-2 early on but fought back to win the next four games in the No. 1 doubles slot. With the score tightened to 7-6, the Badger duo didn’t give up as they continued to deny match point before dropping the 8-6 decision.

UW was also able to come back from early deficits in the Nos. 2 and 3 doubles slots but eventually fell to give Minnesota the 1-0 advantage going into singles play.

The Badgers will play their final home match of the season on Sunday, April 18, playing host to the No. 20th-ranked Iowa Hawkeyes. Match time is set at 11 a.m. with Wisconsin honoring their lone senior, Katya Mirnova, prior to the start of the match.

Julie McKay, UW Athletic Communications

Tennis Match Results
Minnesota vs Wisconsin
Apr 16, 2010 at Madison, Wis.
(Nielsen Tennis Stadium)

Wisconsin 4, #60 Minnesota 3

Singles competition
1. Alaina Trgovich (WIS) def. Tijana Koprivica (MINN) 4-6, 6-2, 6-3
2. Alessandra Ferrazzi (MINN) def. Hannah Berner (WIS) 6-2, 7-6 (7-4)
3. Katya Mirnova (WIS) def. Jackie Sperling (MINN) 6-1, 6-4
4. Alexa Palen (MINN) def. Jessica Seyferth (WIS) 7-6 (7-5), 6-2
5. Angela Chupa (WIS) def. Doron Muravnik (MINN) 6-1, 6-4
6. Kathleen Saltarelli (WIS) def. Magdalena Wiecha (MINN) 2-6, 7-6 (7-4), 7-6 (7-4)

Doubles competition
1. Alexa Palen/Alessandra Ferrazzi (MINN) def. Hannah Berner/Alaina Trgovich (WIS) 8-6
2. Tijana Koprivica/Jackie Sperling (MINN) def. Katya Mirnova/Angela Chupa (WIS) 8-6
3. Mariana Spilca/Magdalena Wiecha (MINN) def. Jessica Seyferth/Lauren Gruber (WIS) 8-5

Match Notes:
Minnesota 10-10; National ranking #60
Wisconsin 6-13
Order of finish: Doubles (3,1,2); Singles (5,3,2,4,1,6)