April 9, 2010
MADISON, Wis. – After dropping the doubles point, the Wisconsin men’s tennis team rallied back in singles against a tough Northwestern squad to defeat the Wildcats, 5-2, on Friday at Nielsen Tennis Stadium.
“They knew they were in for a dogfight after they lost the doubles point,” head coach Greg Van Emburgh said of his players. “They knew they had to be ready to win in singles on every court.”
The Badgers got off to a slow start, foregoing two doubles matches at the Nos. 2 and 3 positions.
Senior Marek Michalicka and sophomore Patrick Pohlmann pulled out the only doubles victory for UW in an 8-4 win over Andrew McCarthy and Tobias Reitz.
“I don’t think we were really precise in doubles,” said Van Emburgh. “Northwestern was solid. They didn’t do anything unbelievable, they just stayed solid. Sometimes that’s part of it.”
The No. 33-ranked Badgers gained momentum in singles play, picking up five of the six matches.
No. 21-ranked Marek Michalicka evened out the score at the No. 2 position with an easy 6-2, 6-3 victory over Sidarth Balaji. This win advances the junior’s dual record to 15-1 for the season.
Baumann’s quick 6-1, 6-1 win at the No. 1 spot bumped Wisconsin ahead of Northwestern. Pohlmann’s straight set win at the No. 3 position then extended the Badgers’ lead to 3-1.
Freshman Billy Bertha dropped his match 6-2, 6-2 against Spencer Wolf to let the Wildcats back in the match. It wasn’t until freshman Chris Freemen stepped up and won at the No. 5 spot that Wisconsin closed out the match against the Wildcats.
After winning the first set 7-5, Freeman found his rhythm and took out Alex Sanborn 6-2 in the second set. This is the second time this season that Freeman has had the deciding match to give Wisconsin the win.
Freshman Ricardo Martin also played with pride at the No. 6 position. Martin won the first set in a tight 9-7 tiebreak against Eric Spector. He then polished off Spector in a swift 6-2 set to give the Badgers another win in singles play.
“It was great to be able to have a nice day. It wasn’t too windy and the sun was shining. To play great singles and get our win today against a good, solid conference team was quite promising for us,” Van Emburgh said.
Wisconsin is back in action Saturday at noon with a home match against Purdue.
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By Megan S. Kelley
Wisconsin Athletic Communications
Tennis Match Results
Northwestern vs. Wisconsin
Apr 09, 2010 at Madison, Wis.
(Nielsen Tennis Stadium)
#33 Wisconsin 5, #48 Northwestern 2
Singles competition
1. #17 Moritz Baumann (WIS) def. #84 Joshua Graves (NU) 6-1, 6-1
2. #21 Marek Michalicka (WIS) def. Sidarth Balaji (NU) 6-2, 6-3
3. Patrick Pohlmann (WIS) def. Andrew McCarthy (NU) 6-2, 6-3
4. Spencer Wolf (NU) def. Billy Bertha (WIS) 6-2, 6-2
5. Chris Freeman (WIS) def. Alex Sanborn (NU) 7-5, 6-2
6. Ricardo Martin (WIS) def. Eric Spector (NU) 7-6 (9-7), 6-2
Doubles competition
1. Marek Michalicka/Patrick Pohlmann (WIS) def. Andrew McCarthy/Tobias Reitz (NU) 8-4
2. Joshua Graves/Spencer Wolf (NU) def. Billy Bertha/Moritz Baumann (WIS) 8-4
3. Alex Sanborn/Eric Spector (NU) def. Luke Rassow-Kantor/Chris Freeman (WIS) 8-5
Match Notes:
Northwestern 9-8; National ranking #48
Wisconsin 13-6; National ranking #33
Order of finish: Doubles (1,2,3); Singles (2,1,3,4,5,6)
