A look back at the 2009-10 season
June 22, 2010 | Men's Tennis
June 22, 2010
MADISON, Wis. - The Badgers recorded their most successful season in program history under head coach Greg Van Emburgh in 2009-10. UWBadgers.com takes a look back at Wisconsin's NCAA Sweet 16 season, highlighted by the team's 21 wins and the longest postseason run in program history led by two All-Big Ten honorees.
Wisconsin earned its fourth-straight berth to the NCAA tennis championships, competing in the NCAA team competition for the sixth time in program history as the squad received one of 33 at-large bids.
The Badgers took out No. 39 Notre Dame in the first round before ousting Big Ten foe No. 13 Illinois in the second round, earning the team a place in the round of 16 for the first time in program history. The Badgers' thrilling postseason run came to an end at the hands of No. 4 Ohio State when the Buckeyes defeated UW 4-0 in the Sweet 16 in Athens, Ga.
In addition to participating in the team championships, UW sent two athletes to the NCAA singles and doubles championships for the second straight season. Senior Moritz Baumann and junior Marek Michalicka were selected by the NCAA as at-large selections to compete in both the singles and doubles championships. Baumann made his third consecutive NCAA singles appearance but fell to No. 4-ranked Guillermo Gomez of Georgia Tech in a tough, three-set loss in the opening round.
Meanwhile, in his second NCAA singles championship appearance, Michalicka knocked off No. 17-ranked Raony Carvalho of Texas Tech to advance to the second round for the first time in his career. Michalicka fell to No. 15-ranked Dene Lukacs of Baylor in the second round. Michalicka's second round finish ended in straight sets, 6-2, 6-3.
Michalicka and Baumann also made their first career appearances in the NCAA doubles championship. The duo, then ranked No. 15, took on the overall No. 1 seed in Duke's Henrique Cunha and Reid Carleto. The top-ranked pair knocked off the Badgers in straight sets 6-3, 7-5 to bring Wisconsin's season to an end.
The Badgers concluded the season with a 21-9 overall record. UW's 21 wins marks only the sixth 20-win season in program history and the first since 1990. Wisconsin was just one win shy of the program-record 22 wins set in 1977 and 1978. Of Wisconsin's nine losses this year, four were decided by one match.
The Badgers defeated 13 ranked teams during the spring, including then-No. 13 Florida State in the opening match at the ITA Kick-off weekend and No. 13 Illinois in the second round of the NCAA championships. UW went 13-9 against ranked opponents.
After opening the season ranked No. 32 in the nation, the Badgers boasted their highest season-ending national ranking in program history at No. 23. Baumann concluded his career ranked No. 26 in the nation, while Michalicka finished the season as No. 25 in the nation. As a doubles pair, the duo ranked No. 21.
The Big Ten Conference recognized the accomplishments of Baumann and Michalicka in naming the duo to the All-Big Ten Team. Baumann became the first Badger in UW history to be a four-time All-Big Ten honoree and the 22nd all-time in the Big Ten. Michalicka, the 2008 Big Ten freshman of the year, is also a repeat honoree, earning All-Big Ten honors in 2009. Both Baumann and Michalicka were unanimous selections this season.
Michalicka was also honored as an Academic All-Big Ten honoree. He joined sophomore Patrick Pohlmann in receiving the conference's academic award. Senior Michael Dierberger was named the team's Big Ten Sportsmanship honoree.
Wisconsin went 18-4 when winning the doubles point this season. The Badgers lost eight doubles points, going 3-5 in those matches. Doubles partners Pohlmann and Dierberger closed the season with nine straight doubles victories, dating back to a match against Purdue on April 10. The streak included wins over teams from then-No. 4 Ohio State, No. 13 Illinois, No. 32 Minnesota, No. 74 Penn State and No. 39 Notre Dame.
As a team, the Badgers rode a nine-match home win streak to open the 2010 season before falling to then-No. 11 Illinois by a score of 4-3. UW then won seven straight matches at Nielsen Tennis Stadium but fell to then-No. 4 Ohio State in the regular season finale to compile a 13-2 home record.
Wisconsin also had a five-match win streak in Big Ten play from April 9-23, collecting victories over No. 48 Northwestern, Purdue, No. 72 Iowa, No. 37 Minnesota and Penn State.
After such a successful campaign in 2009-10, the Badgers will look to pick up where they left off and continue carrying the UW tennis program to new heights in the 2010-11 season.
