Feb. 25, 2012
Final Stats
MADISON, Wis. - The Wisconsin men's tennis team dropped a 6-1 decision to border rival No. 35 Minnesota (4-3, 1-0) in the teams' first Big Ten match of the season Saturday at the Baseline Tennis Center in Minneapolis, Minn.
The loss drops the Badgers to 3-4 on the season and 0-1 in the Big Ten. It was the second time this season UW lost the doubles point, and the first time they were swept in doubles.
At No. 1 doubles Billy Bertha and Fredrik Ask lost their first match of the season, 8-5, to No. 32 Rok Bonin and Julian Dehn. The loss ended a six-match winning streak to start the season for the pair, leaving their record at 6-1 for the season.
Alexander Kostanov and Petr Satral also lost their first match of the season at No. 2 doubles to Minnesota's Phillip Arndt and Jack Hamburg, 8-5. The duo was coming off a three-match winning streak.
The Gophers swept doubles when Leandro Toledo and Juan Pablo Ramirez defeated Rod Carey and Alex Robles in a tiebreaker, 8-7 (8-6), at the No. 3 spot.
Minnesota carried over its strong play into singles earning victories at No. 5, No. 3 and No. 2 singles to clinch the match.
Ask was the only Badger able to earn a singles victory Saturday. He got off to a strong start winning the first set, 6-4, but dropped the second set, 6-1, to Phillip Arndt. In the match tiebreaker, Ask was able to win the big points and come up with a 10-7 victory to earn Wisconsin its lone point.
Quinton Vega was unable to secure his first win away from Nielsen Tennis Stadium after a 6-3, 6-2 loss to Juan Pablo Ramirez at No. 6 singles.
After being denied in the first set, Bertha rallied back to win the second set, 6-4. The Gophers' Julian Dehn elevated his play in the match tiebreaker, though, to win it, 10-7.
The Badgers return to the Nielsen Tennis Stadium next weekend to face Green Bay on Saturday, March 3 at 1 p.m. and Northern Illinois on Sunday, March 4 at 3 p.m.
FINAL RESULTS
No. 35 Minnesota 6 Wisconsin 1
DOUBLES
1. No. 32 Rok Bonin/Julian Dehn (MINN) def. Fredrik Ask/Billy Bertha (WIS) 8-5
2. Phillip Arndt/Jack Hamburg (MINN) def. Alexander Kostanov/Petr Satral (WIS) 8-5
3. Leandro Toledo/Juan Pablo Ramirez (MINN) def. Alex Robles/Rod Carey (WIS) 8-7 (6)
Order of Finish: 1,2,3
SINGLES
1. Fredrik Ask (WIS) def. Phillip Arndt (MINN) 6-4, 1-6, 1-0 (7)
2. Leandro Toledo (MINN) def. Alexander Kostanov (WIS) 6-2, 6-4
3. Rok Bonin (MINN) def. Petr Satral (WIS) 6-0, 6-1
4. Julian Dehn (MINN) def. Billy Bertha (WIS) 6-3, 4-6, 1-0 (7)
5. Jack Hamburg (MINN) def. Rod Carey (WIS) 6-3, 6-0
6. Juan Pablo Ramirez (MINN) def. Quinton Vega (WIS) 6-3, 6-2
Order of Finish: 5,3,2,1,6,4
