Feb. 7, 2015
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MADISON, Wis. - Despite playing a young lineup consisting of four freshmen, the Wisconsin men's tennis team proved it could contend with some of the nation's best, including Big Ten foe and border rival No. 33 Minnesota. The Badgers ultimately dropped Saturday's competitive match at Nielsen Tennis Stadium, 4-1, but challenged on every court.
"I thought overall we competed well today," said head coach Greg Van Emburgh. "I was really proud of the guys and the way they fought."
UW opened the dual with an extremely strong doubles showing, despite losing the point to the Gophers. Wisconsin got out to a quick start against Minnesota and led on all three courts for a majority of play.
The doubles team of Alexander Kokorev and Jakhongir Jalalov had their chance at two match points, but were unable to finish out the even battle and ended in a 6-6 tie.
Leading the way for the Badgers in singles play was freshman newcomer Lamar Remy. Remy improved to 3-1 on the season by securing the lone victory for UW after sweeping Minnesota's Jack Hamburg, 6-3, 6-3.
"I think Lamar Remy did an unbelievable job as a freshman at No. 2 singles to step up and beat a senior, especially one of their key players over the last three years," said Van Emburgh. "That was really unbelievable to see."
At No. 1 singles, Kokorev battled through a back-and-forth match but could not overcome No. 17 Leondro Toledo and fell by a score of 6-3, 6-4. Freshman Darius Mackenzie also put up a good fight but dropped his match to No. 107 Matic Spec, 6-3, 6-4.
Fellow Badger newcomer Josef Dodridge took both of his sets into a tiebreak with No. 117 Felix Corwin, but he couldn't pull out the win for UW and was overcome 7-6 (7-1), 7-6 (7-2).
Despite being unable to finish their matches, Jalalov and Tomas Pitra both competed into the third set against their respective Gopher opponents.
Van Emburgh was impressed with Pitra's match, which was his first competition this season as well as his first as a Badger.
"I'm proud of Tomas. He played his first match in a very long time and had match points against probably one of the best No. 6 singles players in the conference."
The Badgers will return to action against No. 16 Notre Dame tomorrow, Sunday, at 5 p.m. (CT) in South Bend, Indiana. As Van Emburgh explained, the team remains excited for the opportunity to compete and improve with every match.
"I think we are looking forward to the season, and I think the guys are understanding where the level is at which they can compete. I'm proud of them for that."
Results - Saturday, Feb. 7
No. 33 Minnesota def. Wisconsin, 4-1
Men's Doubles
1. Alexander Kokorev/Jakhongir Jalalov vs. Mathieu Froment/Jack Hamburg, DNF, 6-6 (3-3)
2. No. 58 Leondro Toledo/Felix Corwin def. Josef Dodridge/Jose Carranza, 7-5
3. Matic Spec/Eric Frueh def. Lamar Remy/Darius Mackenzie, 7-6 (7-3)
Men's Singles
1. No. 17 Leondro Toledo def. Alexander Kokorev, 6-3, 6-4
2. Lamar Remy def. Jack Hamburg, 6-3, 6-3
3. Jakhongir Jalalov vs. Ruben Weber, DNF, 7-5, 4-6, 1-3
4. No. 107 Matic Spec def. Darius Mackenzie, 6-3, 6-4
5. No. 117 Felix Corwin def. Josef Dodridge, 7-6 (7-1), 7-6 (7-2)
6. Tomas Pitra vs. Mathieu Froment, DNF, 6-0, 6-7 (5-7), 1-1
