MADISON, Wis. - The Badgers showed a lot of resilience Friday night, but in the end, 10th-ranked Texas Tech was too much to handle as they knocked off the Badgers, 4-1, Friday at Nielsen Tennis Stadium.

UW got off to a slow start as their recent struggles on the doubles courts continued. Texas Tech picked up two quick victories to win the doubles point and take a 1-0 lead heading into singles.

"One thing we definitely need to keep working on is the doubles," stated head coach Tina Samara. "We need to try and steal the doubles point which would make the singles a little bit easier to handle. In the last few matches we've been close to taking four courts in singles but unfortunately that's such a tough uphill battle, especially against programs that are this good. So to pick up that doubles point would make it a lot easier for us."
 
The Badgers picked it up on the singles courts as they began showing signs of fight and resilience against this talented Texas Tech squad who participated in last week's ITA Indoor Championship. Ekaterina Stepanova got the ball rolling for the Badgers by picking up her third victory of the spring after knocking off Lynn Kiro, 6-4, 6-2 at No. 2. Freshman, Kendall Kirsch, dropped the first set to Sarah Dvorak and trailed 5-0 in the second set but showed a lot of grit to eventually take the lead 6-5 in the second set, until ultimately falling 6-3, 7-6.
 
In addition, Lauren Chypyha, who jumped to No. 32 in this week's ITA rankings, once again had a ranked opponent hanging by a thread. The senior closed out a 6-2 first set  and was tied 6-6 in the second frame before the match was abandoned as the Red Raiders picked up their fourth and final point to win the match 4-1.
 
"One thing I think we did way better today was showing grit," added Samara. "Kendall lost her first set and was down 5-0 in the second and fought back to make it 6-5. I think if we do that at every spot going forward we'll turn some of these matches around. I think we just need to make sure that starts with the first point not after a set is over. Against such a good opponent, it's so important to have a good start so hopefully we can do a better job of that on Sunday and moving forward after that."
 
The Badgers will look to get back on track as Tulane makes a visit to Nielsen on Sunday, Feb. 14. The match is set to begin at 10 a.m.
 
Results
Friday, February 12, 2016
Wisconsin 1 – Texas Tech 4
Doubles
1. Lauren Chypyha / Kendall Kirsch (UW) vs. Kiro / Talaba (TT), 4-4 unfinished
2. Valenstein / Dvorak (TT) def. Ekaterina Stepanova / Sydney Rider (UW), 6-2
3. Maltby / Federici (TT) def. Lauren Burich / Kelsey Grambeau (UW), 6-1
 
Singles
1. #32 Lauren Chypyha (UW) vs. #80 Gabriela Talaba (TT), 6-2, 6-6, unfinished
2. Ekaterina Stepanova (UW) def. Lynn Kiro (TT), 6-4, 6-2
3. Sarah Dvorak (TT) def. Kendall Kirsch (UW), 6-3, 7-5
4. Alex Valenstein (TT) def. Maria Avgerinos (UW), 6-3, 6-4
5. Sabrina Federici (TT) def. Lauren Burich (UW), 6-2, 6-2
6. Kelsey Grambeau (UW) vs. Felicity (TT), 5-7, 2-4, unfinished