MADISON, Wis. – The Wisconsin men's tennis team suffered its first loss of the season Friday evening, falling 5-2 at the hands of a tough No. 8 TCU team at Nielsen Tennis Stadium.

"It's the first time all year we've lost, and I think we saw some things that are very obvious that we can work on," said head coach Danny Westerman. "The other teams we've played all year, our best shots were good enough. Against a team like this, you've got to hit three or four good shots to win a play and we weren't quite ready to do that. And that's why TCU is as good as they are -- they're able to withstand our good shots and play their best tennis."

Though no longer perfect, the No. 36 Badgers (6-1) have already accrued the best season start since 1990 as well as their highest national ranking since 2011.

Wisconsin gained momentum during doubles play in front of an electric crowd as UW jumped ahead early, claiming the overall doubles point after a strong outing by Lamar Remy and Josef Dodridge at the No. 1 slot. The sophomore duo defeated Cam Norrie and Trevor Johnson, 6-3. Senior Johnnie Jalalov and sophomore Chema Carranza secured the overall point after dispatching Hudson Blake and Reese Stalder, 6-4.

"The match started out great, we were playing great doubles and I felt like the home crowd and our energy was able to come through in that fast-paced doubles set," Westerman said. "In singles, I felt like we tried to do a little too much. I thought we over-respected them a little bit."

In singles play, the Badgers battled hard but couldn't overcome a talented TCU lineup that featured four ranked players, including three in the top 50. Senior Alexander Kokorev had perhaps the toughest draw of the night facing the nation's No. 2 player, Cam Norrie. Kokorev fell 6-2 in the first set, but battled in the second frame before falling 7-5.

Chema Carranza collected the lone singles win for Wisconsin, bouncing back from an opening-set loss and taking his match in three sets. After back from a second-set deficit, Carranza won, 4-6, 6-3, 10-8.

"Everyone needed to take a page out of Chema's book today," said Westerman. "He walked onto the court and he played his game. He wasn't too intimidated out there, he played his tennis, and when he had a chance to come to the net and end a point, he did. So the team can learn from him tonight."

The Badgers look to bounce back tomorrow evening as they host in-state rival Marquette at Nielsen Tennis Stadium. Match time is set for 6 p.m. (CT) and admission is free.

Results – February 26

Men's Singles:

1. #24 Alex Rybakov (TCU) def. Josef Dodridge (UW), 6-1, 6-2

2. #2 Cameron Norrie (TCU) def. Alexander Kokorev (UW), 6-1, 7-5

3. #49 Guillermo Nunez (TCU) def. Lamar Remy (UW), 6-2, 6-0

4. #99 Eduardo Nava (TCU) def. Osgar O'Hosin (UW), 6-2, 6-2

5. Jerry Lopez (TCU) def. Darius Mackenzie (UW), 6-2, 6-1

6. Chema Carranza (UW) def. Trevor Johnson (TCU), 4-6, 6-3, 10-8

Men's Doubles:

1. Dodridge/Remy (UW) def. Norrie/Johnson (TCU), 6-3

2. Jalalov/Carranza (UW) def. Blake/Stalder (TCU), 6-4

3. Nunez/Rybakov (TCU) def. Kokorev/Mackenzie (UW), 6-4