MADISON, Wis. – It was an up and down match for the Badgers as they hosted No. 56 Minnesota in their Big Ten opener Friday night at Nielsen Tennis Stadium. UW had its chances but just couldn't quite close it out.  

The Badgers got off to a fast start on the doubles courts as Kelsey Grambeau and Lauren Burich made quick work of Mehvish Safdar and Caitlyn Merzbacher, 6-2. In addition, UW led 3-2 on court one and 4-1 on court two, but unfortunately, the Gophers came storming back.  

After coming back to win the match on court one, it came down to the match on court two. After Ekaterina Stepanova and Sydney Rider got out to a quick 4-1 lead, Caroline Ryba and AnnMarie Emme turned on the jets to force a 7-point tiebreaker at 6-all. After a back and forth tiebreaker, Ryba and Emme came out on top to win the match 7-6 (10-8), giving the Gophers a 1-0 lead heading into singles action.

"We blew some match points in doubles today," said head coach Tina Samara. "But before the match points we had two matches where we were up 4-1 and 4-2 but when we can't finish a six game set up 4-2 and 4-1 you've got to be able to finish. It wasn't because the other team turned it around and started playing great it was because we couldn't close door."

It was a similar storyline on the singles courts. The Badgers got off to a quick start by taking the first three sets. The Badgers were led by freshman, Kendall Kirsch, who didn't need much time to take down Paula Rincon-Otero, 6-4, 6-3. In addition, Burich battled back after dropping the first set to win the match, 2-6, 7-6, 6-3 (13-11). Burich is now 3-0 in the No. 6 slot this season.

However, the two victories were all the Badgers were able to muster as they fell on the remaining four courts.  

Lauren Chypyha suffered her first loss of the season at the hands of Caroline Ryba, 7-6, 7-5 (7-4). Ranked No. 44 in the nation, Chypyha now moves to 4-1 on the season. 

"In singles, I didn't feel like we came out trying to get revenge for the doubles," added Samara. "We looked very tentative and afraid. We weren't ready to battle and that's something as coaches we're going to do everything we can to fix."

The Badgers will be back in action on Sunday, Feb. 28, as they host No. 66 Utah. The match is set to begin at 10 a.m. (CT).  

Results
Minnesota 5, Wisconsin 2
Doubles  
1. Otero/Emme (MINN) def. Lauren Chypyha / Kendall Kirsch (UW), 6-4
2. Ryba/Courter (MINN) def. Ekaterina Stepanova / Sydney Rider (UW), 7-6 (10-8)  
3. Kelsey Grambeau / Lauren Burich (UW) def. Safdar/Merzbacher (MINN), 6-2
 
Singles
1. Caroline Ryba (MINN) def. No. 44 Lauren Chypyha (UW), 7-6 (7-4), 7-5
2. Julia Courter (MINN) def. Ekaterina Stepanova (UW), 2-6, 6-2, 6-4
3. Kendall Kirsch (UW) def. Paula Rincon-Otero (MINN), 6-4, 6-3
4. Jessika Mozia (MINN) def. Kelsey Grambeau (UW), 2-6, 6-4, 6-2
5. AnneMarie Emme (MINN) def. Maria Avgerinos (UW), 6-3, 6-0
6. Lauren Burich (UW) def. Camila Vargas Gomez (MINN), 2-6, 7-6 (13-11), 6-3