EVANSTON, Ill. – The No. 30 Wisconsin men's tennis team couldn't handle No. 13 Northwestern, falling 4-0 to the Wildcats on Friday evening.

"When you play against good teams like Northwestern, you get less opportunities and your mistakes are magnified," head coach Danny Westerman said. "We did a great job competing, we just lost too many big points."

The Badgers (13-2, 3-1 Big Ten) were unable to carry over the momentum from last weekend's wins, and suffered only their second loss of the season and first loss of conference play. The Badgers are now 5-2 against ranked opponents this spring.

UW fell behind early in doubles action, and despite sophomores Josef Dodridge and Lamar Remy winning the No. 1 spot, 6-3, Northwestern pulled out victories on the second and third courts to take the point. 

In singles play, Northwestern's Sam Shorpshire defeated Josef Dodridge, 6-2, 6-2. Al Horoz of the Wildcats followed suit, defeating sophomore Chema Carranza, 6-2, 6-4 at the No. 5 spot. Junior John Zordani fell at the No. 6 spot, 6-2, 7-6, sealing the win for Northwestern.

Though disappointed, Wisconsin is turning its attention to Sunday's match against No. 15 Illinois. The resilient Badgers are no stranger to tough competition, and won't shy away from a tough Fighting Illini team.

"I know we will learn and feel more comfortable in these situations going forward." said Westerman.

Match time on Sunday is set for 2 p.m. (CT) at the Atkins Tennis Center in Urbana-Champaign, Illinois.

Results – Apr. 1

MEN'S SINGLES:

1. Sam Shropshire (NU) [#42] def. Josef Dodridge (UW), 6-2, 6-2

2. Konrad Zieba (NU) [#13] vs. Alexander Kokorev (UW), 6-3, 5-4, unfinished

3. Lamar Remy (UW) vs. Strong Kirchheimer, (NU), 6-4, 2-6, unfinished

4. Fedor Baev (UW) vs. Osgar O'Hoisin (UW), 7-6 (8-6), 5-2, unfinished

5. Alp Horoz (NU) def. Chema Carranza (UW), 6-2, 6-4

6. Ben Vandixhorn (NU) def. John Zordani (UW), 6-2, 7-6 (7-3)

MEN'S DOUBLES:

1. Dodridge/Remy (UW) def. Baev/Kirchheimer (NU), 6-3

2. Zieba/Shropshire (NU) def. Carranza/Jalalov (UW), 6-3

3. Horoz/Kumar (NU) def. Mackenzie/Zordani (UW), 6-4

Order of finish: Doubles (1,2,3); Singles (1,5,6)