EAST LANSING, Mich. – When the Badgers faced the Gophers, then ranked No. 56, back in February, there wasn't a whole lot to celebrate. UW lost a close doubles point and struggled to maintain any leads they had on the singles courts. Ultimately, Wisconsin fell 5-2 in its Big Ten opener.

Fast forward to Friday morning when Wisconsin (9-13, 6-6) and Minnesota (13-12, 5-7) squared off in East Lansing, Michigan for the first round of the 2016 Big Ten Tournament. The Badgers, who haven't won a Big Ten Tournament match since 2010, had much to celebrate as they knocked off the Gophers, 4-1 to advance to the second round. In addition, the victory marked the Badgers' first win over their border-rival since 2011.

"I'm just very proud of this group," said head coach Tina Samara. "Like I've said before, we put them through a really tough schedule this year and they could've easily given up. Instead, they took the hits and are better because of it."

Unlike February, the Badgers couldn't have asked for a better start as they won the first two doubles matches to take a 1-0 lead.

Seniors, Lauren Chypyha and Lauren Burich led the way with a 6-3 victory over Paula Rincon-Otero and Camila Vargas Gomez. Ekaterina Stepanova and Sydney Rider followed suit with a 6-4 victory over Caroline Ryba and Annemarie Emme to clinch the doubles point.

In addition, Kelsey Grambeau and Kendall Kirsch led Mehvish Safdar and Caitlyn Merzbacher, 5-4, but abandoned their match when Wisconsin clinched the doubles point.

With today's win, the Badgers are now 8-0 on the year when they win the doubles point.

With a 1-0 lead, the Badgers turned to the singles courts to try and close out the match.

No. 92 Stepanova, who has helped the Badgers win five of their last six matches, continued her dominating stretch as she won her eighth-straight Big Ten match with a 6-2, 6-2 victory over Rincon-Otero. Kirsch added to the lead with a 6-3, 6-3 victory over Jessika Mozia.

The Gophers got one back, however, as Emme knocked off Maria Avgerinos, 6-4, 6-3.

That was all the Gophers could pick up though as Rider followed by clinching the 4-1 victory for the Badgers with a 7-6, 6-4 (3) win over Vargas Gomez.

In addition, Burich held a 6-4, 6-5 lead over Maja Vujic when her match was abandoned while 56th-ranked Chypyha was in a tight match with Ryba at 4-6, 6-4, 1-3 at the conclusion of the match.

"We're getting help from every single player on this team and that's what good teams do," added Samara. "Tomorrow is a great opportunity to play one of the best programs in the country. We're excited to see what we can do."

The second round will begin tomorrow morning at 9 a.m. (CT) as the Badgers take on Ohio State. The Buckeyes enter the match as the top-seed in the Big Ten tournament and are the fifth ranked team in the country. Ohio State knocked off the Badgers 7-0 in their only matchup this year.  

Results
Wisconsin 4 - Minnesota 1
Doubles
1. Chypyha/Burich (UW) def. Rincon-Otero/Gomez (MINN), 6-3
2. Stepanova/Rider (UW) def. Ryba/Emme (MINN), 6-4
3. Grambeau/Kirsch (UW) vs. Safdar/Merzbacher (MINN), unfinished

Singles
1. No. 56 Lauren Chypyha (UW) vs. Caroline Ryba (MINN), 4-6, 6-4, 1-3, unfinished
2. No. 92 Ekaterina Stepanova (UW) def. Paula Rincon-Otero (MINN) 6-2, 6-2
3. Annemarie Emme (MINN) def. Maria Avgerinos (UW), 6-4, 6-3
4. Kendall Kirsch (UW) def. Jessika Mozia (MINN), 6-3, 6-3
5. Sydney Rider (UW) def. Camila Vargas Gomez (MINN), 7-6, 6-4 (3)
6. Lauren Burich (UW) vs. Maja Vujic (MINN), 6-4, 6-5, unfinished