Complete Results
FOX POINT, Wis. -- The UW men's tennis team closed out tournament play at the Milwaukee Tennis Classic on Sundaywith a 4-2 win over host school Marquette and a 2-1 doubles victory over Ball State.
With a perfect 3-0 record, Chema Carranza finished off a terrific weekend as the MTC's men's single champion and was followed up by fellow teammate and freshman Chase Colton, who also went 3-0 in singles action. Coincidentally, the duo of Carranza and Colton also made a formidable duo, cleaning up as men's doubles champions as well.
Carranza dominated in his match vs. Marquette's Mackenzie Stearns, winning 7-5, 6-0. Chase Colton followed suit, winning over Alvaro Verdu, 6-3, 6-3 in straight sets.
"I was on his court for much of the time today," said assistant coach Scoville Jenkins on Colton. "He was playing number one singles and I was just very impressed with how comfortable he was. It was nice to see he could adjust so well to different game plans. It was great to see and exciting to watch."
Also claiming victories in the men's singles pool were freshman Daniel Soyfer and junior Elliott Sprecher, winning 5-7, 7-5, 6-3 and 6-3, 6-3, respectively.
In doubles action, Carranza and Colton claimed their hardware with a tight win over Ball States' Lucas Anderson and Andrew Stutz, 7-6. Senior John Zordani and Sprecher also picked up a win on the doubles court over Patrick Downs and Conner Anderson, 7-5.
The Badgers head into the week focused on repitition and mental toughness.
"We'd like to improve a lot on serves and returns, also some movement stuff", Jenkins added. "I think we showed some toughness but we need to get even tougher. We need to handle adversity much better when we're not playing our best."
The Badgers are back in action on Friday, Sept. 23 when they continue the fall season at the Ivy Plus individual play tournament in Princeton, New Jersey.
Results - Sunday, Sept. 18, 2016
Men's Singles: Marquette vs. Wisconsin
Colton (UW) def. Verdu (MU), 6-3, 6-3
Carranza (UW) def. Stearns (MU), 7-5, 6-0
Dykema (MU) def. Zordani (UW), 6-2, 1-6, 6-4
Soyfer (UW) def. Anderson (MU), 5-7, 7-5, 6-3
Sprecher (UW) def. Romanello (MU), 6-3, 6-3
Smrek (MU) def. Sweet (UW), 6-4, 6-7, 6-4
Men's Doubles: Wisconsin vs. Ball State
Carranza/Colton (UW) def. L. Anderson/Stutz (BSU), 7-6
Zordani/Sprecher (UW) def. Downs/C. Anderson (BSU), 7-5
M. Guzina/N. Guzina (BSU) def. Sweet/Soyfer (UW), 6-2
Saturday, Sept. 17
FOX POINT, Wis. -- The Badgers continued their strong start to the season on day two of the Milwaukee Tennis Classic, dominating Ball State 6-1 in singles and sweeping Navy 3-0 in doubles.
"Today was a little tougher than yesterday," said assistant coach Scoville Jenkins. "A lot of guys were tested today and that's good. You always want that good competition in a tournament."
In singles, freshman Chase Colton picked up his second collegiate win over Andrew Stutz, 6-3, 6-3.
"I was really happy with Chase's intensity on the court and his willingness to be aggressive," recanted Jenkins. "Sometimes he's a little passive."
Battling to hard-fought wins in three sets were junior Chema Carranza and sophomore Alan Sweet, who picked up wins 6-7, 6-3, 6-2, and 6-7, 6-1, 6-3, respectively. Darius Mackenzie also went the distance, defeating Nemanja Guzina 7-5, 2-6, 7-5.
Senior John Zordani bested Ball State's Marko Guzina in two sets, 6-4, 6-1. Also gathering a two-set victory was freshman Daniel Soyfer who won 7-5, 6-3, over Patrick Downs.
Elliott Sprecher was UW's only loss of the afternoon, narrowly falling 7-6, 7-6 to Conner Anderson in two sets. Despite the loss, there were many positives to be taken away from his match.
"I was really proud of Elliott as he's really been working hard on being more aggressive because he's not used to it," said Jenkins. "It didn't work as well today but he stayed with it knowing it's the right thing."
In doubles, Carranza and Colton combined to beat Navy's Thomas Pecor and Andre Majkic, 6-2. Zordani and Sprecher followed suit, winning 6-4 over Krishna Jana and Greg Durham. Soyfer and Sweet closed out doubles action for the Badgers, shutting out Ian Landwehr and Cam Kirkpatrick, 6-0.
The Milwaukee Tennis Classic wraps up play on Sunday as the Badgers take to the doubles courts at 9 a.m. against Ball State and finish out the weekend in singles against Marquette at 1 p.m.
"We play Marquette tomorrow," Jenkins added. "The guys will probably be pretty sore with their long matches today, so I'm just hoping they can stay mentally tough and show how strong we are."
Results - Saturday, Sep. 17, 2016
Men's Singles: Ball State vs. Wisconsin
Carranza (UW) def. L. Anderson (BSU), 6-7, 6-3, 6-2
Colton (UW) def. Stutz (BSU), 6-3, 6-3
Zordani (UW) def. M. Guzina (BSU), 6-4, 6-1
Mackenzie (UW) def. N. Guzina (BSU), 7-5, 2-6, 7-5
Soyfer (UW) def. Downs (BSU), 7-5, 6-3
C. Anderson (BSU) def. Sprecher (UW), 7-6, 7-6
Sweet (UW) def. Carney (BSU), 6-7, 6-1, 6-3
Men's Doubles: Navy vs. Wisconsin
Carranza/Colton (UW) def. Pecor/Majkic (Navy), 6-2
Zordani/Sprecher (UW) def. Jana/Durham (Navy), 6-4
Soyfer/Sweet (UW) def. Landwehr/Kirkpatrick (Navy), 6-0
Friday, Sept. 16
FOX POINT, Wis. -- The Wisconsin men's tennis team kicked off the 2016-17 fall season in style on the opening day of the Milwaukee Tennis Classic with dominating performances in both singles and doubles.
Friday competition on the clay courts at The Town Club in Fox Point, Wisconsin, led the Badgers to an undefeated record, winning 7-0 over Navy in singles and 3-0 over Marquette in doubles.
"I thought today went well," UW assistant coach
Scoville Jenkins said. "For a lot of these guys, it was their first collegiate match since either the summer or last year. There were a lot of nerves and tension but they played well. I was very pleased."
Junior
Chema Carranza led the charge in men's singles, fostering a 6-1, 6-3 win over Navy's Thomas Pecor. Freshman
Daniel Soyfer gathered his first collegiate win, fighting from behind to beat Greg Durnham of Navy 5-7, 7-6 (4), 6-0.
"Today was Daniel's first collegiate tennis match," Jenkins added. "He came out really nervous and wasn't playing his best or how he'd like to be playing. He lost his first set and was down in the second but he fought through and ended up winning 6-0 in the third set. It showed a lot of resilience to not be playing his best and continue to show that determination and heart. It was very exciting to watch."
Freshman
Chase Colton also saw his first collegiate action, recording a convincing 6-1, 6-3 win over Krishna Jana.
In other singles action, senior
John Zordani and junior
Darius Mackenzie picked up wins over Andre Majkik and Josh Martin, 6-2, 6-1 and 6-1, 6-4, respectively. Badgers junior
Elliott Sprecher bested Cam Kirkpatrick, 6-2, 6-2, and sophomore
Alan Sweet surrendered a single point in his 6-0, 6-1 win over Ian Landwehr.
In doubles, Carranza and Colton combined to outlast Marquette's Mackenzie Stearns and Nick Dykema with a 7-6 (4) win. Zordani and Mackenzie followed suit, beating Alvaro Verdu and Luke Smrek 6-3. Soyfer and Sweet completed the sweep over Marquette, shutting out Greg Anderson and Andre Romanello, 6-0.
The Badgers continue action at the Milwaukee Tennis Classic on Saturday, where they will face Ball State in singles at 9 a.m. followed by doubles matches against Navy at 11 a.m.
