COLUMBUS, Ohio. – The No. 29-ranked Badgers (15-5, 6-3) faced their toughest challenge of the season Sunday afternoon in Columbus, Ohio, taking on perennial powerhouse and No. 2-ranked Ohio State (24-3, 9-0). The Badgers fell 6-1 to the Buckeyes in the overall team score but a much different story was on display than the picture the final score paints.
"Our guys competed hard like they always do," head coach
Danny Westerman said after the match. "There we're opportunities out there in singles that just didn't go our way. This is great motivation for the guys to understand what it takes to be at the top of college tennis."
In doubles, junior
Lamar Remy and freshman
Daniel Soyfer paired up for the first time this season against the highly-touted and No. 26th-ranked pair of Martin Joyce and Hugo Di Feo and fell, 6-0.
At the No. 3 doubles position, senior
John Zordani and sophomore
Osgar O'Hoisin fell to OSU's Hunter Tubert and JJ Wolf, 6-2.
It was just the third time the Badgers have lost the doubles point this season.
It's always tough to bounce back and win four matches after dropping the doubles point but the Badgers sure gave it their best effort against a lineup full of nationally-ranked Buckeyes. After falling behind 3-0 in the team score after Ohio State won at the No. 1 and 3 spots, the Badgers had a small window of opportunity.
O'Hoisin was the lone Badger to tally a win on Sunday afternoon. After getting handed a 6-0 first-set loss, the sophomore turned a new leaf in the final two sets. O'Hoisin dominated, 6-2, 6-3, in the second and third sets, respectively, to claim the singles win over OSU's Kyle Seelig. O'Hoisin moves to 13-6 in the dual season.
Juniors
Chema Carranza, Joe Dodridge, and senior Zordani were all battling in extremely tight matches.
At the No. 2 spot, Dodridge fought No. 65 JJ Wolf to a three-set thriller. The junior claimed the first set, 6-4, before losing a tight second set, 7-5. In the 10-point tie-break to decide the dual, Dodridge and Wolf traded back and forth before Wolf took the final 3 points to win over Dodridge, 9-7.
After losing the first set 6-4, Carranza battled back in the second set and took a 3-2 lead over the seventh-ranked player in the country, Hugo Di Feo. But Di Feo closed out the match strong and earned a 6-4, second-set win to claim the match.
In the last match to finish, Zordani played a classic that was so close to tipping in his favor. The senior collected a first-set win over OSU's Joyce, 7-6 (8-6), but fell 6-1 in the second set. In an epic 10-point tie-break, Zordani and Joyce battled back-and-forth to 11 before the Buckeye collected the final two points of the match for a 13-11 third-set win.
In the end, the Buckeyes won tight matches late to beat a very evenly-matched Wisconsin team.
"We need another great week of practice and we need to keep improving."
The Badgers are back in action on Friday, when they take on the Indiana Hoosiers at home. The match will be played at the Nielsen Tennis Stadium at 1 p.m. (CT).
Sunday, April 17
Doubles
#9 Torpegaard/Pollanen (OSU) vs. Dodridge/Carranza (UW), 5-3, unfinished
#26 Joyce/Di Feo (OSU) def. Remy/Soyfer (UW), 6-0
Hunter Tubert/Wolf (OSU) def. Zordani/O'Hoisin (UW), 6-2
Singles
#1 Mikael Torpegaard (OSU) def.
Lamar Remy (UW), 6-3, 6-0
#65 JJ Wolf (OSU) def.
Josef Dodridge (UW), 4-6, 7-5, 9-7
#7 Hugo Di Feo (OSU) def.
Chema Carranza (UW), 6-4, 6-4
Osgar O'Hoisin (UW) def. Kyle Seelig (OSU), 0-6, 6-2, 6-3
#108 Herkko Pollanen (OSU) def.
Daniel Soyfer (UW), 6-1, 6-4
Martin Joyce (OSU) def.
John Zordani (UW), 6-7, 6-1, 13-11
