STANFORD, Calif. – The No. 35 Wisconsin women's tennis team saw its historic season draw to a close on Saturday as the Badgers fell 4-2 to No. 31 Syracuse in the first round of the 2019 NCAA Women's Tennis Championship. 

Making their first NCAA tournament appearance since 2005, the Badgers (18-6) fell down 1-0 after dropping the doubles point to the Orange (14-12). 
 
Wisconsin  (18-6) fought back, picking up wins on the No. 1 and No. 2 courts in singles play. Sara Castellano, who earned All-Big Ten honors on Thursday, defeated Syracuse's Gabriela Knutson, the No. 14 player in the country, marking her seventh win over a ranked opponent, and Lexi Keberle quickly followed with a straight-set victory over Sofya Golubovskaya at No. 2 singles. 
 
Melissa Pick and Anna Makarova both suffered losses, giving Syracuse a 3-2 lead before it eventually sealed the victory after Ava Markham dropped her match at No. 4 singles. 

It marked the end of a magical season as UW finished runner-up in the Big Ten Conference, its highest finish since 2002, while its nine conference wins were the most since 2002. In addition, the Badgers' 18 overall wins this year were the most since the 1997 season. 
 
May 4, 2019
Taube Family Tennis Center
Stanford, California
No. 31 Syracuse 4, No. 35 Wisconsin 2
 
Singles results
No. 88 Sara Castellano (WIS) def. No. 14 Gabriela Knutson (SYR) 6-3, 6-2
Lexi Keberle (WIS) def. Sofya Golubovskaya (SYR) 6-1, 6-3
No. 99 Miranda Ramirez (SYR) def. Anna Makarova (WIS) 3-6, 6-3, 6-3
Guzal Yusupova (SYR) def. Ava Markham (WIS) 7-6 (5), 6-1
MaryAnn Rompf (WIS) vs. Libi Mesh (SYR) 0-6, 6-3, 5-4, unfinished
Dina Hegab (SYR) def. Melissa Pick (WIS) 6-1, 6-2
 
Doubles results
No. 55 Knutson and Ramirez (SYR) def. Keberle and Makarova (WIS) 6-1
No. 81 Golubovskaya and Treshcheva (SYR) def. Markham and Pick (WIS) 6-1
Hegab and Yusupova (SYR) vs. Castellano and Zordani (WIS) 4-2, unfinished