EAST LANSING Mich. -- The Wisconsin men's tennis team crushed its dual match against Michigan State on Sunday, scoring a 7-0 victory for its first Big Ten win of the season.
The Badgers (1-2) put themselves out front by winning the doubles point. Gabriel Huber and Robin Parts were the first pair to defeat Michigan State's Nick William's and Kazuki Matsuno, 6-3. Lenard Soha and Mihailo Popovic then clinched the doubles point by winning their match, 7-5.
In singles play, the Badgers locked in straight-set wins in five of their six matches. Huber and Parts were the first to defeat their Spartan opponents and Jared Pratt then clinched the win for UW by defeating Michigan State's Anthony Pero 7-5, 6-3. Jesper Freimuth followed Pratt's win by defeating Graydon Lair 6-3, 7-5, while Robert Krill rounded out the group of straight-set winners by winning his match against Luke Baylis 7-5, 7-6.
After Josh Mukherjee took the first set 7-6, Soha rallied for a 6-3 win in the second and then claimed the tiebreak, 10-8, to take the match.
Straight From the Courts
Head coach Danny Westerman: "I'm extremely pleased with the efforts today. We knew MSU would feel confident on their own courts after a good win yesterday (over Minnesota). It's never easy to win on the road, especially winning the doubles point on visiting courts. We had to step up in tight situations in doubles and I was very happy with that. Then the guys never let up in the singles. They were hungry to win every point. We have a very deep team and we will call on different guys depending on the week. I am very impressed with the way our team is handling that strength of ours. We will need everyone ready to contribute every single week."
Up Next
Wisconsin hosts Illinois on Friday at Nielsen Tennis Stadium in its first home dual match of the season.
Wisconsin 7, Michigan State 0
Doubles Results
1. Williams, Nick/Matsuno, Kazuki (MSU) def. Tim Dzhurinskiy/Jared Pratt (WIS) 6-3
2. Gabriel Huber/Robin Parts (WIS) def. Lair, Graydon/Campbell, Jarreau (MSU) 6-3
3. Lenard Soha/Mihailo Popovic (WIS) def. Crocker, Reed/Mukherjee, Josh (MSU) 7-5
Singles Results
1. Lenard Soha (WIS) def. Mukherjee, Josh (MSU) 6-7 (1-7), 6-3, 1-0 (10-8)
2. Gabriel Huber (WIS) def. Williams, Nick (MSU) 6-2, 6-1
3. Robin Parts (WIS) def. Gates, Carson (MSU) 6-3, 6-2
4. Jared Pratt (WIS) def. Pero, Anthony (MSU) 7-5, 6-3
5. Jesper Freimuth (WIS) def. Lair, Graydon (MSU) 6-3, 7-5
6. Robert Krill (WIS) def. Baylis, Luke (MSU) 7-5, 7-6 (7-3)
Order of finish: Doubles (2,1,3); Singles (2,3,4,5,1,6)
T-2:50
