MADISON, Wis. - The Wisconsin men's tennis team put up a tough fight on Sunday before ultimately falling, 4-3, in its dual match with No. 24 Northwestern at Nielsen Tennis Stadium.
The Badgers fought hard to win the doubles point.
Lenard Soha and
Mihailo Popovic came back in the second half of their match to win, 7-6 (8-6), putting the duo of
Jared Pratt and
Tim Dzhurinskiy in the deciding position for the Badgers. Pratt and Dzhurinskiy clinched the doubles point after rallying back and forth in a tight race to win their tiebreaker 10-8 and take the match, 7-6.
Robin Parts picked up the first singles point for Wisconsin, winning his tiebreak in the third set against the Wildcats' Chris Ephron to win the match 6-1, 3-6, 7-6 (9-7). Senior
Jesper Freimuth clinched the third point for the Badgers by defeating Trice Pickens 6-4, 3-6, 7-6 (7-1).
Straight from the Courts
Head coach Danny Westerman: "Today was a fantastic Big Ten college tennis match. You had an incredibly intense doubles point and so many very close singles matches. We did everything right, and sometimes the result just doesn't go your way. We will get another good week of practice in and will be ready for Minnesota."
Up Next
The Badgers will head to Minneapolis to face off with their Border Battle rival Minnesota on Saturday, March 6.
#24 Northwestern 4, Wisconsin 3
Doubles Results
1. #57 Nick Brookes/Simen Bratholm (NU) def.
Gabriel Huber/
Robin Parts (WIS) 7-5
2.
Jared Pratt/
Tim Dzhurinskiy (WIS) def. Chris Ephron/Dominik Stary (NU) 7-6 (10-8)
3.
Lenard Soha/
Mihailo Popovic (WIS) def. Gleb Blekher/Natan Spear (NU) 7-6 (8-6)
Singles Results
1. #58 Dominik Stary (NU) def.
Lenard Soha (WIS) 6-1, 6-3
2. Nick Brookes (NU) def.
Gabriel Huber (WIS) 5-7, 6-3, 6-3
3.
Robin Parts (WIS) def. Chris Ephron (NU) 6-1, 3-6, 7-6 (9-7)
4.
Jesper Freimuth (WIS) def. Trice Pickens (NU) 6-4, 3-6, 7-6 (7-1)
5. Simen Bratholm (NU) def.
Robert Krill (WIS) 6-2, 7-6 (7-4)
6. Presley Thieneman (NU) def.
Tim Dzhurinskiy (WIS) 7-6 (11-9), 7-5
Order of finish: Doubles (1,3,2); Singles (1,5,6,2,3,4)
