MADISON, Wis. — The Wisconsin men's tennis team's first outdoor match of the season at Nielsen Tennis Stadium proved to be a successful one, as the Badgers downed Illinois on a sunny Sunday afternoon.

The Badgers (9-9, 3-2 Big Ten) walked away in high spirits after a 4-3 victory over the Illini (9-13, 2-4), the program's first since the 2010 season. 

Wisconsin started doubles play with a bang. The Badger duo of Robin Parts and Sebastian Vile showed why they deserve to play at the No. 1 doubles spot with a 6-1 trouncing of the No. 57-ranked pair Hunter Heck and Lucas Horve. 

Tim Dhzurinskiy and Jared Pratt worked together to clinch the doubles point for the Badgers. Their 6-4 win over Illinois' Alex Brown and Olivier Stuart was their second win of the season as a pair and put the Badgers ahead 1-0 going into singles play. 

At No. 1 singles, Pratt fought his way to his third straight-sets win of the season. After taking the first set 6-4, he fought a back-and-forth battle with Montsi and came away with a 7-5 decision to tie the overall match score at 2-2. 

The remaining singles matches all went into deciding third sets. 

Dzhurinskiy came out swinging in the first set over Illinois' Horve, taking a one-set advantage 6-2. After a relentless second set, the match was tied, and Dzhurinskiy was able to get Wisconsin its third point of the match by way of a hard-fought 6-3 win in the third.

Vile brought it home for the Badgers, clinching yet another match with a victory over Brown. He never gave up after dropping the first set and was able to come back in the second to handily take it 6-1. A third set ensued and Vile was able to hold off a motivated opponent and come away with a come-from-behind win, 6-4, that put Wisconsin back in the win column. 

Straight from the Court
Senior Jared Pratt: "I think the first set I did really well. Obviously, the (windy) conditions were really tough, but I think that if you make enough balls at the end of the day you'll be rewarded. 

"Credit to Timmy, he did unbelievable in doubles today, especially to get the break at the end. I'm super happy with that and always super happy to get two points up there."

Sophomore Tim Dzhurinskiy: "Every single guy contributed greatly today. It's always great to be on a team like this… Finally coming out on top is the best feeling ever. We are going to celebrate it for sure."

Senior Sebastian Vile: "Doubles was really good, got off to a great start. There were a lot of momentum swings. I got down early but was able to turn around and stay the course. Super happy to finish this weekend with a win and we are looking forward to the rest of the season and can't wait for what's next."

Up Next
The Badgers continue Big Ten play next weekend when they travel to Indiana for matches against the Hoosiers on Friday, April 15, and Purdue on Sunday, April 17.  

No. 62 Wisconsin 4, No. 53 Illinois 3

Singles Results
1. Jared Pratt (WIS) def. Siphosothando Montsi (ILL) 6-3, 7-5
2. #74 Hunter Heck (ILL) def. Lenard Soha (WIS) 6-1, 6-2
3. #51 Olivier Stuart (ILL) def. Gabriel Huber (WIS) 6-4, 6-1
4.  Sebastian Vile (WIS) def. Alex Brown (ILL) 3-6, 6-1, 6-4
5. Lucas Horve (ILL) def. Robin Parts (WIS) 6-1, 3-6, 6-1
6. Tim Dzhurinskiy (WIS) def. Nic Meister (ILL) 6-2, 3-6, 6-3

Doubles Results
1. Sebastian Vile/Robin Parts (WIS) def. #57 Hunter Heck/Lucas Horve (ILL) 6-1
2. Jared Pratt/Tim Dzhurinskiy (WIS) def. Alex Brown/Olivier Stuart (ILL) 6-4
3. Lenard Soha/Mihailo Popovic (WIS) vs. Nic Meister/Siphosothando Montsi (ILL) 3-4, unfinished
 
Order of finish: Doubles (1, 2); Singles (2, 3, 1, 6, 4, 5)

Note: Match played outdoors