Men's Tennis 2022-23 Team Shot
Annalee Gunderson

Men's Tennis Annalee Gunderson

Five Things to Know: Badgers open 2023 regular season at home

Badgers host DePaul Friday; Princeton Saturday

Men's Tennis Annalee Gunderson

Five Things to Know: Badgers open 2023 regular season at home

Badgers host DePaul Friday; Princeton Saturday

Live Scoring

MADISON, Wis.
— The Wisconsin men's tennis team officially starts its 2023 regular season with a two-match home weekend, opening up against DePaul on Friday at 5:30 p.m. and Princeton on Saturday at 5 p.m. Both matches are at Nielsen Tennis Stadium and admission is free. 

Here are five things you should know before the season is underway: 

1. CONTINUING THE FALL MOMENTUM: The Badgers had some success on the fall tournament circuit, claiming two separate tournament titles. Senior Sebastian Vile fought his way to the singles final at the Big Ten Individual Championships last November. Vile dominated in the semifinals, easily beating Nebraska's Roni Hietaranta, 6-4, 6-1, before a tough three-set loss to Northwestern's Ivan Yatsuk in the finals, 6-2, 4-6, 6-2 earning runner-up honors. Vile looks to build off of his tournament success and last year's 15-13 overall singles record this season. 

Gabriel Huber and freshman Michael Minasyan, the newest doubles duo, earned themselves a rankings appearance at No. 24 after their ITA Regional Championship victory over Michigan's Andrew Fenty and Gavin Young. They took home first place in doubles at the October tournament, earning them a spot in the ITA Fall National Championships in San Diego last semester. 

2. NEW KIDS ON THE BLOCK: The 2023 roster includes three new Badgers that will make their regular season debut at Nielsen this weekend. This includes graduate transfer Jason Hildebrandt, sophomore Zachary Schwartz, and freshman Michael Minasyan. Hildebrant, a Penn transfer, is coming off of his senior season where he finished 8-10 in singles play and 10-6 in doubles. During the fall tournaments, he was paired up with fellow senior Jared Pratt, playing their way to the semifinal match at the Milwaukee Tennis Classic. 

Schwartz is a Wisconsin tennis legacy whose father Howard and Uncle Marc were both Badger tennis players. He will make his college debut following an impressive high school career competing at No. 1 singles and being named team captain at Newton South High School in Massachusetts team. 

Minasyan, a Sweden native, is starting his college career right after claiming the Swedish U-18 national championships in both singles and doubles play. He has already proved valuable to the Badger team with impressive Fall tournament wins with doubles partner Gabriel Huber as well as a team-high three singles wins at the Clemson Invitational. 

3. KNOW YOUR OPPONENTS: Wisconsin and DePaul met last season in Madison for a regular-season match-up where the Badgers squeaked out an exciting 4-3 win. The Blue Demons and Badgers are due for a rematch after the Demons finished their 2022 season 13-13. DePaul are currently 1-1 this season, with a 7-0 loss to Notre Dame and a 6-1 win over IUPUI. 

Princeton will start their season this weekend in Madison with a Saturday double header. The Tigers finished last season 18-9, including a 4-3 win over the Badgers in New Jersey last February. 

4. FOLLOW THE ACTION: Live updates on the Badgers can be found on Twitter (@BadgerMTennis) and Instagram (@wisconsintennis), while live scoring/streaming is HERE.

5. UP NEXT: The Badgers hit the road for the first time this season when they travel to Norfolk, Virginia, to play Virginia Tech on Saturday, Jan. 28, and Old Dominion on Sunday, Jan. 29.
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Players Mentioned

Jason Hildebrandt

Jason Hildebrandt

6' 1"
Graduate Student
Gabriel Huber

Gabriel Huber

Senior
Jared Pratt

Jared Pratt

Graduate Student
Sebastian Vile

Sebastian Vile

Senior
Zachary Schwartz

Zachary Schwartz

Sophomore
Michael Minasyan

Michael Minasyan

Freshman

Players Mentioned

Jason Hildebrandt

Jason Hildebrandt

6' 1"
Graduate Student
Gabriel Huber

Gabriel Huber

Senior
Jared Pratt

Jared Pratt

Graduate Student
Sebastian Vile

Sebastian Vile

Senior
Zachary Schwartz

Zachary Schwartz

Sophomore
Michael Minasyan

Michael Minasyan

Freshman