Wisconsin Badgers
Illinois
Five Things to Know: Badgers back on the road
April 10, 2023 | Men's Tennis
Wisconsin travels to No. 23 Illinois and No. 27 Northwestern
Here are five things you should know before this weekend's matches:
1. PROMISING PRATT: Grad student Jared Pratt doesn't hold back in each match that he plays. UWBadgers Senior Writer Andy Baggot recently did a story on Pratt, detailing his painful journey with childhood scoliosis and constant back pain. But it's not enough to keep him from playing the sport he loves, tennis. After surgeries and physical therapy, Pratt found his home on the courts and a second home on the Wisconsin tennis team. "The issues that I have with my back can present in many different ways," Pratt said. "I can have direct pain in my back, which is common. I've learned to live with it. If it's bad on game day, you take some Advil, you roll it out and do the best you can." Read the rest of Pratt's inspirational story here.
2. BIG TEN STANDINGS: With only two more weekends of Big Ten play to go, the conference standings are shaking up and shaking out more than ever. No. 3 Ohio State (6-0) holds the top spot while No. 4 Michigan (4-1) and Northwestern (4-1) are tied for second. Nebraska (4-2), which the Badgers have yet to play, and Wisconsin (4-2) are tied for fourth. Illinois (3-2) is currently fifth followed by Indiana (1-4) and Michigan State (1-4) in sixth. Penn State (0-6) and Purdue (0-5) round out the current standings.
3. KNOW THE OPPONENTS: The Illinois Fighting Illini are currently ranked No. 23 in the country, according to the latest ITA polls, the third highest ITA-ranked Big Ten team. Illinois is 15-9 on the season and 3-2 in Big Ten play. Their two conference losses were to No. 3 Ohio State, 4-0, and on the road at Northwestern, 4-3. As well as clocking in right outside the top-20, the Illini have the No. 41-ranked doubles team made up of Karlis Ozolins and Hunter Heck as well as the No. 54-ranked pair of Mathis Debru and Oliver Okonkwo. Their accolades don't stop there as singles players Karlis Ozolins (No. 38) and Alex Petrov (97) are ranked nationally.
The No. 27-ranked Northwestern Wildcats are currently tied for second in the Big Ten with a 15-7 overall record and are 4-1 in conference play. Their one loss came to No. 2 Ohio State, 4-1, but have five ranked wins under their belt going into this weekend. Like the Illini, the Wildcats are represented in both singles and doubles ITA-rankings. Steven Forman is the No. 54-ranked singles player while Simen Bratholm and Ivan Yatsuk (43) and Gleb Blekher and Ivan Yatsuk (74) are ranked doubles pairs. The Badgers will try to get their revenge after a 5-2 loss to the Wildcats at home last season.
4. FOLLOW THE ACTION: Live updates on the Badgers can be found on Twitter (@BadgerMTennis) and Instagram (@wisconsintennis), while live scoring/streaming will be linked from the men's tennis schedule page on UWBadgers.com.
5. UP NEXT: The Badgers close out the regular season and celebrate Senior Day, on Saturday, April 22 at 12 p.m. when they host the Nebraska Cornhuskers at Nielsen Tennis Stadium. The 2023 Big Ten Tournament will be held on April 27-30 in Bloomington, Indiana.
Players Mentioned
