Wisconsin Badgers
SMU
Badgers kick off 2026 with a road win
January 17, 2026 | Men's Tennis
Wisconsin takes 4-3 victory over SMU
DALLAS, Texas - The Wisconsin men's tennis team opened the 2026 season with a 4-3 victory over SMU. The Badgers secured the early 1-0 lead after earning doubles victories at No. 2 and No. 3. In singles play Meszaros, Fullerton, and Olsson all earned straight set victories to secure the Wisconsin match win, its first on the road against SMU in program history.
The Badgers started the match strong in doubles action. After the Mustangs took the No. 1 match, Wisconsin quickly responded to secure the 1-0 match lead. At No. 2 doubles Michael Minasyan and Ferdinand Kloesters found their groove and took a 6-3 victory over SMU's duo. With the doubles point on the line Matthew Fullerton and Patrik Meszaros performed under pressure and secured the tiebreak victory at No. 3 doubles.
In singles play, junior Oliver Olsson wasted no time securing Wisconsin's second point. Olsson lost just one game in his dominant 6-1, 6-0 victory over SMU's Noah McDonald in the No. 6 slot. Meszaros quickly showed why he earned All-Freshman Team honors last season, taking a straight set victory in the No. 2 slot over SMU's Alex Finkelstein.
SMU was able to tie the match at three-all after earning victories at No. 1, No. 3, and No. 5 singles. With all eyes on court No. 4 Fullerton rose to the occasion and secured the Badger victory by defeating SMU's Krish Arora 6-4, 7-5.
Wisconsin improves to 1-0 to start the 2026 dual season.
Up Next: The Badgers will remain in Texas to face No. 16 Baylor on Monday. The match is scheduled for noon CT. Wisconsin opens its home slate on Friday, Jan 23, hosting Xavier and Chicago State at Nielsen.
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Wisconsin 4, SMU 3
Doubles vs. SMU
#1 Alex Finkelstein/Trevor Svajda (SMU) def. Oliver Olsson/Tomas Zlatohlavek (WIS) 6-3
#2 Ferdinand Kloesters/Michael Minasyan (WIS) def. Krish Arora/Georgi Georgiev SMU) 6-3
#3 Matthew Fullerton/Patrik Meszaros (WIS) def. Jerry Barton/Vikas Deo (SMU) 7-6 (10-8)
Singles vs. SMU
#1 No. 2 Trevor Svajda (SMU) def. Michael Minasyan (WIS) 6-2, 6-2
#2 No. 60 Patrik Meszaros (WIS) def. Alex Finkelstein (SMU) 6-2, 6-2
#3 Georgi Georgiev (SMU) def. Ferdi Kloesters (WIS) 6-2, 6-4
#4 Matthew Fullerton (WIS) def. Krish Arora (SMU) 6-4, 7-5
#5 Jerry Barton (SMU) def. Sachiv Kumar (WIS) 6-4, 6-2
#6 Oliver Olsson (WIS) def. Noah McDonald (SMU) 6-1, 6-0
Order of finish: Doubles (1, 2, 3); Singles (6, 2, 1, 5, 3, 4)
Team Stats
#1 Doubles Match
#2 Doubles Match
#3 Doubles Match
Order of Finish:
1,2,3
#1 Singles Match
#2 Singles Match
#3 Singles Match
#4 Singles Match
#5 Singles Match
#6 Singles Match
Order of Finish:
6,2,1,5,3,4
Players Mentioned
