Wisconsin Badgers
#44 Northwestern
Five things to know: Badgers play two ranked matches at home
March 11, 2026 | Men's Tennis
Wisconsin hosts No. 44 Northwestern and No. 9 Illinois
1 – WEEKEND RECAP – Wisconsin opened Big Ten play with a statement win against No. 52 Michigan on the road last Friday. The 4-0 sweep marked the Badgers' first win over the Wolverines since the 2009 NCAA Qualifier Team earned a 4-3 victory. Friday's win was fueled by doubles victories at No. 2 and No. 3, and singles victories at No. 2, No. 4, and No. 5.Â
On Sunday, UW lost just its second match of the season to a gritty Michigan State squad. The Spartans earned the doubles point and secured the 5-2 match victory with wins at No. 1, No. 2, No. 4, and No. 5 singles. Wisconsin sophomores Edouard Aubert and Sachiv Kumar battled to match wins against their MSU counterparts.
2 – KUMAR IS CRUISING – Sachiv Kumar improved to 7-1 this dual season after defeating Michigan State's David Saye at No. 6 singles. Saye impressed this fall, defeating Wisconsin's Meszaros and Minasyan en route to the Big Ten Individual Singles Championship. Kumar is riding a seven-match win streak and is currently 3-0 when playing the No. 6 slot.Â
3 – KNOW YOUR OPPONENTS – UW trails Northwestern 42-70-3 in the all-time series. Northwestern has won the last eight matches against Wisconsin, including a 5-2 victory last season. The Wildcats are currently ranked No. 44 and have a 13-4 (1-1 Big Ten) record this spring. NU's duo of Carter Pate and Greyson Casey earned the No. 26 spot in the most recent ITA doubles rankings.
Illinois holds a 66-32 edge in the all-time series with Wisconsin and is currently on a four-match win streak. The Fighting Illini are currently ranked No. 9, and hold a 12-3 (2-0 Big Ten) record this season. Illinois' Kenta Miyoshi and Gabriel Debru both found themselves inside the top-25 in the March 3rd ITA singles rankings. William Mroz and Adam Jilly are also ranked at No. 70 and No. 111, respectively. Miyoshi and Jilly are ranked No. 41 in doubles.Â
4 – FOLLOW THE ACTION – Wisconsin begins the weekend with a match against No. 44 Northwestern on Friday, March 13 at 5:30 p.m. CT. The Badgers will also play a top-ranked match against No. 9 Illinois on Sunday, March 15 at noon CT. Admission is free at Nielsen Tennis Stadium and fans can find live stats/video on uwbadgers.com. Live updates for both matches can be found on X (@BadgerMTennis) and Instagram (@wisconsintennis) and a match recap will be posted on uwbadgers.com.
5 – UP NEXT – The Badgers head to the west coast for matches against No. 26 UCLA and No. 25 USC on Friday, March 20 and Sunday, March 22, respectively. First serve for Friday's match is scheduled for noon CT and Sunday's match will begin at 9 a.m. CT.
Players Mentioned
