Wisconsin Badgers Split Weekend With Home Victory and Narrow Road Loss

The Wisconsin men's tennis team ended its recent two day stretch with mixed results, recording a decisive home victory followed by a close loss on the road. This outcome leaves the Badgers with a six and six overall record and a zero and one mark in Big Ten play. The team continues to search for its first win in away matches this season after taking the weekend on the split.

On Friday afternoon, the Badgers hosted Pennsylvania at the Nielsen Tennis Center. This matchup carried historical weight, as Wisconsin had never defeated the Quakers in program history and had lost the previous meeting by a score of four to three. The home team broke that streak with a six to one triumph, marking a significant milestone for the program.

Wisconsin established its dominance early by securing the doubles point. The number one pairing of senior Josef Dodridge and junior Osgar O'Hoisin won their match six to one, maintaining their unbeaten record as a duo this season. Sophomores Daniel Soyfer and Chase Colton contributed to the doubles point with a six to two victory.

In the singles matches, the Badgers won all but one event. Colton, Soyfer, and Dodridge each secured straight set wins. Freshman Jesper Freimuth also won in straight sets with scores of six to two and six to three. O'Hoisin required three sets to finish the job, prevailing with a final score of seven to five, four to six, and ten to two.

The team then traveled to Murfreesboro, Tennessee, to challenge Middle Tennessee State, a squad with a ten and two record. The Blue Raiders had not lost a home match this season and had shut out five opponents. Wisconsin started the match strongly, with O'Hoisin and Dodridge defeating Chris Edge and Tom Moonen six to four in doubles. Senior Chema Carranza and Freimuth then beat Glan Issa and Jan Porteset six to two to clinch the doubles point for the visitors.

Soyfer added to Wisconsin's lead in singles, winning six to four and six to three to improve his personal season record to ten and zero. However, Middle Tennessee State responded by winning the next three singles matches to take a three to two lead. Dodridge tied the match at three all with a seven to six and six to one victory, setting the stage for a deciding point at number two singles.

The final match between Carranza and Tom Moonen proved decisive. Carranza lost the first set in a tiebreak but won the second set six to one. He led the third set five to four, but Moonen mounted a comeback to win the set seven to five, securing the match for the Blue Raiders.

Head coach Danny Westerman acknowledged the difficulty of the loss but viewed it as a necessary step for development. He noted that the team needs to keep working and that these challenging situations help them eventually overcome hurdles. Westerman told UWBadgers.com that the result stings but will serve the team well in the long run.

The Badgers will return to the Nielsen Tennis Center next weekend to host a Sunday doubleheader. They will face Cornell and UW Green Bay in an opportunity to regain momentum before the next stretch of the season.