Badgers sweep Penn at home, then drop tiebreaker set in Tennessee

The Wisconsin men's tennis team split its weekend matches, securing a dominant home victory over Pennsylvania before falling in a deciding-set battle at Middle Tennessee State. The Badgers now stand at 6-6 on the season and remain without a win on the road.

On Friday, Wisconsin hosted a 4-7 Pennsylvania squad at the Nielsen Tennis Center. The Badgers had never defeated the Quakers in program history prior to this meeting. Wisconsin broke that streak with a 6-1 scoreline. The team claimed the doubles point early, with senior Josef Dodridge and junior Osgar O'Hoisin winning 6-1. Sophomores Daniel Soyfer and Chase Colton followed with a 6-2 victory.

In the singles matches, the Badgers won all but one contest. Colton, Soyfer, and Dodridge each took their matches in straight sets. Freshman Jesper Freimuth won 6-2 and 6-3. O'Hoisin required three sets to defeat his opponent, finishing with a 7-5, 4-6, 10-2 score.

The team then traveled to Murfreesboro, Tennessee, to face a 10-2 Middle Tennessee State squad. The Blue Raiders had not lost at home this season. Wisconsin started strongly, winning both doubles matches. Dodridge and O'Hoisin beat Chris Edge and Tom Moonen 6-4. Chema Carranza and Freimuth then defeated Glan Issa and Jan Porteset 6-2.

Singles action saw Soyfer win 6-4 and 6-3, extending his undefeated singles streak to 10-0. Middle Tennessee State then won the next three singles matches to take a 3-2 lead. Dodridge tied the match at 3-3 with a 7-6, 6-1 win. The final point was decided between Carranza and Moonen.

Carranza lost the first set in a 7-6 tiebreak before winning the second 6-1. In the third set, he held a 5-4 lead. Moonen responded by winning the next three points to close out the set 7-5 and secure the match for the Blue Raiders.

Head coach Danny Westerman noted that the loss would serve as a learning experience for the roster. He told UWBadgers.com, "This one stings. We need to keep working. We put ourselves in these situations so we can eventually get over the hump." The team returns to the Nielsen Tennis Center next weekend for a doubleheader against Cornell and UW-Green Bay.