The Wisconsin women's tennis team had to fight two simultaneous battles on Friday against DePaul and the continuing health problems plaguing many of the players on the squad. Unfortunately for the Badgers (3-8 overall, 0-1 Big Ten), illness and injury got the better of them and played a crucial role in a 5-2 loss to the Blue Demons (10-3, 0-0 Big East).
The Badgers came out strong in doubles play despite an overhaul in the roster for the third consecutive match in three weeks. With junior Caitlin Burke on the bench because of persistent illness, sophomore Chelsea Nusslock filled in the No. 2 doubles pair with sophomore Nicole Beck to knock off Dunja Antunovic and Bojana Murisic, 8-4. The freshman pair of Elizabeth Carpenter and Erin Jobe also won the No. 3 matchup to give the Badgers the doubles point.
But the absence of Burke and the removal of Beck from the singles lineup left the team without their two premier players and made the remainder of the afternoon difficult for Wisconsin. In her debut at the No. 1 singles spot, junior Kaylan Caiati was soundly defeated by DePaul's Beatrix Csordas 6-2, 6-3. With Nusslock, Carpenter, Jobe, and senior Lexi Goldin suffering similar fates, it was the play of sophomore Morgan Tuttle that scored the only singles point for Wisconsin in the match. The beleaguered Wisconsin roster forced Tuttle to jump into the No. 6 spot, yet she managed to get the better of her opponent as she topped DePaul's Brenda Leung 6-2, 6-3.
I can't fault anyone for their effort,\ head coach Patti Henderson said. ""Everyone put forth their best effort. We're taking it day by day but the biggest thing is that each one of our players continues to get a little more confident but it's tough when you lose. Nobody wants to lose. It hurts to lose but as long as you can learn from that and build from that, we are going to get better.""
The Badgers have the week off and are taking advantage of the time to get some much-needed rest as they prepare for a trip to California to take on their next opponent, San Diego State on March 13.
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