The UW women's tennis team (2-8 Big Ten, 6-17 overall) have felt all season they could play with any team, that they were much better than their 11th seed received for the Big Ten Tournament. Thursday they proved it, pulling off a huge upset in decisive fashion against six-seed Michigan State (4-6, 14-10), defeating them 4-0.
With the return of junior Caitlin Burke (who is still No. 32 in the nation despite injury), the Badgers have turned into a completely different and much more dangerous team. The players have locked into their respective positions and are confident even going into a matchup against No. 3 Michigan.
The showdown against the Spartans did not start out as a blowout, as Burke and freshman Liz Carpenter lost the No. 1 doubles match. But the No. 2 team of sophomores Chelsea Nusslock and Morgan Tuttle and No. 3 team of junior Kaylan Caiati and freshman and Erin Jobe got the doubles point for Wisconsin.
Burke recovered in the singles aspect of the match, dominating Christine Bader 7-5, 6-0, to start the Badgers off in the right direction. Already halfway to the four points needed to win the match, Tuttle defeated Ana Milosavljevic for the third point, 6-1, 6-2. Carpenter then finished off the Spartans in similar crushing fashion, beating Sarah Andrews 6-3, 6-2.
Despite the Badgers playing better than they have all season, Michigan will still be a daunting opponent. The Wolverines are 8-2 in the Big Ten and one of the losses was against No. 3 Northwestern. Their doubles team of Kara Delicata and Debra Streifler has been nearly unstoppable with a 13-2 record. Now that Burke and Carpenter have a match together under their belt, they should give a better effort Friday. If UW can take the doubles point, it will be a huge step to staying alive.
On the singles side, Burke should not have trouble with Delicata, who is only 5-13 at the No. 1 spot, but the rest of the Wolverines lineup is solid. At the No. 2 spot, Elizabeth Exon is 7-1. The No. 4 and 5 spots are also extremely strong, with Streifler and Chisako Sugiyama combining for a 25-4 record. Carpenter and Tuttle will have to repeat their Thursday performances to give Wisconsin the best chance of winning.
The match against Michigan takes place at 2 p.m. in Champaign, Ill. to advance to the third round.
Following the match against Michigan State, Burke was named to the All-Big Ten team for the second consecutive year.
