The UW men's tennis team pulled off one of the biggest wins in Badger history Monday afternoon, pulling out a gutsy 4-3 upset victory over No. 10 Miami in Coral Gables, Fla.
With the match tied at 3-3, UW junior Nolan Polley came through with a thrilling 3-6, 6-4, 7-6 (3) triumph over Miami's Josh Cohen at No. 2 singles. With both players fighting high winds and late-match cramps, Polley fought off a nationally-acclaimed opponent for the individual and team victory.
""I knew that Nolan would have the heart and passion to get the win,"" UW coach Greg Van Emburgh said. ""Both guys were cramping at the end, and it was just a matter of who wanted it more. Nolan dug deep and took it.""
Three Badger freshmen played vital roles in the upset. Moritz Baumann, playing at No. 4 singles, moved his individual record to 4-0 on the season after knocking off Miami's Hector Nieto 6-4, 6-4. Milwaukee native Michael Dierberger also came up big for the Badgers, posting a 6-3, 6-2 win over J.C. Whitner. Additionally, he and classmate Michael Muskievicz clinched the doubles point with an 8-5 victory at the No. 3 spot.
Junior Jeremy Sonkin, who recently returned from an Achilles tendon injury, looked good despite a 6-3, 7-6 loss at No. 1 singles to Miami's Luis D'Agord. He and senior captain Lachezar Kasarov claimed the first doubles match for the Badgers at the No. 2 spot 8-4.
""Looking back at today's match, I can say that it was certainly one of the best college matches I've ever been a part of,"" Van Emburgh said. ""It was great for not only our men's tennis program, but also for UW athletics as a whole. We're all smiles right now.""
The Badgers (4-0) also defeated Florida Gulf Coast 7-0 Saturday in Fort Meyers, Fla. They will host No. 11 Notre Dame Saturday at Nielsen Tennis Stadium.
Women's tennis struggles
The UW women's tennis team struggled with three opponents ranked nationally in the top 20, losing all three matches at the 2007 ITA/USTA Women's National Team Indoor Championship this past weekend at Nielsen Tennis Stadium.
The losses, to No. 5 Miami, No. 14 UCLA and No. 13 Pepperdine, came as a result of some of the finest competition in the nation as well as the loss of senior Caitlin Burke, the Badgers' No. 1 singles and doubles player, after an injury forced her out of her doubles match on the second day against the Bruins. Every player in the UW lineup was forced to move up one spot to adjust to Burke's setback.
Despite not taking the doubles point in all three matches, the Badgers (2-3) were able to put up a fight for it on all three days. Senior Kaylan Caiati finished 2-1 on the weekend in doubles play. The Greendale, Wis. native teamed up with junior Nicole Beck at the No. 3 spot to defeat the Miami duo of Caren Seenauth and Gina Sabatino 8-6 Friday. She also paired with sophomore Liz Carpenter Sunday to take out Pepperdine's No. 1 doubles pair of Sylvia Kosakowski and Eva Dickes 8-5. Juniors Chelsea Nusslock and Morgan Tuttle also claimed a doubles victory, taking out UCLA's Ashley Joelson and Alex McGoodwin 8-5 at the No. 2 spot.
UW's lone singles victory on the weekend came at the No. 4 singles spot, when sophomore Erin Jobe won in a pushover against UCLA's Elizabeth Lumpkin on Saturday.
The stretch does not get any easier for the Badgers, who open the Big Ten season against No. 8 Northwestern, the conference's defending champion, at Nielsen Tennis Stadium this Saturday.
—uwbadgers.com
contributed to this report.
