The No. 48 UW men's tennis team snapped a four-match losing streak Wednesday after dismantling in-state rival Marquette (0-2 Big East, 9-6 overall) 7-0 at Nielsen Tennis Stadium.
The Badgers (2-2 Big Ten, 9-6) began the match on a high note, winning two of three doubles matches to nab the doubles point. Jeremy Sonkin and Lachezar Kasarov remained undefeated in duel matches as a pair, defeating Pete Van Lieshout and Trent Hagan of the Golden Eagles 8-4 at the No. 2 spot. Freshman Michael Dierberger and junior Brennan Phippen teamed up for the first time this season and beat MU's Stephen Shao and Niko Boulieris 8-2.
UW was equally as successful in singles. Sonkin, Kasarov, Dierberger and juniors Nolan Polley and Felipe Bellido each won their respective match in straight sets, none surrendering more than two games in a set. Sophomore Gian Hodgson had a little more trouble, but was able to fight back to take out Van Lieshout 3-6, 6-1, 6-3.
The Badgers tweaked the line-up a little bit, giving freshmen Moritz Baumann and Michael Muskievicz a much-needed rest heading into the bulk of the Big Ten season.
""We wanted to get Gian and Brennan a little bit of playing time,"" UW assistant coach Evan Austin said. ""We just wanted to keep things fresh and mix things up. Moritz had a rough past weekend, so we wanted to give him a rest in singles.""
After a long weekend in Birmingham, Ala., in which the Badgers suffered three defeats to nationally-ranked opponents, Austin noted that it was nice to get back on the winning track.
""It's definitely good to sort of turn things around, and get things going back in the right direction,"" Austin said. ""I think a lot of guys came out, did a lot of real positive things and really gained a lot of confidence going into the weekend.""
Sonkin, who has been battling back and ankle injuries for much of the spring season, echoed his coach's thoughts.
""Marquette has a good doubles line-up and really solid singles players, so it was really important today for us to get this win,"" Sonkin said. ""It was important for us to get our confidence back coming off of a losing streak like the one we had.""
The Badgers will need to utilize that confidence this weekend, as it will take on No. 28 Michigan this Saturday at Nielsen Tennis Stadium. The Wolverines (11-4, 2-1) have won back-to-back matches at Michigan State and at home against Penn. The Badgers have dropped three straight matches to Michigan, including last season's 6-1 home loss.
