What looked like a 5-2 upset victory for the No. 48 UW men's tennis team quickly turned into a devastating 4-3 loss to No. 28 Michigan (3-1 Big Ten, 12-4 overall) Saturday afternoon at Nielsen Tennis Stadium.
UW junior Jeremy Sonkin, playing at No. 2 singles, stormed out to a 6-0, 4-1 lead on No. 61 Brian Hung of Michigan. However, the Wheaton, Ill., native would lose the next three games in the second set and drop the set in a tiebreaker. Hung easily won the third set to claim the match 0-6, 7-6 (5), 6-2. Classmate Nolan Polley also had chances against No. 55 Matko Maravic at the No. 1 spot. After losing the first set in a tiebreaker, Polley jumped out to a 4-1 lead in the second set, but would surrender the next five games and lose the match 7-6 (2), 6-4.
""We couldn't have asked for a better opportunity,"" UW coach Greg Van Emburgh said. ""We were up in just about every match. At some point, you've got to find a way.""
Freshman Moritz Baumann recovered nicely from injuries suffered in last weekend's tournament in Birmingham, Ala. At the No. 3 spot, the Inzlingen, Germany, native pulled off a solid 6-4, 6-4 win over the Wolverines' Ryan Heller.
""I played a lot to his forehand and he struggled a little bit,"" Baumann said. ""I had a good touch and played solid. I'm very satisfied with my game today.""
Junior Felipe Bellido cruised at No. 6 singles to a 6-1, 6-1 victory over Michigan's Scott Bruckman. Senior captain Lachezar Kasarov picked up the last win for the Badgers, outlasting Andrew Mazlin 6-2, 4-6, 6-4 at the No. 4 spot.
The Badgers (2-3, 9-7) began the day down 1-0 by dropping all three of their doubles matches to the Wolverines. Polley and Baumann, ranked No. 44 in the nation, were on the verge of an upset at the No. 1 spot. The two lefties were up 4-3 and a service break on No. 3 Hung and Maravic, but lost the next four games en route to a disappointing 8-5 loss.
""This tennis today was good enough to win,"" Van Emburgh said. ""The way the team played today, they played good enough that we should be celebrating in our huddle. We shouldn't be the team figuring out why we didn't get to four first.""
""It's tennis,"" Baumann said. ""Some days you win, some days not. You just have to look forward, just stay positive and we'll get our wins.""
The Badgers will have a week off before heading to Texas for a pair of matches against No. 70 Southern Methodist April 2 and No. 73 Texas Christian April 3. The team returns home April 7 to take on No. 68 Indiana, followed by a showdown April 8 with No. 2 Ohio State.
