Moritz Baumann was pretty sure what he wanted to do with his life, but just needed a little more time to think about it.
The decision—whether to become a professional tennis player or to go to schoolA-—was one that Baumann had been thinking about since his early teenage years. However, a broken right hand suffered at age 17 while playing in Switzerland dashed any hopes of turning pro at that time. Therefore, his decision was made for him—he would head to the United States to play tennis while getting a collegiate education.
""In Germany, we have no sports in colleges, and I wanted to connect tennis with my studies,"" Baumann said. ""A couple of my older friends went to the U.S. to play in college, and so I decided that it might be for me, too. I don't regret my decision at all.""
The No. 45 UW-Madison men's tennis team doesn't regret Baumann's decision, either. The Inzlingen, Germany native is currently riding a five-match winning streak, including his last win, a 6-4, 6-3 upset over Ohio State's No. 34 Devin Mullings at No. 1 singles. The freshman sports a 13-4 singles record since joining the team at the beginning of the spring semester, and has been ranked No. 96 in the nation in singles and as high as No. 23 in doubles with junior Nolan Polley.
""Moritz has made a major impact since he arrived here on campus, and we kind of knew that was going to happen,"" UW-Madison coach Greg Van Emburgh said. ""He's real talented, he's into the team and his tennis, and we're getting good results from him.""
Baumann, who began playing tennis at the age of 5, played in International Tennis Federation tournaments in Germany, Switzerland and other European spots. He was ranked in the top 20 in Germany in both under-16 and under-18 divisions.
After visiting several schools across the United States, Baumann narrowed his choices down to Kentucky, Virginia and Wisconsin. Ultimately, because of the coaching and playing experience of Van Emburgh and the kindness showed by the team, the left-hander chose UW. So far, he has survived the vast cultural differences to be successful on the court and in the classroom.
""I never thought I would be this busy. I thought I'd have a lot more free time,"" Baumann said. ""It's a busy schedule with traveling, school and learning a new language and culture. I've had to adapt to everything, but it's going pretty well so far.""
Baumann's great play, competitive attitude and easy-going personality have gained the respect of his teammates.
""He's been a good addition to the team. He helps us out a lot,"" said freshman Michael Dierberger, who has been at UW-Madison since last fall. ""He's very talented, and when he's in a match, he just refuses to lose, pretty much.""
Baumann leads a freshman class that has proven to be one of the most productive in recent years. Against then-No. 10 Miami on Feb. 5, Baumann, Dierberger and classmate Michael Muskievicz were instrumental in helping the Badgers pull of a 4-3 upset of the Hurricanes, one of the largest upsets in Wisconsin history. Baumann and Dierberger won two singles matches, while Dierberger combined with Muskievicz to win a doubles match, helping the Badgers clinch the doubles point.
Even with all of his success thus far, with three years remaining, Van Emburgh knows Baumann hasn't yet hit his peak.
""You never know,"" Van Emburgh said. ""He's doing great things as a freshman, he wants to work and get his game to another level at some point. It's great to have a guy like that on your team.""
