The No. 40 UW men's tennis team looks to stay hot Friday as it takes on No. 41 Penn State in the quarterfinals of the Big Ten Tournament at 9 a.m. at Schwartz Tennis Center at Purdue.
The Badgers (6-4 Big Ten, 14-9 overall) are currently riding a three-match winning streak, including two sweeps and a victory over conference rival Minnesota.
""Out of the last six matches, I think we've won five out of six of them,"" UW head coach Greg Van Emburgh said. ""So that shows a lot that we're really peaking at the right time. We can really take that momentum into the Big Ten [Tournament] and, hopefully, be in position for an NCAA bid.""
Seeded fourth, the Badgers will take on the fifth-seeded Nittany Lions (6-4, 16-5) for the second time this season. In the first meeting between the two teams Feb. 18, UW edged Penn State 4-3 at Nielsen Tennis Stadium. All three Badger freshman—Moritz Baumann, Michael Dierberger and Michael Muskievicz—notched singles victories to secure the win.
After losing three consecutive Big Ten matches, Penn State enters Friday's match off of a 4-3 win over then-No. 64 Indiana last Sunday. The Nittany Lions are led by junior Michael James, who is currently ranked No. 81 in the nation.
In all likelihood, the winner of this match will earn a showdown with perennial powerhouse Ohio State. The Buckeyes, ranked No. 3 in the nation, will take on the winner of No. 8 seed Northwestern and No. 9 Michigan State Friday. They posted their second consecutive undefeated conference season and outright Big Ten regular season title. Their lone loss on the entire season came in a Feb. 19 loss to No. 1 Georgia.
While not looking past Penn State, Van Emburgh could not contain his excitement at receiving another opportunity to knock off the Buckeyes. The Badgers showed they could hang with the Buckeyes despite the lopsided appearance of a 6-1 loss April 8.
""Ohio State is really solid throughout their lineup, but we have guys that can play with their guys even or better,"" Van Emburgh said.
The fourth-place finish for UW in the Big Ten regular season standings was its highest since 1994, when the team also ended up fourth.
Win or lose this weekend, the Badgers will be tuned in to ESPNEWS at 1:30 p.m. May 1 when the NCAA Division I men's tournament bracket will be announced. The 64-team tournament will consist of each conference tournament champion as well as 33 at-large bids.
As a consistent top-50 team in the nation for the majority of the regular season, the Badgers have a great chance at an at-large bid should they lose in this weekend's conference tournament.
""For us this year, it's been an exciting season,"" Van Emburgh said. ""If I would have kind of looked into a crystal ball maybe three or four months ago, [I'd be] happy where we are right now.""
