Some UW athletes enter their respective sports with the idea that, just like in high school, they will be the stand-out player on their new team.
As a player with a resume of success—three Wisconsin Division I individual and team state championships—one may expect Michael Dierberger to fit this mold. However, for this UW men's tennis player, it is quite the opposite.
""I knew what was going to happen,"" Dierberger said. ""These are older guys, bigger and better than you. I'm just happy I could come in and make the team a little better.""
Dierberger, a freshman from Milwaukee, came to the Badgers with an excellent tennis pedigree. After beginning to play tournaments at the age of nine, Dierberger evolved into a stellar player through one of Wisconsin's largest tennis powerhouses, Nicolet High School. He finished with a 120-4 career record and was rated No. 1 in Wisconsin's junior rankings since age 10.
After narrowing down his college choices to Arizona State, Iowa and Wisconsin, Dierberger chose the Badgers. He said it was ultimately the knowledge and experience of head coach Greg Van Emburgh, a former ATP professional, that sealed it.
""I just like Greg a lot, just talking to him,"" Dierberger said. ""He knows a lot about tennis with his background. I knew we would be good and we'd just keep progressing.""
In the fall of 2006, Dierberger compiled a solid 10-5 singles record to go along with an 8-0 doubles record. He and freshman teammate Michael Muskievicz won the doubles draw of the Hoosier Invitational, as well as posting a 3-0 record in the Gopher Invitational.
""I think he's taken some huge steps confidence-wise,"" Badger assistant coach Evan Austin said. ""He had a lot of wins in the fall, and it's been nice to see him carry all that hard work over [to the spring]. Now he feels like he belongs out here.""
This spring, Dierberger has helped push the Badgers into their first NCAA Tournament bid since 1998. Dierberger's 11-8 record includes match-swinging wins against then-No. 51 Penn State as well as then-No. 10 Miami, which Van Emburgh has pinned as one of the biggest wins in UW history. He has also amassed five Big Ten wins playing with three different partners.
Dierberger, who looks to enter UW's acclaimed School of Business, attributed his personal success to the strength of the entire team.
""One through nine, we're real strong,"" Dierberger said. ""People can play well on any day. Some schools have real strong players at No. 1 and No. 2, then it kind of dies off. But here, we're pretty solid all the way through.""
With Dierberger's progress and experience as both a player and a student, Austin sees a lot of potential in the first-year player.
""I think he's only going to keep moving up,"" Austin said. ""He always works hard, he wants it really bad and he's got a good attitude whenever he's out at practice. The sky's the limit for his game—it's just a question of how hard he keeps working.""
