The No. 31 Wisconsin men's tennis team opened the 2009 season 4-0 with a weekend of commanding wins.
After going 4-3 against UW-Green Bay (0-1), the men only improved to a 6-1 victory over the Butler University Bulldogs the following afternoon. The Badgers came out swinging again Sunday morning and continued their streak, beating UW-Whitewater by a punishing 7-0, to go 3-0 in dual meets this spring.
In the two teams' tenth meeting, the men stomped through the morning in straight sets, dropping no more than eight games in a match over the course of barely two and a half hours and maintaining their perfect record against the Warhawks.
Finally, the Badgers defeated the University of Northern Illinois in a similar fashion Sunday afternoon with another commanding victory of 5-2 against the Huskies, who suffered a 6-1 loss last week to Michigan State.
Among the many outstanding performances on the weekend, singles junior Moritz Baumann and sophomore Peter Marrack managed to maintain spotless records, handily beating each of their four opponents in straight sets. Sunday, junior Luke Rassow-Kantor and sophomore Marek Michalicka joined Baumann and Marrack's wins with straight set victories for singles, aided by doubles wins from No. 1 and No. 2 pairs.
Despite the authoritative successes this weekend, Baumann (No. 117 in ITA national rankings) said that he is already anticipating tougher opponents in the coming conferences matches.
The matches that are going to come over the next week, the next couple of weeks definitely are going to be tougher,"" Baumann said. ""I just try to get a good rhythm and try to feel comfortable on the court and just try things out.""
Ending their successful season opener at Nielsen Tennis Stadium, the Badger men move on to face Marquette Tuesday at 6 p.m.
Women's
After a disappointing loss to No. 62 DePaul Saturday, the Wisconsin women's tennis team (1-1) returned Sunday to overwhelm Eastern Michigan in a controlling 7-0 victory.
""I think everybody kind of bounced back from yesterday's loss and was kind of out there to prove something,"" said UW women's tennis head coach Brian Fleishman of the team's turnaround. ""I think we took care of business.""
Junior Katya Mirnova and freshman Angela Chupa had great weekends and were the only two to record wins both Saturday and Sunday, starting 2009 with a 2-0 record.
In the Badgers' dominant treatment of visiting Eastern Michigan Sunday, not one of the six the singles drop a set, doubles swept their points and freshmen Chupa and Aleksandra Markovic refused to spare even a game in their triumph over the Eagles.
Although the weekend provided the Badgers with mixed results, Fleishman acknowledges the successes and limitations of the team so early in the season.
""The DePaul match from yesterday let us know where we stand and what we need to work on, and I think today, today's match gives us the idea that ok the there are teams out there that we should beat, can beat,"" Fleishman said. ""It was a good test of trying to stay focused and trying to get through and not really giving away too many free points.""
Despite Saturday's disappointing loss and Sunday's triumphant redemption, the Badgers now look toward Friday's meeting with the University of Northern Illinois.
