The Wisconsin men's tennis team ousted No. 9 seed Iowa 4-0 in the first round of the Big Ten Tournament Thursday and will face No. 1 Ohio State as play heats up in Ann Arbor, Mich., this weekend.
""This was a great win today. I think we started a little slow on the doubles today, but we really picked it up in the singles,"" head coach Greg Van Emburgh said. ""Those guys that we knew could get wins did … and I think this really confirms our bid for the NCAAs.""
Competition was close across the board in doubles, as Iowa came out with a revised lineup, but the Badgers picked up their first victory of the morning at No. 3 as junior Luke Rassow-Kantor and freshman Patrick Pohlmann bested their Hawkeye opponents 8-6. The No. 22 duo of junior Moritz Baumann and sophomore Marek Michalicka claimed the point and the early edge in a tiebreak, defeating senior Christian Bierich and junior Reinoud Haal 9-8 (4).
The Badger squad applied pressure in singles, winning five of its first six sets, beginning with Rassow-Kantor's 6-4, 6-4 victory over freshman Tom Mroziewicz. Pohlmann reasserted himself over Nikita Zotov, beating the sophomore again 6-3, 6-2, and with the Hawkeyes on the run sophomore Peter Marrack closed out the competition with a 6-3, 7-5 victory over freshman Will Vasos.
No. 31 Baumann, who did not play singles last weekend against Ohio State after rolling his ankle in a match against Penn State's Brendan Lynch, looked good on the court once again, up 6-3, 5-5 over Bierich when play was suspended.
""Coach said we would give it some rest so I'd be good to go for the Big Ten Tournament,"" Baumann said. ""I have no pain at all right now, so everything's healed up again.""
Iowa exits the tournament and ends its spring with a record of 4-6 in the Big Ten and 12-9 overall. It slumps to five straight losses to Wisconsin, and the Badgers survive to advance to the second round.
""It's different because it is the Big Ten Tournament and if you lose you just lose and you are out,"" Michalicka said.
Even after surviving the first round, the Badgers have little time to relax, as the squad faces the tournament's top seed, Ohio State ,Friday morning.
The Buckeyes defeated the Badgers last Sunday, adding a 7-0 shutout to the upset Wisconsin suffered Saturday at the hands of No. 65 Penn State and denying the Badgers their last conference win.
""You don't want to draw the No. 2 team in the country that hasn't lost a conference match in four years or something like that,"" Van Emburgh said, adding that OSU remains the only conference opponent the Badgers have not beaten under his guidance. ""I look at it as the opportunity to maybe take out one of the top teams in the country.""
Finishing with a perfect 10-0 record in the Big Ten, OSU extended its streak to 49 consecutive conference wins and secured its fourth consecutive regular-season title. As they enter the tournament, the Buckeyes will pursue their fourth straight tournament title as well.
""They only lost one match this season and they're No. 2 in the country, so we don't have anything to lose,"" Baumann said. ""We can only gain something or win it.""
""If we can get a doubles point there and then just play our best tennis, take care of our business on the court and focus on every point and step up I think we can … It can be a really close match,"" Michalicka added.
This year OSU is joined in the top half of the draw by No. 2 seed Illinois and No. 3 Minnesota, who will challenge Thursday's other winners, No. 7 Penn State and No. 6 Indiana. No. 4 Michigan and No. 5 Northwestern round out Friday's draw and will face off against one another in the second round of this year's combative conference tournament, which includes nine teams ranked in the top 65 nationally.
""I think a lot of teams have raised the bar a little bit. They've added some great tennis players,"" Van Emburgh said. ""That's great for the Big Ten Conference. That's what we want, to be competitive throughout the teams in our conference.""
For the Badgers, two of their own exceptional talents were also honored Thursday, as Baumann and Michalicka were named to the All-Big Ten team. Baumann ended his regular season 22-1, and his unanimous selection this year gives him his third straight All-Big Ten title. Michalicka, who earned Freshman of the Year last year, collects his first, also earning his first Sportsmanship Award for his ethics, academics and citizenship.
Baumann, Michalicka and the rest of the men hit the courts at 9 a.m. CST to try to topple the Buckeyes and advance to the tournament semifinals.
