The Wisconsin men's tennis team (1-3 Big Ten, 6-9 overall) had no answer for No. 1 Illinois (3-0, 16-0 overall), losing 7-0, but managed to round out the weekend with a 1-1 record by defeating No. 75 Purdue by a score of 5-2. The Illini overpowered the Badgers sweeping them outright. However, UW responded on their way to collecting their first conference win at the expense of the Boilermakers (1-3, 6-9 overall).
The undefeated Illini, while dominating the match, were unable to demoralize the resilient Badgers. Having lost their first three Big Ten matches, UW refused to let the familiarity of losing breed content as they bounced back and played like contenders against Purdue.
UW made quick work of the Boilermakers by first sweeping the doubles portion of the match, and then taking four of the six singles match-ups. In doubles play, the No. 32 pair of senior co-captain David Hippee and junior Alex Kasarov beat junior Dave Robinson and senior Troy Havens, 8-4 in the No. 1 slot, while the Badgers' other senior co-captain Scott Green and his playing partner freshman Pete Amundson bested juniors Sonak Chatterjee and Filip Koziell, 8-6 at No. 2.
Hippee and sophomores Ward Bortz and Mark Weinig each defeated their opponents in straight sets to help the Badgers take the singles point as well as the overall match. UW looks to continue its success when they go on the road to play back-to-back matches against Iowa and Minnesota this weekend.
