The No. 33-ranked Badger women will face No. 55 Iowa and No. 65 Minnesota this weekend with home court advantage.
The women return home after falling to Indiana-Bloomington 5-2 Sunday for their first loss in over a month. The team cut its spring break short to take on a horde of matches including Michigan and Michigan State, followed by trips to Penn State and Indiana. Head coach Patti Henderson is glad to bring the women home and slow things down.
Henderson said being home will give the team the chance to work some things they neglected because of the competive schedule.
Henderson said she recognized the team will have to work for its wins against Iowa and Minnesota, due to those teams' recent improvement. Head coach Daryl Greenan joined the program at Thanksgiving, and has already led his team to a Top 20 rank.
\[Iowa has] some very good players and you have to be ready to play,"" Henderson said. ""Minnesota, likewise, is a much better, much improved team from the last two years. So they're going to be tough as well.""
Minnesota junior captain Nischela Reddy has not let her game down despite the team's three losses last weekend. Reddy is ranked 89th in singles. She is currently 4-2 against ranked opponents this season.
Badger sophomore Kaylan Caiati looks to uphold the eight-game winning streak she has been maintained. Caiati attributed her success to the flood of matches she played. She said the more she plays, the more control she has over her game. Control and consistency will be the keys to maintaining her success.
""I like to force my opponent to make errors,"" Caiati said. ""The more I hit, the more consistent I get. I think that is one thing that has really helped me out a lot.""
Senior Lindsay Martin was glad for the team's much-needed rest, and believes that this break will fuel the team and maintain the confidence needed to pull out a victory this weekend.
""I'm hoping that confidence will keep carrying us into these next couple matches coming up,"" Martin said. ""I think with a little rest, we've had the last couple days off, we're getting rested and back into it and pumped up for this weekend and I think that the rest will really help us.""
Wisconsin will take on Minnesota Saturday, and finish the weekend with Iowa Sunday. Both matches will be at the Nielsen Tennis Stadium at 11 a.m.
