Despite a pair of stellar individual performances, the UW women's tennis team was unable to pull out its first Big Ten victory Sunday, losing 5-2 to No. 29 Ohio State at Nielsen Tennis Stadium.
The Badgers (0-7 Big Ten, 7-12 overall) dropped all three doubles matches and their first four singles matches in their fourth consecutive loss.
Two three-set matches helped the Badgers avoid their third sweep in their last four matches.
In No. 1 singles, junior Liz Carpenter outlasted the Buckeyes' Angela DiPastina 6-3, 3-6, 6-4. The outlook was bleak for Carpenter during the second set after DiPastina jumped out to a 4-0 lead. However, the Sierra Madre, Calif., native continued to fight, nabbing a few games and shifting the momentum back in her favor to close the set.
In the third set, with DiPastina serving at 4-5, Carpenter finally broke through, aided by a combination of unforced errors and double faults by her opponent.
Having a close [second] set was good because going into the third I felt confident and then got off to a good start and just kept going with it,"" Carpenter said.
UW coach Brian Fleishman, who has placed Carpenter at the No. 1 singles spot in all but one match this season, touted Carpenter's competitive drive and crafty play.
""I think she used all of her experience today, all the wins, all the losses,"" Fleishman said. ""All the experience, I think that got her over the hump today. She's got a big heart, she wants to win.""
The second point for the Badgers came when freshman Emese Kardhordo knocked off Julie Blackmore 2-6, 7-6 (9-7), 1-0 (10-7) at the No. 3 slot. The final set was played as a super- tiebreaker because the Buckeyes (4-2, 17-4) had already clinched the match.
According to Fleishman, Kardhordo succeeded by exploiting a weakness of Blackmore, hitting high, topspin-heavy shots to Blackmore's forehand side. Kardhordo's execution was crucial in the win.
The match also marked just the second time the Badgers have played on the outdoor courts at home this season. Fleishman was pleased with his team's effort despite the lack of outdoor matches they have played so far this season.
""The thing is, you've got to win ugly in the wind. It's not pretty, it doesn't feel good, you don't have your timing, but you just have to win ugly,"" Fleishman said.
On Saturday, the Badgers were swept 7-0 by No. 28 Indiana. Carpenter and freshman Jessica Seyferth teamed up for the only UW victory on the day, an 8-6 win at No. 1 doubles over Brianna Williams and Katya Zamanova of the Hoosiers (5-1, 16-5).
Wisconsin will hit the road this weekend to take on Minnesota on Saturday and Iowa on Sunday. Nothing will change for Fleishman and the Badgers, who are hoping for better results this weekend.
""I'm expecting to win, of course the wins aren't coming, but the demands and the expectations are there for these kids to perform on game day,"" Fleishman said.
Men
The No. 35 UW men's tennis team split a pair of conference road matches this past weekend, defeating No. 39 Indiana 4-3 on Saturday and dropping a 6-1 decision at the hands of No. 2 Ohio State.
On Saturday, the Badgers (5-2, 13-8) were led by victories at the top-three singles spots by sophomore Moritz Baumann, senior Nolan Polley and freshman Marek Michalicka. Polley remains perfect in Big Ten play at 6-0, while Michalicka pushed his overall record to 17-1 in spring dual matches. Senior Felipe Bellido scored the deciding victory at No. 6 singles, winning 6-2, 3-6, 6-2 over Chris Foster of the Hoosiers (3-3, 13-6).
The Buckeyes (6-0, 24-1) eliminated any hope of a Badger upset by taking the first six points of the contest, including all three doubles matches in the doubles point. UW notched its lone point of the match when sophomore Michael Dierberger knocked off Ohio State's Drew Eberly 2-6, 7-5, 1-0 at No. 4 singles.
The Milwaukee native scored the win in a third-set super-tiebreaker because the team's match outcome had already been determined.
The Badgers return home this weekend to take on Iowa on Saturday, followed by a border battle with Minnesota on Sunday.
- uwbadgers.com and ohiostatebuckeyes.com contributed to this report.
