This weekend, the Wisconsin men's tennis team will wrap up its regular season on the road, facing its last two Big Ten foes Penn State and Ohio State on Friday and Sunday afternoon.
The No. 30 Badgers (4-4 Big Ten, 15-7 overall) found mixed results, earning a clean 5-2 victory over No. 63 Iowa (3-5, 11-7) before suffering a gut-wrenching 4-3 loss to border rivals No. 33 Minnesota (5-3, 16-6) in the final minutes of the match. The decision left the squad once again even in the Big Ten, and caught in a three-way tie for fifth place with Indiana and Michigan.
The Badgers face the Nittany Lions (3-5, 12-11) on Friday, and assistant coach Evan Austin emphasizes that like No. 53 Indiana (4-4, 12-12), who upset Wisconsin for its first conference loss of the season, Penn State is not to be underestimated.
""They're going to need a few more good wins to have a shot at making the NCAA's, so they're going to look at it as an opportunity,"" Austin said. ""They're going to come out and play loose and aggressive, so we're going to have to kind of match that and be ready for their best effort.""
Looming on Sunday morning are the No. 2 Buckeyes, who sit at the top of the Big Ten heap with a perfect 8-0 in the conference and 25-1 overall. Ohio State has won its last 48 conference matchups, and has not lost a home meet in five years and 84 competitions. Under the direction of head coach Ty Tucker, the Buckeyes have won their last 15 matches against the Badgers, but only lead Wisconsin 35-32 all-time. Rankings can mean little in tennis, and the Badgers are not to be easily discounted with a dangerous line-up topped by No. 28 junior Moritz Baumann, No. 50 sophomore Marek Michalicka and newcomer freshman Patrick Pohlmann.
""Our guys at No. 1, 2 and 3 are even or better with Ohio State, so I think if you look at it that way you've got a pretty good chance,"" head coach Greg Van Emburgh said. ""Like I tell the guys, the magic number is four. And that's where you need to get to.""
Pohlmann views Ohio State similarly, as he faces the powerhouse for the first time as a Badger.
""I don't think about rankings, so for me it doesn't matter if the team is ranked No. 50 or if it's ranked No. 1. I just want to play my game,"" Polhman said.
Beating Penn State and dethroning Ohio State would allow the Badgers to end their season with a winning Big Ten record. But a deep Ohio State squad boasts six nationally ranked players and the potential to stop the Badgers.
""Ohio State is really different because they have good players at every spot and we have to be really lucky,"" Michalicka said. ""You have to be perfect to beat them but we can do it.""
Playing for the first time in weeks against a team ranked higher than Wisconsin, the Badgers are eager to seize the opportunity to play with nothing to lose and end their season strongly before advancing to the Big Ten Tournament next weekend.
""Obviously the guys are going to be jacked up and should be able to go out and play really loose with nothing to loose,"" Van Emburgh said. ""You've got to let the match take its course and play real strong minded and see what happens.""
The Badgers will take the court in State College at 2 p.m on Friday. and then move on to Columbus, Ohio, where the first serve falls at 11 a.m. on Sunday.
