The Wisconsin men's tennis team will travel to Illinois next weekend on an at-large bid to participate in the first round of the NCAA tournament.
This is the fourth consecutive bid the Badgers (19-8 overall) have earned in head coach Greg Van Emburgh's five years with the squad. It is an impressive improvement, considering the Badgers had received only two berths in program history before his tenure. For both coaches and players it's all about steady improvement.
""We've made strides year to year,"" Van Emburgh said. ""Not only have we made a fourth-straight bid this year, I feel like we've beaten some great teams and positioned ourselves really well, finishing fourth in the conference. Our record stands alone this year.""
That record included seven Big Ten victories, three losses that all came down to the last point, three ranked individuals and a team that settled in at No. 27 nationally. In the first round, the Badgers find themselves opposite Notre Dame (15-12) in the bracket, a team that edged the Badgers 4-3, when the then-No. 41 Fighting Irish came back from an early 0-2 deficit.
""Against Notre Dame we had a tough day and we didn't come out on top,"" freshman Chris Freeman said. ""We're focusing on Notre Dame, we're not looking past them.""
""They fight really hard, their team chemistry is really good ... they return a lot of balls,"" senior Moritz Baumann said. ""They're definitely going to be close matches, but we've just got to get four points.""
Even so, the team believes that its prospects are good this year, and its spot in the 64-team draw, coupled with the team's seasonal success, puts them in a position to go far.
""It's a good draw for us because I think we all know we can win,"" Freeman said, pointing out that they avoided the sort of top-five teams that can squander tournament dreams.
After Notre Dame, Wisconsin could possibly run into the No. 13-seeded Illini (19-10), a team that also stifled the Badgers by a 1-point margin, 4-3. The Badgers last beat the Illini in 2008 at home.
""Illinois had a great year,"" Van Emburgh said. ""At the end of the day, it's who wants it a little more, who digs a little deeper, who competes a little harder and hopefully that's going to be us.""
Both Illinois and Notre Dame have reached the Sweet Sixteen in the past, but the Badgers have not. To get to Georgia this year, they will have to one-up their best finish to date, a second-round appearance in 2007. Last year Louisville ousted them in the first round, but the Badgers will approach the challenge with the same steady measure as always.
""The main goal is to try to get to the final 16 and then go from there,"" Van Emburgh said. ""We're still taking it one match at a time.""
""We've worked so hard this year as a team, and as a freshman I've put in a lot of time like everyone else has,"" Freeman said. ""We're all just pumped to have our last tournament and go out with a bang for our seniors. I think it's important that we all get together and really try and win this thing.""
Although singles selections have not been released yet, Van Emburgh is expected to send seasoned No. 22 Baumann and No. 28 junior Marek Michalicka to both the 64-man singles bracket and 32-pair doubles to represent the Badgers. If selected, this will be Baumann's third appearance and Michalicka's second as individuals, and their first as a pair.
Wisconsin is up first in Champaign with the first serve dropping at noon Friday. The winner of their duel will take on the victor of the Illinois/Xavier match in a contest the following afternoon.
