The no. 27 Wisconsin men's tennis team exited the Big Ten tournament in Saturday's semi-final round at the hands of the top seed Ohio State, who outmaneuvered the Badgers 4-0.
The two teams faced off only a week ago with the same outcome, but it was not the same story this time around as Ohio (31-1 overall, 10-0 Big Ten) was first on the board with the pivotal doubles advantage.
From bottom to top, freshman Chris Freeman and senior Luke Rassow-Kantor were the first to vacate their proset 4-8 at no. 3. Sophomore Patrick Pohlmann and senior Michael Dierberger held their own against juniors Matt Allare and Shuhei Uzawa, winning 8-3, and the point once again came down to the titan teams at no. 1.
For Ohio State, No. 15 partners sophomore Chase Buchanan and freshman Dino Marcan pulled out to an early 4-1 lead but Wisconsin's No. 14 pair senior Moritz Baumann and junior Marek Michalicka battled back to a tiebreak. The boys in red fell short though, and Ohio State captured victory in the last points 9-8(5).
Everything was in motion for the four-time defending champion No. 4 Buckeyes, who extended their lead quickly in singles. No. 31 senior Justin Kronauge plowed through No. 28 Michalicka 6-2, 6-1 to his 145th career victory. At the top spot, No. 22 Baumann took his shot at No. 9 Buchanan but missed, falling 6-3, 6-4 to the Big Ten player of the year.
Although Pohlmann and Rassow-Kantor tallied first-set victories, there was no need to play them out after Freeman fell at No. 4, toppled by junior Balzas Novak 6-3, 6-4. The Buckeyes walked away with the four points needed to secure their 14th straight tournament win and defend their 5th title in the championship match.
Saturday was the end of the road for the Badgers, who added a shutout, quaterfinal win over Minnesota before falling to the Buckeyes for the second year in a row finishing 19-8 overall and 7-3 in the Big Ten. Now the squad waits hopeful for a fourth straight NCAA bid when selection takes place Tuesday afternoon.
—uwbadgers.com contributed to this report
