The first day of postseason play for the Badgers could also have been their last. No. 59 Wisconsin (4-7 Big Ten 13-12 overall) was run out of Columbus, Ohio, in a rematch against No. 70 Purdue (3-8, 17-11) on the first day of Big Ten tournament, losing 4-0.
The Badgers entered Thursday winners of three out of their last four Big Ten meets. The hot streak initially started against Purdue two weeks ago, with the Badgers on the heels of a seven-meet losing streak. UW was in desperate need of a win that night as Purdue came to Nielsen Tennis Stadium. At first the meet was not promising for the Badgers, as they were down three points. However, that’s when the switch turned on and the Badgers won the last four points in stunning fashion to capture the victory and end their losing streak. That victory propelled them to a hot finish to the regular season, and UW entered the Big Ten tourney with high hopes to solidify its case for a NCAA tournament at-large bid.
Unfortunately for Wisconsin, that bid looks a lot less secure as Purdue would not let the victory slip out of its hands this time. The meet immediately started off poorly for the Badgers as the sizzling senior doubles duo of Billy Bertha and Alexander Kostanov, ranked nationally at No. 78, fell 4-8 to Purdue’s No. 89 doubles pair of senior Krisztian Krocsko and junior Szymon Tatarczyk. Purdue senior Pawel Poziomski and junior Mark Kovacs earned the doubles point for the Boilermakers by making quick work of junior Petr Satral and freshman Jakhongir Jalalov. The struggle continued for the Badgers immediately into singles play as freshman Alexander Kokorev lost to Purdue freshman Mateus Silva 3-6, 1-6, and Bertha faced a similar fate, losing 3-6, 1-6 to junior Aaron Dujovne. This was familiar territory for the Badgers, as they faced a similar 3-0 deficit in the first meeting. This time, however, there would be no such comeback, as Purdue quickly closed the deal with Tatarczyk defeating Satral 4-6, 2-6. The Boilermakers sent the Badgers back home early and UW’s postseason fate now hangs in the balance, as it must anxiously wait to see if it receives an at-large bid into the NCAA tournament.
