Playing together at No. 1 doubles, Wisconsin seniors Billy Bertha and Alexander Kostanov started the day off with an 8-6 victory over their Nebraska counterparts Dusty Boyer and Marc Herrmann.
That win set the tone for the rest of the meet as the No. 69 Badgers pulled off a 6-1 upset over the No. 62 Cornhuskers Sunday afternoon in the season finale at Nielsen Tennis Stadium and wrapped up a weekend in which they played three meets in as many days.
Wisconsin (4-7 Big Ten, 13-11 overall) started off their busy weekend by heading to Iowa City to take on the Hawkeyes Friday. Iowa (0-10, 7-15) surprised early by earning the doubles point, but the Badgers quickly regained control in singles play. Kostanov, Bertha, and the freshman trio of Oskar Wikberg, Jakhongir Jalalov, and Alexander Kokorev all posted wins at the No. 2—No. 6 spots. Only a loss at No. 1 by junior Petr Satral prevented a Badgers sweep in the singles portion of the meet. The 5-2 overall victory was Wisconsin’s first road victory of the season.
UW then spent Saturday in Iowa’s state capital, Des Moines. It was there to play No. 27 Drake in a match not included in the original schedule. Despite a dominating 8-2 win at No. 1 doubles by Bertha and Kostanov, the No. 88 ranked doubles pair in the nation, Wisconsin struggled to do much else. The Bulldogs (21-2) took the doubles point, and from there, Drake battled to put away the pesky Badgers. After losses by Jalalov, Kokorev, and Satral at No. 5, No. 6, and No. 1, respectively, Wisconsin’s fate was sealed. With the meet now decided, officials opted to call off the three remaining matches and give Drake the 4-0 victory. However, two of the three remaining matches were in a third set, and the other was tied at five apiece in the second, indicating the fight the Badgers put up against one of this year’s best programs.
Wisconsin returned home to Nielsen to complete the weekend on Sunday against a Nebraska team that entered play on a four-game losing streak. The Badgers won the doubles point after Bertha and Kostanov’s 8-6 win at No. 1 and Kokorev and Wikberg’s 8-6 win at No. 2. At No. 3, play was called with Jalalov and Satral leading, 7-4.
In singles, Wisconsin nearly finished off a full 7-0 sweep, but Bertha could not come up with a win at No. 3, losing 6-3, 6-4 to Herrmann. Satral, Kostanov, Wikberg, Jalalov, and Kokorev all earned victories to give UW the 6-1 victory. It was a fitting way to end a roller coaster season, one that saw highs of a 10-2 start and lows of a seven-game midseason losing streak. With a completed regular season, the Badgers will hope to carry this momentum into next week’s Big Ten tournament in Columbus. The tourney will last from Thursday through Sunday.
