It was a day of firsts for the Wisconsin men’s tennis team Saturday afternoon in Lincoln, Ne.
The Badgers (1-1 Big Ten, 9-6 overall) emerged victorious in a grueling, back-and-forth match that gave them their first Big Ten Conference win and first road win of the season. They took the match in a 4-3 decision over the Nebraska Cornhuskers (0-1 Big Ten, 9-4 overall).
Returning to action for the first time in nearly two weeks, the Cardinal and White picked up where they left off in doubles play.
The No. 4 ranked doubles pair in the country, seniors Chema Carranza and Josef Dodridge, overpowered Nebraska’s pair, Linus Erhart and Toby Boyer, at a score of 6-1. Sophomore Daniel Soyfer and junior Osgar O’Hoisin followed their lead and claimed their match 7-5, giving the Badgers a 1-0 lead.
Senior captain Lamar Remy, who has been battling injuries for much of the spring season, returned to form to give the Badgers a 2-0 lead. Playing in his first singles match in a month, Remy disposed of Dylan Bednarczyk in straight sets 6-3, 6-4.
Things didn't go as smoothly for Wisconsin in the following two matches as Dodridge and freshman Robert Krill both fell in straight sets, evening the score at 2-2.
Chema Carranza broke out of his slump and delivered a huge victory for the team, edging out Nebraska’s Micah Klousia in straight sets 7-5, 7-6. The victory was Carranza’s first in six matches and gave the Badgers a 3-2 advantage.
Sophomore Daniel Soyfer, who took a spotless record into Saturday, saw his magical run come to an end at the hands of Nebraska senior Linus Erhart. The defeat was Soyfer’s first of the spring season, and meant that the match would be decided by O’Hoisin in the No. 5 spot.
After taking the first set against Nebraska freshman William Grattan-Smith in a 7-6 tiebreaker, O’Hoisin was unable to close out the match as he fell 3-6 in the second. Fortunately for the Badgers, luck proved to be on the side of the Dublin native in this St. Patrick’s Day match. O’Hoisin took care of business in the third set scoring a 6-3 victory, and closing out the match for Wisconsin.
This was the second time in the last three matches that O’Hoisin has clinched a win for the team.
“I was very proud of Osgar. He just kept in the moment and looked forward to the opportunity that came with the third set. I was happy he could clinch it for us. He works hard every day,” head coach Danny Westerman told UWBadgers.com.
The Badgers return to action when they take on the No. 42 ranked Iowa Hawkeyes Saturday at 2:30 p.m. at Nielsen Tennis Center.
