Badgers Beat Penn 6-1 But Fall to Middle Tennessee State in Final Set

The Wisconsin men's tennis team split its weekend schedule. The Badgers won at home before losing a close match in Tennessee. They are now 6-6 on the season and 0-1 in the Big Ten.

On Friday, Wisconsin hosted Pennsylvania at Nielsen Tennis Center. The Quakers, who had a 4-7 record, had never lost to the Badgers in program history. Wisconsin broke that streak with a 6-1 victory. Senior Josef Dodridge and junior Osgar O'Hoisin secured the doubles point with a 6-1 win. Sophomores Daniel Soyfer and Chase Colton added a 6-2 victory.

In singles, Wisconsin won four of five matches. Colton, Soyfer, and Dodridge all won in straight sets. Freshman Jesper Freimuth won 6-2, 6-3. O'Hoisin took the final singles match in three sets, winning 7-5, 4-6, 10-2.

The team traveled to Murfreesboro, Tennessee, to face Middle Tennessee State. The Blue Raiders held a 10-2 record and had not lost at home this season. Wisconsin took the initial lead in doubles. O'Hoisin and Dodridge beat Chris Edge and Tom Moonen 6-4. Senior Chema Carranza and Freimuth followed with a 6-2 win over Glan Issa and Jan Porteset.

Soyfer won his singles match 6-4, 6-3, extending his perfect 10-0 record in singles play. Middle Tennessee State then won three consecutive singles matches to take a 3-2 lead. Dodridge tied the match at 3-3 with a 7-6, 6-1 victory. That left the outcome to depend on the final singles match between Carranza and Tom Moonen.

Carranza dropped the first set in a 7-6 tiebreak. He won the second set 6-1. In the deciding third set, Carranza led 5-4. Moonen rallied to win the set 7-5 and the match 6-5 for Middle Tennessee State. Head coach Danny Westerman called the loss painful but necessary for growth. He told UWBadgers.com that the team needs to keep working to overcome these situations.

Wisconsin is still without a road win this season. The team returns to Nielsen Tennis Center next weekend. It will play a Sunday doubleheader against Cornell and UW-Green Bay.