Badgers remain unbeaten after blanking two rivals

Wisconsin women’s tennis players extended their winning streak on Saturday by defeating Bradley and Green Bay in back-to-back matches. The Badgers won both duals by a score of 7-0, a result that moves their season record to 6-0.

This performance marks the best start for the Wisconsin program since 1992. The team maintained a dominant presence throughout the doubleheader, dropping only two games across all matches. Green Bay fielded a short roster for the second match, with only five players available to compete against the Badgers.

The Wisconsin lineup established early leads in the doubles events. Freshman MaryAnn Rompf and senior Kelsey Grambeau defeated Theresa Tebon and Tallie Piaskowski, 6-1. In the second doubles match, sophomore Melissa Pick and freshman Lexi Keberle shut out Maria Neff and Samm Pedersen, 6-0.

The team’s singles players dropped no sets during the competition. Keberle, playing in the top position, won her match against Tebon, 6-1, 6-1. Her victory extends her personal record to 7-0 in both singles and doubles combined. Rompf defeated Piaskowski, 6-3, 6-1, in the second singles position.

Michelle Linden secured a win at third singles, defeating Sterre Tijssens, 6-1, 6-0. Pick completed her day by beating Neff, 6-0, 6-0, in the fourth singles position. Christina Zordani closed out the match at fifth singles with a 6-0, 6-1 victory over Pedersen, improving her season singles record to 5-0.

Head coach Kelcy McKenna attributed the results to the team's focus on controllable factors. "They did a great job with the controlables: their attitude, their effort and their energy," McKenna said. "Those three things are extremely important to our success." She noted that the team must continue to manage details in daily drills to prepare for upcoming competitions.

McKenna identified specific areas for improvement despite the perfect record. She emphasized the need for better execution in doubles serves and returns. "We need to do a little bit of a better job cleaning up our doubles in terms of serves and returns," she said. "We have to make sure as we move into singles, if we do have the doubles point, that we carry the momentum with us and try to be gritty and not give away free points." The Badgers will host the National Team Indoor Championship from Feb. 9 to Feb. 12.