Men's Tennis: Badgers split weekend with Penn win and Blue Raider loss

The Wisconsin men’s tennis program concluded a mixed weekend schedule by splitting its two competitive matches. The Badgers improved their overall record to 6-6, but they remain 0-1 in Big Ten conference play and have yet to secure a victory in away competition this season.

In the first match, Wisconsin hosted the Penn Quakers at the Nielsen Tennis Center on Friday afternoon. The Badgers had never defeated the Quakers in the program’s history, and they lost 4-3 in last season’s encounter. This time, the home team dominated with a 6-1 scoreline. The doubles point was secured early, with the senior Josef Dodridge and junior Osgar O’Hoisin winning 6-1 to maintain their unbeaten streak as a duo. Sophomores Daniel Soyfer and Chase Colton added a 6-2 victory to complete the sweep of the doubles session.

Wisconsin followed up that lead by winning all but one of the singles matches. Colton, Soyfer, and Dodridge all won in straight sets. Freshman Jesper Freimuth also prevailed in straight sets with scores of 6-2 and 6-3. O’Hoisin required three sets to finish the match, ultimately winning 7-5, 4-6, and 10-2.

The team then traveled to Murfreesboro, Tennessee, to face Middle Tennessee State, a squad that had not dropped a home match this season and had shut out five opponents. The Badgers started strongly, with O’Hoisin and Dodridge defeating Chris Edge and Tom Moonen 6-4. Senior Chema Carranza and Freimuth then beat Glan Issa and Jan Porteset 6-2 to claim the doubles point. Soyfer kept Wisconsin alive in singles, winning 6-4 and 6-3 to extend his own singles record to 10-0.

Middle Tennessee State then won the next three singles events to build a 3-2 lead. Dodridge tied the match at 3-3 with a 7-6 and 6-1 win, setting the stage for a decisive final point between Carranza and Moonen. Carranza lost the opening set in a 7-6 tiebreak before winning the second set 6-1. In the deciding third set, Carranza led 5-4, but Moonen mounted a comeback to win 7-5 and claim the match for the Blue Raiders.

Head coach Danny Westerman noted that the defeat was difficult but necessary for growth. “This one stings. We need to keep working. We put ourselves in these situations so we can eventually get over the hump,” Westerman told UWBadgers.com. The team will return to the Nielsen Tennis Center next weekend for a Sunday doubleheader against Cornell and UW-Green Bay.