Wisconsin Tennis Suffers Homeless Streak After Narrow Loss

The Wisconsin men's tennis team is now 6-6 on the season, a record that highlights a persistent struggle away from Madison. Despite splitting its weekend matches, the Badgers remain winless on the road, a trend that has defined their campaign thus far. They also sit at 0-1 in Big Ten play after a difficult stretch against conference and non-conference opponents.

The weekend started on a high note at the Nielsen Tennis Center. Wisconsin hosted the Penn Quakers, a team it had never defeated in program history. Last year, the Badgers fell 4-3 to the Quakers, but this year they dominated with a 6-1 victory. The doubles point was secured early by senior Josef Dodridge and junior Osgar O'Hoisin, who won 6-1 to remain unbeaten as a pair. Sophomores Daniel Soyfer and Chase Colton added a 6-2 win to complete the doubles sweep.

Wisconsin followed that with strong singles play. Colton, Soyfer, and Dodridge all won in straight sets. Freshman Jesper Freimuth also took his match easily, winning 6-2 and 6-3. O'Hoisin had a tougher time, needing three sets to close it out with a 7-5, 4-6, 10-2 victory. This performance broke the program's all-time losing streak against Pennsylvania.

The mood shifted when 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 all season. Wisconsin started well, taking the doubles point. O'Hoisin and Dodridge beat Chris Edge and Tom Moonen 6-4, while Chema Carranza and Freimuth defeated Glan Issa and Jan Porteset 6-2. In singles, Soyfer won 6-4 and 6-3, improving his personal record to 10-0 for the year.

Middle Tennessee State won the next three singles matches to take a 3-2 lead. Dodridge tied the match at 3-3 with a 7-6 and 6-1 win, setting up a decisive final point. Senior Chema Carranza faced Tom Moonen at No. 2 singles. Carranza lost the first set in a tiebreak but won the second 6-1. In the final set, he led 5-4, but Moonen rallied to win 7-5, clinching the match for the hosts.

Head coach Danny Westerman acknowledged the pain of the defeat but viewed it as a necessary part of the development process. He told UWBadgers.com, "This one stings. We need to keep working. We put ourselves in these situations so we can eventually get over the hump." The team returns to action next weekend.

Wisconsin will host a doubleheader at the Nielsen Tennis Center next Sunday. The Badgers will face Cornell first, followed by UW-Green Bay, as they look to build momentum and finally secure a road win later in the schedule.