Wisconsin tennis misses chance for first road win after late collapse in Tennessee

The Wisconsin men's tennis team failed to secure its first away victory of the season after losing a tight match to Middle Tennessee State in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, on Saturday.

The loss ended a weekend that began with a dominant home performance. Wisconsin defeated Pennsylvania 6-1 on Friday at the Nielsen Tennis Center in Madison. The result snapped a historical streak, as the Badgers had never previously beaten the Quakers. The team stands at 6-6 overall and 0-1 in Big Ten play.

In the Friday match, Wisconsin took the doubles point with victories from the No. 1 pair of Josef Dodridge and Osgar O'Hoisin, who remain unbeaten as a duo. Sophomores Daniel Soyfer and Chase Colton added another doubles win. In singles, Colton, Soyfer, Dodridge, and Jesper Freimuth all won in straight sets. O'Hoisin secured the final point in three sets, closing out the match 7-5, 4-6, 10-2.

The atmosphere shifted in Murfreesboro, where Middle Tennessee State held a 10-2 record and had not dropped a home match. Wisconsin started strongly, winning both doubles matches and taking the first singles point from Soyfer, who improved to 10-0 in singles this season. However, the Blue Raiders won the next three singles matches to take a 3-2 lead. Dodridge tied the score at 3-3 with a 7-6, 6-1 victory, setting up a deciding point between Chema Carranza and Tom Moonen.

Carranza lost the first set 7-6 and won the second 6-1. In the final set, he held a 5-4 lead before Moonen rallied to win 7-5. The result gave Middle Tennessee State the match and extended Wisconsin's road losing streak.

Head coach Danny Westerman acknowledged the difficulty of the loss. He told UWBadgers.com that the result stings but serves as a necessary challenge for the team to overcome. He noted that the squad needs to keep working to eventually get over the hump.

Wisconsin returns to the Nielsen Tennis Center next weekend for a Sunday doubleheader. The Badgers will face Cornell and UW-Green Bay in two scheduled matches.