MADISON, Wis. — Facing their toughest opponent of the season, the No. 52 men’s tennis team gave No. 5 Michigan a run for its money Friday night at Nielsen Tennis Stadium. The Badgers (7-6, 0-1 B1G) dropped a match to the Wolverines (14-2, 1-0 B1G) 5-2.
Spirits were high after an electric doubles competition. With the biggest crowd of the season so far, the Badgers dug deep and put on a show.
Seniors Robin Parts and Sebastian Vile struck the first blow at No. 3 doubles, fighting hard for a quick 6-2 win over Michigan’s Will Cooksey and Nino Ehrenschneider.
After No. 1 doubles ended in favor of Michigan, all eyes were on Jared Pratt and Jason Hildebrandt at No. 2 doubles. After the Michigan duo of Patrick Maloney and Ondrej Styler were able to hold off Wisconsin’s first match point, Pratt and Hildebrandt were able to finish off their match 6-3. Their doubles win secured the point and put the Badgers up 1-0 heading into singles play.
Michigan started to pull away, going up 3-1 and taking the first three singles matches. The Badgers were unable to hold them off from gaining that valuable last point.
At No. 6 singles, freshman Michael Minasyan got the first Big Ten singles win of his career, taking down Michigan’s Bjorn Swenson. After easily taking the first set 6-4, he rallied against a resurgent opponent that took them to a second-set tiebreaker. All tied up 6-6, Minasyan took control and won the tiebreaker, and his match, 7-4.
Up Next: The Badgers continue conference play and host the Michigan State Spartans on Sunday at 12 p.m. at Nielsen Tennis Stadium.
#5 Michigan 5, #52 Wisconsin 2
Singles Results
1. #14 Ondrej Styler (MICH) def. Jared Pratt (WIS) 6-2, 7-5
2. #10 Andrew Fenty (MICH) def. Jason Hildebrandt (WIS) 6-3, 6-2
3. #40 Gavin Young (MICH) def. Mihailo Popovic (WIS) 6-2, 6-4
4. Jacob Bickersteth (MICH) def. Sebastian Vile (WIS) 5-7, 6-4, 6-3
5. Nino Ehrenschneider (MICH) def. Gabriel Huber (WIS) 6-4, 4-6, 6-1
6. Michael Minasyan (WIS) def. Bjorn Swenson (MICH) 6-4, 7-6 (7-4)
Doubles Results
1. #8 Gavin Young/Andrew Fenty (MICH) def. #41 Gabriel Huber/Michael Minasyan (WIS) 6-4
2. Jared Pratt/Jason Hildebrandt (WIS) def. Patrick Maloney/Ondrej Styler (MICH) 6-3
3. Robin Parts/Sebastian Vile (WIS) def. Will Cooksey/Nino Ehrenschneider (MICH) 6-2
Order of finish: Doubles…
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