Five Things to Know: Badgers back on the road

MADISON, Wis. — The Wisconsin men’s tennis team is on the road for the last time during the regular season, traveling to the state of Illinois for a pair of Big Ten matchups. The No. 51 Badgers (11-7, 4-2 B1G) play at No. 23 Illinois (15-9, 3-2) Friday at 6 p.m. before making their way to No. 27 Northwestern (15-7, 4-1) for a Sunday noon match. 

Here are five things you should know before this weekend’s matches:

1. PROMISING PRATT: Grad student Jared Pratt doesn’t hold back in each match that he plays. UWBadgers Senior Writer Andy Baggot recently did a story on Pratt, detailing his painful journey with childhood scoliosis and constant back pain. But it’s not enough to keep him from playing the sport he loves, tennis. After surgeries and physical therapy, Pratt found his home on the courts and a second home on the Wisconsin tennis team. “The issues that I have with my back can present in many different ways,” Pratt said. “I can have direct pain in my back, which is common. I’ve learned to live with it. If it’s bad on game day, you take some Advil, you roll it out and do the best you can.” Read the rest of Pratt’s inspirational story here. 

2. BIG TEN STANDINGS: With only two more weekends of Big Ten play to go, the conference standings are shaking up and shaking out more than ever. No. 3 Ohio State (6-0) holds the top spot while No. 4 Michigan (4-1) and Northwestern (4-1) are tied for second. Nebraska (4-2), which the Badgers have yet to play, and Wisconsin (4-2) are tied for fourth. Illinois (3-2) is currently fifth followed by Indiana (1-4) and Michigan State (1-4) in sixth. Penn State (0-6) and Purdue (0-5) round out the current standings.

3. KNOW THE OPPONENTS: The Illinois Fighting Illini are currently ranked No. 23 in the country, according to the latest ITA polls, the third highest ITA-ranked Big Ten team. Illinois is 15-9 on the season and 3-2 in Big Ten play. Their two conference losses were to No. 3 Ohio State, 4-0, and on the road at Northwestern, 4-3. As well as clocking in right outside the top-20, the Illini have the No. 41-ranked doubles team made up of Karlis Ozolins and Hunter Heck as well as the No. 54-ranked pair of Mathis Debru and Oliver Okonkwo. Their accolades don’t stop there as singles players Karlis Ozolins (No. 38) and Alex Petrov (97) are ranked nationally. 

The No. 27-ranked…