MADISON, Wis. — The Wisconsin men’s tennis team played its first home match of the 2023-24 season against DePaul on Friday, Jan. 19. The Badgers (0-2, 0-0 B1G) lost to DePaul (1-1, 0-0 Big East) 4-3 in a close dual.
UW grabbed the doubles point with wins at No. 3 and No. 2 doubles, and looked strong heading into singles play. The first doubles win came from Matthew Fullerton and Collin Beduhn, who defeated DePaul’s Sven Moser and Elias Anwar 6-3. The freshmen duo took down the more established junior and sophomore pair, securing their second-straight win at doubles.
Soon after, Shourya Verma and Jona Gitschel of DePaul defeated Wisconsin’s Mihailo Popovic and Michael Minasyan at No. 1 doubles, 6-3, leaving the doubles point in the hands of Tomas Zlatohlavek and Oliver Olsson at No. 2 doubles. In a close match, Wisconsin’s second all-freshman pair was able to edge out Laurentiu Mandocescu and Leon Huck of DePaul to win 7-5 and secure the double point for the Badgers.
Heading into singles, Minasyan struck first at No. 2, taking a swift victory over Leon Huck, 6-2, 6-2. This was the second time Huck has fallen victim to the Badgers this season, as he was defeated 6-1, 6-4 by Fullerton back on Oct. 19 at the ITA Midwest Regional Championships in Michigan.
Unfortunately, Fullerton did not have the same results this time around against DePaul, as he lost to Matteo Iaquinto, 6-4, 6-3, at No. 3 doubles in the next match. Similarly, Olsson and Beduhn both suffered setbacks. Olsson lost to Sven Moser 7-5, 6-3 at No. 6 doubles, and then Beduhn lost, 6-4, 6-3, to Pablo Torres Almeida at No. 5 doubles.
Down 3-2, the Badgers’ fate was down to Popovic and Zlatohlavek at No. 1 and 4 doubles. The senior finished first, taking Laurentiu Mandocescu to three sets before winning 6-7 (5-7), 6-1, 6-2 in a come-from-behind victory. The hard-fought match tied the dual at 3-all, and all eyes were on Zlatohlavek as he battled Shourya Verma. Despite the gritty match, Zlatohlavek ended up falling to Verma, 6-1, 2-6, 7-6 (7-5).
Up Next: The Badgers remain at home to take on Notre Dame inside Nielsen Tennis Stadium. First serve is set for 12 p.m. on Sunday, Jan. 21 in Madison.
University of DePaul 4, University of Wisconsin 3
Singles Results
1. Mihailo Popovic (UW) def. Laurentiu Mandocescu (DPU) 6-7 (5-7), 6-1, 6-2
2. Michael…
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