Wisconsin to host Penn State and Ohio State

MADISON, Wis. — The Wisconsin men’s tennis team (1-19, 0-6 B1G) returns home for its final weekend of regular-season tennis in the 2024 season. Wisconsin will face Penn State (4-18, 0-7 B1G) on Friday, Apr. 19 at 3 p.m. and No. 1 Ohio State (25-1, 7-0) on Sunday, Apr. 21 at noon for its senior night. 

Here are five things you should know before Wisconsin faces Penn State and Ohio State:

1. SCOUTING THE NITTANY LIONS: The Penn State Nittany Lions are 4-18 overall this season and tied for last in the Big Ten with an 0-7 record. In non-conference play, Penn State defeated Cleveland State, Temple, Lehigh and Mount St. Mary’s at home in University Park, but have struggled through a tough Big Ten schedule. Similar to the Badgers the Nittany Lions have a young team, with seven of their ten players being underclassmen. Penn State has one ranked singles player, No. 102 Miko Eala, who holds a 14-8 record, and defeated Michigan State’s No. 43-ranked Robbie Hohmann, 6-3, 6-2 in his last time out on the court. 

Last season, the Badgers and No. 73-ranked Nittany Lions met on Mar. 31 in Pennsylvania, and the Badgers took home the win, 5-2. The Badgers claimed their 12th doubles point of the season, with No. 41 Gabriel Huber/Michael Minasyan winning 7-6 (7-3) over Sam Bossem/Loren Byers and Robin Parts/Sebastian Vile defeating Malik Bhatnagar/Charl Morgan 6-4. Heading into singles play, Wisconsin claimed four victories, with Pratt, Huber Minasyan and Parts all winning their respective matches. 

2. SCOUTING THE BUCKEYES: The Ohio State Buckeyes are the number one-ranked team in the nation, with a 25-1 record and a perfect 7-0 record in conference play. The Buckeyes have claimed 13 ranked wins this season, with five wins against top 10-ranked programs. Five of the Buckeyes’ singles players are ranked in the top 125, including No. 16 JJ Tracy, No. 19 Cannon Kingsley, No. 25 Jack Anthrop, No. 28 Justin Boulais and No. 114 Robert Cash. The team also has six ranked doubles pairs, including No. 2 Robert Cash/JJ Tracy, No. 20 Justin Boulais/Andrew Lutschaunig, No. 49 Alexander Bernard/JJ Tracy and No. 67 Jack Anthrop/Preston Stearns.

The Badgers and Buckeyes met Apr. 2 of last season, with No. 2 Ohio State taking a 6-1 victory over Wisconsin in Columbus. Junior Mihailo Popovic defeated No. 53-ranked Justin Boulais, 6-2, 7-6 (7-3) for…