MADISON, Wis. — The Wisconsin men's tennis team took down Western Michigan in exciting match-clinching fashion Saturday afternoon at Nielsen Tennis Stadium. The Badgers (6-5) beat the Broncos (4-6) by a score of 4-3.
Sebastian Vile and Robin Parts were the lone Badger pair to win their doubles match, taking down Western Michigan's Fynn Lohse and Arjun Honnappa with a swift 6-2 result.
The Badgers were down 1-0 after doubles play but junior Gabriel Huber quickly turned it around for the home team. Huber made quite the entrance with a quick 6-1, 6-2 singles win over Western Michigan's Fynn Lohse during his first match back from an injury in over a month.
Riding off the momentum from a quick first set, senior Lenard Soha grabbed the second singles point of the match with a 6-1, 7-5 win versus Anton Arzhankin at the No. 2 doubles position. Soha's sixth win of the season brought the Badgers one point closer 2-3.
Sophomore Tim Dzhurinskiy tied up the match for Wisconsin after an exciting back-and-forth battle with the Bronco's Jackson Boone. The first set ended with a 7-6 decision favoring Dzhurinskiy after he won the tiebreaker 7-3 and fought back from an early 4-1 deficit. Dzhurinskiy took the second set 6-3 for the win at the No. 6 position and the team's third point.
For the second time this season and the match all tied up 3-3, it all came down to Vile. Vile fought back after dropping his first set against Benjamin George 3-6 and flipping the script to take the second 6-3. He dominated the third set behind a loud Badger-faithful crowd and supportive teammates. Vile beat Pierce with a final score of 3-6, 6-3, 6-2.
Straight from the Court
Head Coach Danny Westerman: "It was a fantastic effort. I wasn't surprised we couldn't get that doubles point. We knew it would be a good match. We didn't need that doubles point today but need to get better in a few spots. It was a great win and a great effort. [Vile] said earlier in the year we weren't going to lose those 4-3s if it was up to him. Glad he's out there again but we've have a lot of guys step up now, it just happened to be him today."
Senior Sebastian Vile: "It got off to a bit of a shaky start, down a set and then gave some energy and came back. I made a few adjustments and there's no better feeling in college tennis than winning a third set with your team behind you and everyone supporting you. I was really happy to get it done, they're a good team, and I'm really proud of all of us today."
Up Next
The Badgers travel to San Diego, Calif. for a pair of weekday non-conference matches. Wisconsin will play Harvard on Tuesday, March 15 and the University of San Diego on Thursday, March 17.
Wisconsin 4, Western Michigan 3
Singles Results
1. Peter Kuszynski (WM) def. Jared Pratt (WIS) 7-6 (7-3), 6-4
2. Lenard Soha (WIS) def. Anton Arzhankin (WM) 6-1, 7-5
3. Gabriel Huber (WIS) def. Fynn Lohse (WM) 6-1, 6-2
4. Brogan Pierce (WM) def. Robin Parts (WIS) 6-3, 7-6 (8-6)
5. Sebastian Vile (WIS) def. Benjamin George (WM) 3-6, 6-3, 6-2
6. Tim Dzhurinskiy (WIS) def. Jackson Boone (WM) 7-6 (7-3), 6-4
Doubles Results
1. Sebastian Vile/Robin Parts (WIS) def. Fynn Lohse/Arjun Honnappa (WM) 6-2
2. Peter Kuszynski/Joaquin Caballer (WM) def. Lenard Soha/Tim Dzhurinskiy (WIS) 6-4
3. Benjamin George/Brogan Pierce (WM) def. Jared Pratt/Daniel Nuzhny (WIS) 6-3
Order of finish: Doubles (1, 3, 2); Singles (3, 4, 1, 2, 6, 5)
