March 20, 2015
Final Stats | Final Stats (PDF)
MADISON, Wis. - In its first outdoor match at Nielsen Tennis Stadium this season, the Wisconsin men's tennis team upset conference rival No. 74 Nebraska in dramatic fashion, taking the contest by a final score of 5-2.
"I'm really proud of ourguys," said head coach Greg Van Emburgh. "Our tough schedule really prepared us for today against a really solid Nebraska team, and to get a conference win at home with a great crowd is just an unbelievable feeling."
The Badgers began the match in tight competition on every doubles court, eventually emerging victorious over their Big Ten foe and grabbing the dual's opening point.
On court 3, John Zordani and Lamar Remy jumped out to a quick 4-0 lead, but the Huskers battled back and closed the gap. The UW pair ultimately won the contest by a final score of 8-4.
Alexander Kokorev and Jakhongir Jalalov fell to their Nebraska opponents on court 2, 8-4, while the No. 51 team of Jose Maria Martin De Oliva Carranza and Josef Dodridge were able to clinch the point for UW by winning 8-3. The pair trailed 40-0 in their final game and earned five-straight points to take the match for UW.
In singles play, Dodridge continued the momentum from his impressive start by sweeping Dusty Boyer of Nebraska on court 1, 6-1, 6-2.
After dropping his first set to the Huskers' Marc Hermann, Jalalov came back with a vengeance and won his match on court 2 by a final score of 3-6, 6-1, 6-0.
Michael Sinha improved to 3-0 on the season with his match-clinching victory on court 5 over Andrew Dzulynsky, 6-4, 6-4. Tomas Pitra then rounded out the Badger victory by winning his dual in a three-set thriller, 6-1, 4-6, 6-4.
Despite winning the opening set, Remy dropped his match to Linus Erhart at No. 3 singles. On court 6, Darius Mackenzie was also unable to overcome his Husker opponent and fell by a final score of 6-3, 6-1.
Assistant coach Scoville Jenkins was impressed with his team's ability to finish out the tough match.
"It was a great win. We have struggled all year for those matches like we pulled out today. I feel so happy for the guys, because they earned it."
The Badgers return to conference action Sunday, as the team travels to Iowa City, Iowa, to take on the Hawkeyes at 2 p.m. (CT).
Results - Friday, March 20
Wisconsin def. No. 74 Nebraska, 5-2
Men's Doubles
1. No. 51 Josef Dodridge/Jose Carranza def. Dusty Boyer/Bradford Zitsch, 8-3
2. Linus Erhart/Scott Elsass def. Alexander Kokorev/Jakhongir Jalalov, 8-4
3. Lamar Remy/John Zordani def. Marc Hermann/Andrew Dzulynsky, 8-4
Men's Singles
1. Josef Dodridge def. Dusty Boyer, 6-1, 6-2
2. Jakhongir Jalalov def. Marc Hermann, 3-6, 6-1, 6-0
3. Linus Erhart def. Lamar Remy, 4-6, 6-3, 6-0
4. Tomas Pitra def. Chris Hobgarski, 6-1, 4-6, 6-4
5. Michael Sinha def. Andrew Dzulynsky, 6-4, 6-4
6. Bradford Zitsch def. Darius Mackenzie, 6-3, 6-1
