University of Washington
Wisconsin
Huskies Lose 4-3 to Wisconsin in NCAA First Round
May 11, 2007 | Men's Tennis
May 11, 2007
South Bend, Ind. - The No. 38 Wisconsin Badgers rallied from a 3-1 deficit to beat the No. 32 Huskies 4-3 in the first round of the NCAA Men's Tennis Tournament on Friday in South Bend, Ind. The Badgers (16-10) won the top four singles matches to advance to the NCAA Second Round for the first time in their history, while the Huskies (16-7) missed advancing past the first round for just the second time in the last 11 years.
The Huskies entered the match with history definitely on their side, but the resilient Badgers were undaunted by it. Washington had advanced to the NCAA Sweet 16 in five of the last six seasons and boasted the most road victories of any school in the NCAA first and second round since 1999, while Wisconsin was making just the third NCAA appearance in team history.
Early, it looked like the Huskies might breeze past Wisconsin as they grabbed leads of 2-0 and 3-1 in the match, but Wisconsin mounted a comeback to send the disappointed Huskies home. Moritz Baumann beat Alex Slovic 7-5, 4-6, 6-4 at the No. 1 singles to clinch the match.
Slovic, the Huskies all-time combined wins leader and ranked No. 64 in singles, was up a break 3-2 in the third and had two game points before the No. 109th-ranked Baumann rallied to earn a break. With the third set tied at four, Slovic had two break opportunities, but Baumann was able to rebound and hold serve and take the 5-4 lead. Baumann took an injury timeout at the change over and the long break seemed to rattle Slovic. Baumann broke the Yugoslavian to end the season for the Huskies and the career of Slovic. Slovic ends his Husky career with 97 singles wins, fourth most all-time in UW history, and a school record 83 doubles wins.
"We had a number of opportunities today that we were unable to capitalize on," said a disappointed Husky head coach Matt Anger. "I feel that anytime we've got Alex Slovic out on the court at the end that we're in good hands, but unfortunately he was unable to bring us home today."
The day started out looking bright for the Huskies as they grabbed the early momentum in doubles. Derek Drabble and Andy Kuharszky made quick work of Michael Muskievicz and Jeremy Sonkin at No. 3 with an 8-0 win. Patrik Fischer and Michael Ricks clinched the all-important doubles point with an 8-2 win over Michael Dierberger and Nolan Polley at No. 2. Slovic and Daniel Chu were tied 5-5 at the No. 1 spot when their match was halted.
The Huskies carried the doubles momentum over to singles action early on. Drabble dispatched Felipe Bellido 6-3, 6-0 at No. 5 to give the Huskies the 2-0 lead. The win was Drabble's eighth in the last nine matches and improved his season record to 16-11.
Wisconsin narrowed the gap and got on the scoreboard when Sonkin beat Chu 6-3, 6-2 at the No. 2 spot. Chu ends his Husky career with a 71-46 singles record and a share of the all-time doubles wins lead with Slovic. His 155 combined wins are the fifth most in UW history.
Washington inched one win from clinching the match after senior Michael Ricks walked off the court with a 6-3, 7-6 (9) victory at No. 6, but from then on, it was all downhill for the Huskies. Kuharszky lost in straight-sets at No. 3 and Fischer dropped a three-set affair at No. 4 to even the match.
Fischer won the first set and was serving with a 4-1 lead in the second before things unraveled for the sophomore. Wisconsin's Lachezar Kasarov broke Fischer and eventually won the second set in a tie breaker, 9-7. Kasarov put away Fischer 6-2 in the third set.
The loss marked the end of the career of the Huskies three seniors: Daniel Chu, Michael Ricks and Alex Slovic. The trio had a remarkable run with the Huskies that included four NCAA appearances and the school's first Pac-10 Championship ever in 2005.
"I told the guys after the match that what is so great about the NCAA Tournament and your college career is that you've got four years and four chances," said Anger. "We've had some great moments with those guys (the seniors), and what made some of those moments great was the do-or-die nature of the tournament. Unfortunately, today we were on the other side of that. For the same reason that those moments are great, this one is very difficult."
Wisconsin moves on to face host Notre Dame in the second round on Saturday. The No. 5 Irish beat Butler 4-0 earlier in the day.
#38 Wisconsin (16-10) vs. #32 Washington (16-7)
Courtney Tennis Center - Notre Dame, Ind.
Wisconsin 4, Washington 3
Singles
1. #109 Moritz Baumann (WIS) def. #64 Alex Slovic (WASH), 7-5, 4-6, 6-4
2. Jeremy Sonkin (WIS) def. Daniel Chu (WASH), 6-3, 6-2
3. Nolan Polley (WIS) def. Andy Kuharsky (WASH), 7-6 (3), 6-1
4. Lachezar Kasarov (WIS) def. Patrik Fischer (WASH), 3-6, 7-6 (7), 6-2
5. Derek Drabble (WASH) def. Felipe Bellido (WIS), 6-3, 6-0
6. Michael Ricks (WASH) def. Glen Hodgson (WIS), 6-3, 7-6 (9)
Doubles
1. Daniel Chu/Slovic (WASH) vs. Baumann/Kasarov (WIS), 5-5 DNF
2. Fischer/Mike Ricks (WASH) def. Michael Dierberger/Polley (WIS), 8-2
3. Drabble/Kuharsky (WASH) def. Michael Muskievicz/Sonkin (WIS), 8-0
Order of Finish
Doubles: 3, 2
Singles: 5, 2, 6, 3, 4, 1
