University of Minnesota Athletics
Gophers, Badgers Engage in Border Battle
2/9/2011 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
The Minnesota men’s tennis team will look to continue its recent success this Sunday when it heads to Madison, Wis. to take on No. 39 Wisconsin. Sunday’s contest against the Badgers will be first Big Ten match of the season for the 27th-ranked Gophers, who will be looking to avenge their 2010 Big Ten Tournament knockout loss.
Minnesota has a 55-47 all-time record against Wisconsin, but lost both times the two teams met last year. The visiting team has won four of the past five regular-season meetings. At the Big Ten Indoor Tournament in East Lansing, Mich. last fall, Minnesota’s Julian Dehn dispatched Wisconsin’s Billy Bertha 6-7, 6-4, 6-4 to advance to the Round of 16.
The Gophers are coming into the match with a 4-1 record, having won their last three contests. After taking down No. 28 Fresno State in Los Angeles two weeks ago, Minnesota returned to the Baseline Tennis Center and defeated two more ranked opponents last week. They won a close 4-3 match against No. 28 Virginia Tech on Friday and finished the weekend strong with a 5-2 win over No. 35 Boise State. The Broncos claimed a 4-0 victory against the Badgers the previous week.
Wisconsin started the season with wins over Butler and Wisconsin-Whitewater, but dropped to 2-3 after they lost consecutive matches to Wake Forest, Boise State, and Notre Dame.
After this weekend, the Gophers will travel to Lincoln, Neb. to face Nebraska before returning home to wrap up the month of February against Drake at the Baseline Tennis Center.
Players Mentioned
