Men and Women both in Action this Weekend

Both the UW-Whitewater men’s and women’s team were in action this past weekend, so Coach Balkin and Coach Barnes had to separate.  Coach Barnes headed to MN with the men to take on arch rivals Gustavus Adolphus in the Bubble, while Coach Balkin stayed with the women to host Luther and Edgewood on Saturday at Premier Tennis and Fitness in Janesville.

On Friday the men arrived in St Peter and played a Varsity Reserve match against the Gusties.  We won at #1 doubles (Schnarr/Bisbee), but lost at #2 (Zurowski/Lauterbach) and #3 (Yuvaraj/Bowman).  In singles for this match all the Warhawk started off well.  Zurowski, Schnarr, and Beck took the first sets while Bowman, Lauterbach, and Yuvaraj dropped close first sets to solid opponents.  Zurowski ended up losing in a match tiebreak at #1 while Schnarr and Beck won their matches at 2 and 3.  We lost at 4,5,6 for the 3-6 overall team score.  It was a great experience because UWW and GAC have some of the deepest benches in the Midwest, so it was a blast to have our Varsity Reserve players battle it out in an exciting atmosphere. 

 

The intense atmosphere continued on Saturday morning as the Warhawks (#22 in the nation) took on the #16 Gusties in a packed house (loud bubble)!  The doubles was very exciting.  We were down a break early on all three courts, broke back on each court and ended up pulling away at #1 (Humphreys/Treis), but lost good matches at #2(Navratil/Laktash) and #3(Beck/Butler).  Our win at #1 was to the #6 ranked team in the nation, so our energy was high coming out of doubles.  As you may have noticed Ben Shklyar was out of the lineup up, still recovering from his hamstring injury.  Even without him, we really pushed Gustavus to the limit.

We went into singles trailing 1-2.  Jake won a three setter at #1 against the #8 ranked player in the nation, while Navratil lost to Entwistle at #3 and Raman lost at #4 to make it 2-4 overall.  This meant we need to win all three matches to take the team match.  It really looked like we could do it at one point.  Treis cruised through the first set before hitting the wall with cramps.  He was still able to even the second set at 5-5 after trailing it 0-5, but then lost it 5-7 and headed to a decisive third set.  Laktash meanwhile lost his first set 7-6(5) and was in another tiebreak to decide the second set at #5.  Bisbee at the same time was trying to close out his second set.  He was up a set and serving for his match at 5-4 and then again at 6-5, but his opponent broke twice and took the second set in a tiebreak forcing a third set there as well.  We ended up losing all three marathon matches to drop the match 2-7, but it really could have gone either way.  What a battle!  To see all the scores from this match, go to: http://uwwsports.com/news/2015/3/7/MTEN_0307152333.aspx

The women cruised to a pair of matches against Luther College and Edgewood College winning by scores of 8-1 and 9-0 to raise their record to a perfect 11-0 on the season.  Eleven of our Lady Warhawks got a chance to play in our spring opening day!  What a thrill it was to be back on the court competing.  To see all the scores from these matches, go to: http://uwwsports.com/news/2015/3/7/WTEN_0307151136.aspx

 

This weekend both teams stay hot on the trail.  Our women are schedule to play Augustana College (IL) on Saturday at Nielsen Tennis Stadium in Madison at 11:30 on Saturday.  Our men are scheduled to play at PTF in Janesville on Sunday against Carthage College (1pm) and Augustana (4:30pm).  But if this weather and the forecast holds up, we will be moving all three of these matches to Whitewater at our outdoor complex.  If that happens, the women’s time will remain 11:30 Sat ,but the Sunday matches for the men would move up to 12:30 and 3:30.   Check our schedule online later in the week to find out exactly where and when each match will be played.

Thank you to all of our wonderful supporters and fans, and GO WARHAWKS!