Down goes Drake

Thursday, February 16

Madison, WI

3PM

Wisconsin Badgers

Drake

Photo by: Emily Sachs

February 16, 2017 | Men's Tennis

Wisconsin earns pressure wins in 5-2 home victory

MADISON, Wis. – If there was one theme present at Nielsen Tennis Stadium Thursday, it was mental toughness and resilience from the Cardinal and White. Playing top-tier talent, Drake, the Badgers (5-1) willed themselves to a 5-2 win over the Bulldogs to their perfect 4-0 home record intact.

"Our guys were really up for this match," head coach Danny Westerman said. "Drake has been a very good team for a while now. They're well-coached, they compete hard, they're vocal – they're just tough. The guys knew that, after seeing what happened last year with how close it was. I was very proud of the professionalism from our guys. They came in ready to go."

The Badgers kicked off the dual in style with doubles, where they didn't drop a match.

Juniors Chema Carranza and Josef Dodridge finished first for the Badgers at the No. 1 doubles position, beating Bayo Philips and Ben Wood, 6-1. Junior Lamar Remy and Chase Colton were next in line for the Red and White, beating Vinny Gillespie and Ben Stride, 6-4. That duo is now 6-0 on the spring.

Senior John Zordani and Osgar O'Hoisin wrapped up doubles play with a 6-3 win at the No. 3 spot over Tom Hands and Barny Thorold.

In singles, Daniel Soyfer rose to the occasion once again. After falling down 5-0 in the first and 4-1 in the second, the freshman bounced back in each, winning 7-5, 7-5 against Ben Wood. Soyfer's win marked the first singles point awarded to the Badger team score. He now moves to 5-1 in the dual season.

"You just have to keep fighting," Soyfer urged. "It's easy to just say 'I'm done' and give away the set but you have to keep fighting."

After Soyfer's win, Remy sealed a three-set win over Ben Stride, 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 to give the Badgers a 3-1 advantage in the team score.

The thought of victory was all sophomore Osgar O'Hoisin needed.

The Dublin, Ireland native, sealed the dual win for the Badgers after losing both his matches a week ago.

"His effort has always been there," Westerman recalled. "He always comes to practice trying to get better and it clicked today. His level went up in the third and it's a credit to the work he's put in."

O'Hoisin beat Barny Thorold at the No. 4 spot, 6-3, 3-6, 6-2.

Carranza capped the last singles win of the day for the Badgers at the No. 3 spot. The junior beat Tom Hands, 7-6, 7-6 and advances to 4-1 in the dual season.

The Badgers will travel to Ithaca, New York to play Clemson at 2 p.m. (CT) on Saturday and Cornell on Sunday at 10 a.m.

"As a team, we're playing really well and I like our odds going into the weekend," Soyfer finished.