THIS WEEK
 
The Wisconsin women's tennis team (4-12, 0-7 Big Ten) returns to Nielsen Tennis Stadium for the last time this season, hosting two Big Ten rivals. The Badgers start the weekend competition against Indiana on Friday, April 14, before challenging Purdue on Sunday, April 16. First serve on Friday is set for 5 p.m. (CT) against the Hoosiers. First serve for Sunday's match against the Boilermakers is scheduled to begin at 11 a.m. (CT).
 
Indiana (11-11, 2-5) is led by Ramiro Azcui, who was newly named head coach in January. Prior to this position, Azcui spent over 24 seasons as associate head coach of the program. Although the Badgers are 11-47 all-time against the Hoosiers, they pulled out a 5-2 win over IU in Bloomington last season. In that matchup, current Badger Sydney Rider claimed a win over Indiana's Danielle Wolf, 7-5, 6-4.
 
UW follows Friday's match by taking on Purdue (5-13, 0-7). Similar to the Badgers, the Purdue roster is led by three upperclassmen, with the remaining lineup made up of one sophomore and multiple freshmen. Although Wisconsin owns a 27-18 record in its all-time series with Purdue, it's looking to snap an 11-match losing streak to the Boilermakers.
 
Badger fans can stay up-to-date on all doubles and singles action by visiting UWBadgers.com for live video and stats. Fans can also follow Wisconsin women's tennis on Twitter (@BadgerWTennis) for results.

LAST TIME OUT
 
Wisconsin had a week off of competition last week.
 
In the week prior, the Badgers suffered a pair of Big Ten losses. UW dropped a 4-0 mark against Michigan and dropped another 4-0 decision against Michigan State.
 
Despite a challenging start to her collegiate career, freshman Melissa Pick continually demonstrates a determined attitude on the court. Although both of Pick's matches against Michigan and Michigan State ended prematurely, she put up a strong fight against each opponent, never losing focus. She swept Michigan's Kara Hall in the first set, 6-0, and had a 5-4 lead in the second set. In comeback fashion, she brought her first set match against MSU's Athena Trouillot to a 5-5 tie, before ultimately falling 7-5.
 
MEET THE BADGERS
 
Maria Avgerinos returns to the team as one of two seniors this fall. She is 4-11 this spring playing at the No. 1 spot. She has knocked off Emily Kolbow (CSU), Silvia Ambrosio (MU), Sydney Liggins (XAV) and Labina Petrovska (MIL). With a mark of 13-17 overall, Avgerinos leads the Badgers in singles wins this season. Last year, she went 11-18 in singles overall, playing primarily at No. 4 and No. 5 for the Badgers. Among her top victories were wins over No. 44 Houston's Rocio Martin and No. 66 Utah's Taylor Calton. In addition, Avgerinos earned 2016 Academic All-Big Ten honors.
 
Senior Sydney Rider begins her fourth and final season at Wisconsin and is off to a 4-8 start this spring. She has wins over CSU's Solene Crawley, 6-1, 6-1, Marquette's Isabella Franks, 6-1, 7-6 (7-1), Xavier's Sophia Abelson, 6-7 (7-5), 6-4, 6-1, and Milwaukee's Nicole Clarke, 6-1, 6-2. Rider (11-17 overall) is one of four Badgers (with Avgerinos, Linden and Grambeau) to post double-digit wins on the season. She went 2-2 in singles action during the 2016 Big Ten season. Over the course of the year, she recorded Big Ten wins against Indiana, Rutgers and Minnesota. She also received 2016 Academic All-Big Ten accolades.
 
Junior Kelsey Grambeau is 5-9 on the spring season and 10-18 overall, recording dual-match wins over Alyssa Grijalva (Colorado State), Diana Tokar (Marquette), Tamuna Kutubidze (UNT), Eszter Zador (MIL) and Paula Del Cueto (Nebraska). Grambeau has a mark of 4-1 in doubles action with partner Christina Zordani. She looks to build off a 15-16 singles record last season and success in the fall of 2016 that saw her place fifth in her bracket at the Gopher Invite. In doubles, she tied for the team-high with five Big Ten wins with partners Lauren Burich and Kendall Kirsch. She also took home 2016 Academic All-Big Ten honors.
 
Kendall Kirsch returns for her sophomore season and marked her first win of the 2017 spring campaign by defeating Xavier's Lauren Ghidotti. She posted her second win of the year against Milwaukee's Alysa Straub, 7-6 (7-5), 6-4. Kirsch missed Wisconsin's first two matches of the spring while recovering from a minor injury. In her first collegiate season, she had an impressive fall, going 10-1 in singles play before finishing the year with an overall record of 18-16. She played the entire spring season at the No. 3 and No. 4 positions and finished strong with the third-highest win total on the team.
 
Freshman Michelle Linden is 3-9 this spring after recording her first-career dual match win in comeback fashion with a 4-6, 6-3, 10-8 win over CSU's Riley Reeves. Other notable wins this season include wins over Dominique Dulski (UNM) in a three-setter, 1-6, 6-2, 6-4, and Hayley Marshall (MIL), 7-6 (7-5), 6-1. She joins the Badgers for her first collegiate season. The Barrington, Illinois, native finished her high school career with four trips to state championships in singles. She had a sixth-place finish in 2014.
 
Freshman Melissa Pick outlasted Colorado State's Sandra Keta for her first win of the 2017 spring season. Other noteworthy wins include a 3-6, 6-4, 6-4 upset against Jeannie Lozowski (Nebraska) and a comeback win against Iowa's Aimee Tarun, 1-6, 6-2, 7-5. She was a three-time singles state champion in New Mexico. She also received the honors of New Mexico Female Player of the Year in 2014 and earned the New Mexico Sportsmanship Award winner in 2013.
 
Christina Zordani is 3-11 in her first dual season with big wins against CSU's Celine Voss, Xavier's Rachael Reichenbach and UNT's Haruka Sasaki. Zordani is also 4-1 on the doubles courts this spring with partner Kelsey Grambeau. From Lake Forest, Illinois, Zordani assisted Lake Forest High School in a pair of state team championships. She claimed the state doubles title in 2012. Zordani is also the sister of current UW men's tennis player, John Zordani.
 
Kansas State transfer Sara Castellano also joins Wisconsin's roster in 2016-17, however she will sit out this season and begin competition with UW in the fall of 2017.
 
FALL BALL
 
Wisconsin began its 2016 fall season under the new direction of first-year head coach Kelcy McKenna. Working to improve their individual skills this fall, the Badgers competed in six tournaments.
 
The Badgers returned to the court this fall with four upperclassmen. Senior Maria Avgerinos led Wisconsin in singles victories during the fall season with a record of 9-6. Fellow senior Sydney Rider trailed close behind with a mark of 7-9. Junior Kelsey Grambeau totaled five wins in the fall. Fellow junior Sara Castellano will redshirt this season after transferring from Kansas State.
 
As the Badgers welcomed three freshmen this season, the fall season gave them the opportunity to experience their first glimpse of collegiate play. Freshmen Melissa Pick and Michelle Linden each picked up seven singles wins this fall. Freshman Christina Zordani followed close behind with five singles victories.