Tobias Wernet rallied to win the last four games of his No. 2 singles match for the deciding point as Minnesota clipped Wisconsin 4-3 to hold onto third place in the Big Ten standings.
Wernet rallied to beat the nation’s 47th-ranked player, Marek Michalicka, 5-7, 6-3, 6-4 and clinch the victory to put the 33rd-ranked Gophers at 16-6 overall and 5-3 in the Big Ten. He was down a break in the final set, but broke Michalicka’s final two service games for the victory. Wisconsin, ranked 29th in the country, is now 15-7 overall and 4-4 in the Big Ten with the loss. It was a rematch of an intense Big Ten quarterfinal from last season that saw the Badgers take the decisive final match for a 4-3 win.
Wisconsin won the doubles point with Michalicka and Moritz Baumann holding off Ishay Hadash and Sebastian Gallego 8-3 at No. 1 and Patrick Pohlmann and Luke Rassow-Kantor delivering an 8-2 win over Dino Bilankov and Michael Sicora at No. 3. Minnesota won the No. 2 doubles contest when Julian Dehn and Tobias Wernet defeated Michael Muskievicz and Michael Dierberger 8-4.
The Gophers won the first two completed singles matches as Sicora toppled Dierberger 6-2, 6-4 at No. 6 and Dehn prevailed at No. 5 over Rassow-Kantor by a 6-4, 6-2 score. Wisconsin evened the match when Baumann, ranked 31st nationally, won a matchup of ranked competitors at No. 1 with a 6-1, 3-6, 6-1 victory over 60th-ranked Hadash.
Bilankov gave the Gophers a 3-2 advantage with a 6-4, 6-4 victory over Peter Marrack at No. 4 and Pohlmann beat Gallego 6-0, 3-6, 6-3 at No. 3 to tie the match and set up Wernet’s heroics in the final match.
Minnesota maintained its third place standing in the Big Ten standings and concludes the regular season with home matches against Iowa on Friday and Purdue on Saturday.
#33 Minnesota 4, #29 Wisconsin 3
Doubles
1. #15 Marek Michalicka/Moritz Baumann (WIS) def. Ishay Hadash/Sebastian Gallego (MINN) 8-3
2. Julian Dehn/Tobias Wernet (MINN) def. Michael Muskievicz/Michael Dierberger (WIS) 8-4
3. Patrick Pohlmann/Luke Rassow-Kantor (WIS) def. Dino Bilankov/Michael Sicora (MINN) 8-2
Singles
1. #31 Moritz Baumann (WIS) def. #60 Ishay Hadash (MINN) 6-1, 3-6, 6-1
2. Tobias Wernet (MINN) def. #47 Marek Michalicka (WIS) 5-7, 6-3, 6-4
3. Patrick Pohlmann (WIS) def. Sebastian Gallego (MINN) 6-0, 3-6, 6-3
4. Dino Bilankov (MINN) def. Peter Marrack (WIS) 6-4, 6-4
5. Julian Dehn (MINN) def. Luke Rassow-Kantor (WIS) 6-4, 6-2
6. Michael Sicora (MINN) def. Michael Dierberger (WIS) 6-2, 6-4
Match Notes:
Minnesota 15-6, 4-3 Big Ten; National ranking #33
Wisconsin 15-6, 4-3 Big Ten; National ranking #29
Order of finish: Doubles (1,3,2); Singles (6,5,1,4,3,2)
