Badgers Tennis: Wisconsin Sweeps Dual to Reach 6-0

Wisconsin women's tennis maintained its perfect season on Saturday, defeating Bradley and Green Bay by identical 7-0 scores. The dual victories move the Badgers to 6-0 on the year. The result marks the program's best opening stretch since 1992. Green Bay entered the second match with only five players available, a shortage that limited their ability to compete against the Wisconsin lineup.

The Badgers established control early in the doubles sessions. Rompf and Grambeau defeated Theresa Tebon and Tallie Piaskowski 6-1. Following that, sophomore Melissa Pick and freshman Lexi Keberle secured a 6-0 victory over Maria Neff and Samm Pedersen. This momentum continued into the singles competition, where every Wisconsin player finished without dropping a set. Keberle won the first singles match against Tebon with a score of 6-1, 6-1. Her record now stands at 7-0 in combined singles and doubles play.

Rompf claimed the second singles point against Piaskowski, winning 6-3, 6-1. Michelle Linden advanced to the third singles victory, defeating Sterre Tijssens 6-1, 6-0. Pick completed her day with a 6-0, 6-0 win over Neff. Christina Zordani closed out the match at fifth singles, beating Pedersen 6-0, 6-1. That win improved Zordani's singles record to 5-0 for the season. The team's consistent performance ensured no set was lost across the entire doubleheader.

Head coach Kelcy McKenna attributed the result to the team's focus on controllable factors. "They did a great job with the controlables: their attitude, their effort and their energy," McKenna said. "Those three things are extremely important to our success." The coach emphasized the need to maintain this standard as the season progresses toward the indoor competition.

McKenna identified specific areas for improvement despite the clean sweep. "We need to do a little bit of a better job cleaning up our doubles in terms of serves and returns, making sure that we're the first team to be aggressive, also making sure we're hitting our spots on service plays," she said. The coach stressed the importance of carrying doubles momentum into singles. "We have to make sure as we move into singles, if we do have the doubles point, that we carry the momentum with us and try to be gritty and not give away free points," she added.

The Badgers will return to action on Feb. 9-12. The team is scheduled to host the National Team Indoor Championship. Wisconsin will look to extend its unbeaten record in that upcoming event.