Washington tennis defeated Wisconsin 5-2 on the back of an impressive singles showing to improve to 6-1 on the year.
The win is the fifth straight for Washington. The Huskies started out slow, dropping the doubles point in a tight 7-5 loss by Kawika Lam and Enzo Sommer.
The slow start bled into singles as all three players on the south side dropped their first serve. Luckily, all three broke right back and the Huskies got going.
“You want to come out starting better than that,” Head coach Matt Anger said. “That's not something that you can really work on, you just talk about it and make sure you prepare as well as possible and that you're ready to go.”
After that slow start the Huskies got into a groove and started racking up some points against the Badgers. Sommer was first on the board with a 6-4, 6-1 lead to tie things up on the afternoon.
Sophomore Amit Batta lost the only singles match for Washington 6-1, 6-4. This gave Wisconsin its last lead of the day.
No. 48 senior captain Jake Douglas rebounded from a slow first set start to win 6-3, 6-4 in a thrilling match.
The score stayed tied for awhile before junior Piers Foley won an incredibly entertaining match. Foley came back from down three games in the first set to win 7-5. He won the second set 6-4.
His opponent, Chase Colton, voiced his displeasure with some questionable calls and was not afraid to show some emotion when he won a point.
“You play some of those guys that try to beat you with their voice,” Foley said. “I just try to stay in my own game and try to keep focused on what I do best, instead of what he's doing and saying.”
It was a marathon match for Foley, but ultimately a good result.
“I could've done with a few shorter points, but I'm always here to fight everyday,” Foley said. “It doesn't matter how long it takes as long as I get the job done.”
Senior Mitch Stewart won 7-5, 6-2 and sophomore Sebastian Hawken was victorious 6-4, 1-6, 6-3 in a exhilarating match to close out the afternoon.
Next up for the Huskies is the USTA/ITA indoor championships. The time and opponent are still unknown but Washington will take the court on Friday.
Reach reporter Kyle Gehler at sports@dailyuw.com. Twitter: @KyleGehler
