Wisconsin tennis team reaches 6-0 after dual 7-0 sweeps

The Wisconsin women's tennis team won both matches of a doubleheader on Saturday, finishing the day with two 7-0 victories. The wins moved the Badgers to a 6-0 record on the season and gave them their best start to a season since 1992.

Wisconsin beat Bradley in the first contest before shutting out Green Bay in the second. The second match featured a short-handed Green Bay squad that could field only five players. The Badgers controlled the tempo from the start, securing all three doubles points before moving to singles.

Freshman MaryAnn Rompf and senior Kelsey Grambeau won the opening doubles match against Theresa Tebon and Tallie Piaskowski, 6-1. Sophomore Melissa Pick and freshman Lexi Keberle followed with a 6-0 victory over Maria Neff and Samm Pedersen.

In singles, no Wisconsin player lost a set. Keberle won the first singles match against Tebon, 6-1, 6-1. She remains unbeaten in both singles and doubles, holding a combined 7-0 record this season. Rompf defeated Piaskowski, 6-3, 6-1, to secure the second singles point.

Michelle Linden took the third singles match against Sterre Tijssens, 6-1, 6-0. Pick won against Neff, 6-0, 6-0, and Christina Zordani beat Pedersen, 6-0, 6-1. Zordani has now gone 5-0 in singles this season.

Head coach Kelcy McKenna praised 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." She noted that the team must continue managing details in daily drills and match simulations to prepare for upcoming competition.

McKenna identified specific areas for improvement despite the perfect record, focusing on doubles serves and returns. "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," she said. The team will next compete at the National Team Indoor Championship, scheduled for Feb. 9-12.