Rutgers University
Wisconsin
Tennis Fights Back for 4-3 Win Over Wisconsin
Apr 21 | Women's Tennis
EAST BRUNSWICK, N.J. - Freshman Katherine Muzik captured a second-set tiebreaker to help Rutgers tennis (8-12, 2-8 Big Ten) defeat Wisconsin (4-15, 0-10 Big Ten), 4-3, Friday afternoon at the East Brunswick Racquet Club.
Down 1-0 after they dropped the doubles point, the Scarlet Knights collected four singles wins from Muzik, senior Ksenija Tihomirova, junior Mingxiu Du and freshman Jacqueline Cochrane to earn the program's second Big Ten Conference win in school history.
"I'm extremely proud of the entire team," said head coach Hilary Ritchie. "We were disappointed after doubles because we really had a great opportunity to go up there, but we showed a lot of resiliency to come back and fare well in singles."
The match was tied, 3-3, with Muzik battling Wisconsin's Melissa Pick in the deciding bout. With Muzik up one set to none and 5-2 in the second stanza, Pick battled all the way back to force a second-set tiebreaker. Both went back and forth before Muzik claimed the tiebreaker point to complete the team comeback.
"It was a great feeling," Muzik said. "I just tried to handle it the best I could to pull one out for our team."
Du earned her fourth Big Ten win of the season with her 6-3, 6-5 victory over Maria Avgerinos in the No. 1 position. For Du, her four conference triumphs are second on the team behind senior Farris Cunningham's five.
Tihomirova added her second Big Ten victory of her career with her 6-3, 6-3 decision against Kelsey Grambeau in the No. 2 position. In No. 5 singles, Cochrane tallied a convincing 6-2, 6-0 win against Sydney Rider.
In doubles play, Du and Tihomirova added a 6-4 victory over Grambeau and Christina Zordani, but the Badgers collected wins in the No. 2 and No. 3 matches for the point.
Rutgers returns to action Sunday with its 11 a.m. matchup against Minnesota. The contest serves as senior day, as the program will honor Cunningham and Tihomirova prior to play.
Rutgers 4, Wisconsin 3
Singles competition
1. Du, Mingxiu (RU) def. Maria Avgerinos (WIS) 6-3, 6-5
2. Tihomirova, Ksenija (RU) def. Kelsey Grambeau (WIS) 6-3, 6-3
3. Michelle Linden (WIS) def. Lee, Chloe (RU) 6-2, 6-4
4. Muzik, Katherine (RU) def. Melissa Pick (WIS) 7-6 (2-0), 7-6 (3-0)
5. Cochrane, Jacqueline (RU) def. Sydney Rider (WIS) 6-2, 6-0
6. Christina Zordani (WIS) def. Cunningham, Farris (RU) 6-4, 6-1
Doubles competition
1. Kelsey Grambeau/Christina Zordani (WIS) def. Du, Mingxiu/Tihomirova, Ksenija (RU) 6-4
2. Melissa Pick/Michelle Linden (WIS) def. Muzik, Kat/Lee, Chloe (RU) 6-3
3. Cunningham, Farris/Cochrane, Jacqueline (RU) def. Sydney Rider/Maria Avgerinos (WIS) 6-3
Match Notes:
Order of finish: Doubles (3,1,2); Singles (5,2,6,1,3,4)
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