MTEN Claims 4-2 Win At Wisconsin

The Marquette University men's tennis team (2-3) claimed a 4-2 victory at Wisconsin (7-2) Thursday night in non-conference action at Nielsen Tennis Stadium.

The victory was just the third in program history against the Badgers and snapped a 23-match winning streak by Wisconsin in the all-time series.

"This was the definition of a team victory," head coach Steve Rodecap said. "We have been close to claiming a win like this and I am really proud of the effort our guys had from the start, which allowed us to break through for the win.

"Luis responded under a tremendous amount of pressure in a hostile environment. We have a lot of confidence in him when he's in those type of positions," Rodecap added.

Trailing 2-1 after a pair of singles wins by the Badgers, the Golden Eagles moved ahead 3-2 following straight-set victories by seniors Brett Meyers and Luke Smrek at No. 3 and No. 1, respectively. In possession of first sets at two other spots, Marquette needed just one more victory to secure the team decision.

After claiming the first set 6-3 at No. 2, junior Luis Heredia Gomez found himself in a battle against UW's Gabriel Huber in the second. Heredia Gomez was able to close it out in dramatic fashion, scoring three-straight points in the tiebreaker to claim the 6-3, 7-6 (10-8) match-clinching win.

For the fourth time in the first five dual matchups, the Golden Eagles claimed the doubles point to open the match. Senior Brandon Shanklin and freshman Stefan Dragovic posted a quick 6-1 win at the No. 3 position and Meyers and sophomore Fran San Andres clinched the point with a 6-4 decision at No. 2.

Marquette returns to action at 2 p.m. on Sunday, Feb. 9 when the team hosts Valparaiso at Helfaer Tennis Stadium.