By Andrew Dawson

A busy weekend and mid-week contest against the Wisconsin Badgers capped off a hectic stretch of matches for men and women’s tennis.

The women’s squad kicked off the weekend against No. 71 DePaul on Friday riding a five-match winning streak.  However, little went the Marquette’s way as the Blue Demons blew out them out 6-1.  The Golden Eagles’ single point came from freshman Erin Gebes as DePaul won doubles 3-0 and singles 5-1.

Following the women’s tough loss, the men’s team faced the No. 44 Minnesota Golden Gophers on Saturday.  The men’s team also entered their match with a five-game winning streak, but, in the end, fell to the Gophers 5-2.  Marquette was swept in doubles 3-0 and sophomore Cameron Tehrani and freshman Gleb Sklyr were Marquette’s only point producers.

The weekend concluded on a high note as the women’s team rebounded with victories over the Ball State Cardinals and the Valparaiso Crusaders in Sunday’s doubleheader.  The Golden Eagles swept doubles 3-0 and took singles 4-2 against Ball State.  Valparaiso, on the other hand, offered little resistance as Marquette captured doubles 3-0 and singles 6-0 for the 7-0 victory.

Both squads traveled down the road for a mid-week contest against rival Wisconsin.  The women’s team took the court first, and after losing doubles 3-0, tied the overall score 3-3 in singles. Sophomore Ana Pimienta would come from behind to take the set and give Marquette the win.  The women’s team improves to 9-3 on the season and face Iowa away on Saturday.

Hoping to bounce back after Saturday’s loss, the men’s team wanted to get back on track against the Badgers.  Marquette fell behind early losing all three doubles matches to go down 1-0.  Junior Dan Mamalat tied the score 1-1 with a 6-2, 6-4 decision, but the Golden Eagles would split the singles matches 3-3 giving Wisconsin the 4-3 victory.  The defeat keeps the men’s team winless on the road; however, they begin a five game home stand this Friday against Valparaiso.