Maryland Women’s Tennis Upsets No. 22 Wisconsin 4-3 | Next: vs. Minnesota

COLLEGE PARK, MD – The University of Maryland women’s tennis team secured a 4-3 victory over No. 22 Wisconsin on Saturday, marking their first win against a Top-25 ranked opponent since April 19, 2013, when they defeated No. 11 Duke.

The Terrapins improved to 11-2 overall and 3-1 in Big Ten Conference play with the win. The match, played at the Junior Tennis Champions Center, saw a tightly contested battle in both doubles and singles play.

Wisconsin initially gained a lead by winning two of the three doubles matches. Ekaterina Ivanova and Ellison Reynoldson defeated Maryland’s Ema Kovacevic and Emma Ghirardato 6-4. Maria Sholokhova and Kaede Usui then secured another point for the Badgers with a 7-6 (7-4) win over Diya Challa and Oliwia Orlinska. Maryland managed to salvage a point in doubles as Tamari Gagoshidze and Magdalena Baniak defeated Tianna Rangan and Kaja Jacobson 7-6 (7-4).

The momentum shifted in singles competition, with Emma Ghirardato and Diya Challa quickly securing wins in straight sets. Ghirardato defeated Ivanova 6-4, 6-2, while Challa overcame Reynoldson 6-2, 6-1, giving Maryland a 3-1 lead. Wisconsin responded with wins from Maria Sholokhova over Oliwia Orlinska (6-1, 7-5) and Kaede Usui over Lucia Donnelly (7-6 (7-1), 6-2), tying the score at 3-3.

The decisive match came down to Ema Kovacevic, who faced Kaja Jacobson. After winning the first set 6-0, Kovacevic dropped the second set 3-6, forcing a third-set tiebreaker. Kovacevic ultimately prevailed, winning the final set 6-4, securing the victory for Maryland.

Maryland will continue Big Ten play tomorrow, hosting Minnesota at noon.