Oct. 19, 2001

MILWAUKEE - The UWM tennis team dropped a hard-fought match to Western Illinois Friday by a 7-0 margin. The Panthers dropped all six singles matches in straight sets.

But all was not bad for UWM. Head coach Erin Grambow said she was pleased with the team's performance.

"I told the girls this was probably the best I'd ever seen them play," Grambow said. "All of the matches were really close, and they keep getting closer and closer, pretty soon, we'll be on the winning side of those close ones."

Freshman Tammie Spiel played perhaps her best match as a Panther, playing in No. 1 singles. Spiel fought her way to a first set tiebreaker, only to fall 6-1 in the second set.

Junior Molly Caulk also played well in No. 3 singles. Caulk led her first set 4-2, only to fall 6-4. She also fell by the same score in the second set.

"I've seen great improvement in the past three weeks," Grambow said. "I'm thrilled at how smart they're playing and how hard they're working."

In doubles play, all three matches were close, as the UWM team of senior Kate Laveck and Spiel dropped a heartbreaker in No. 1 doubles by an 8-6 count. Another senior-freshman combination, in senior Julie Heling and freshmen Melissa Hackett fought to another 8-6 defeat in No. 3 doubles.

"We got down early in doubles, but I was pleased with how we fought back," Grambow said. "That's a postive sign, that we could stay right there with Western Illinois, a school with a lot of history and a lot of tradition."

The Panthers will wrap up fall competition tomorrow as they battle a pair of Horizon League rivals. UWM will take on Wright State at 9 a.m. and UW-Green Bay at 1 p.m. Both matches will be held at Nicolet High School in Glendale.

***

The scheduled match between UW-Green Bay and Wright State was suspended because of darkness. The match will resume Saturday morning at 8 a.m.