Jan. 29, 2005

Final Stats

MILWAUKEE, Wis. - The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee women's tennis team got its season underway on a sour note, falling to Wright State University 7-0 Saturday afternoon at the North Shore Elite Fitness and Racquet Club. With the loss, the Panthers are 0-1 on the season and in league play, while the Raiders picked up their first win on the year (1-5, 1-1 Horizon).

The match was UWM's first under new head coach Matthew McCaskill, who was hired to run the Panther tennis program earlier in the week.

"The key is to get 100 percent healthy," McCaskill said. "Once we get healthy and are able to establish a relationship (with me being new) we will get better."

UWM got its lone win from the doubles tandem of sophomore Shayna Illingworth and freshman Alissa Matzinger. The duo defeated Wright State's Megan Laux and Laura Ames, 8-6, at the No. 3 doubles position. Illingsworth also impressed McCaskill at No. 5 singles, where she fell in hard-fought match, 7-5, 6-1.

"Shayna played well," McCaskill said. "She won at No. 3 doubles and played a tight match at No. 5 singles. The whole team competed well and gave a good effort. As the season goes on, I definitely see signs of where we will improve."

Milwaukee returns to action next Saturday (Feb. 5), when it travels to Rockford, Ill., to take on Northern Illinois University. The meet gets underway at 1 p.m.