April 25, 2008

Results

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. - The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee advanced to the second round of the 2008 Horizon League Women's Tennis Championships by pulling out a hard-fought 4-2 win over Wright State Friday afternoon at North Central High School.

The Panthers (13-11), seeded sixth in the event, were pushed throughout the contest but eventually clinched the win when Kari Kastenholz recorded a three-set victory at #3 singles.

UWM advances to face third-seeded Detroit Saturday at 10 a.m. EDT.

UWM started strong in the match, collecting the doubles point when Ashley Schoneman and Martina Schnapp pulled out a win in the number three slot. Then, four singles matches were played to quick conclusions, with Wright State winning in the #1 and #2 slots while Ashley Schoneman and Jenna Felsher each claimed convincing wins at the bottom of the Panthers' lineup.

That left Kastenholz and #4 singles player Sammi Schoen on the court for the Panthers, each locked in three-set struggles. UWM needed to win at least one of the contests to claim the match, and did so thanks to Kastenholz. Schoen was tied 5-5 in the third set of her match when Kastenholz pulled out the victory.

"It was great to see Kari come back to win her match after she dropped the first set and had lost to that opponent earlier in the season," UWM head coach Matt McCaskill said. "We know we will have to go out and play a little better top to bottom against Detroit but certainly, if we play our best, we can compete with them. Hopefully playing today will erase any butterflies we may have had and we'll be ready to go in the morning."

The Panthers had beaten the Raiders, 5-2, indoors during the regular season, but found the going much tougher in the outdoors with warm temperatures and gusty winds.

"Once you get to the conference tournament you really can forget about what happened during the regular season," McCaskill said. "It was a totally different match. There is no question the strong winds played a role - it can be a great equalizer because it slows everything down."

In other day one action, fourth-seeded Cleveland State advanced past ninth-seeded Valparaiso while eight-seeded Green Bay upset fifth-seeded Youngstown State.