Jan. 23, 2010

Results

MILWAUKEE - The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee women's tennis team captured a hard-fought 4-3 win over Western Illinois Saturday at the Paley Tennis Center.

The Panthers (1-0) won the doubles point then pulled out three of the six singles matches to claim the victory.

Kelly Drvaric, Sammi Schoen and Beth Ganser claimed singles wins for UWM. In doubles action, Kari Kastenholz and Brittany Skemp captured an 8-6 win in the #2 slot while Megan Gow and Ashley Schoneman won by the same score in the third slot.

Drvaric's singles win came in the top spot, as she pulled out a 7-5, 6-4 win over Marcela Brandao. Then, Sammi Schoen won in straight sets in the fourth slot before Beth Ganser claimed a 4-6, 6-2, 6-1 victory at #5 singles.

"I was very concerned about our long layoff and it showed in our play, but I think we competed very hard," UWM head coach Sean McInerney said. "We struggled but found a way to gut out a match and that was very nice to see. Everyone on the team played very hard and should be proud of this win. I was very impressed with Kelly Drvaric's play at #1 singles because she found a way to win and battled every point."

The Panthers set the tone by winning the doubles point and showed off their depth by using all nine players in the match.

"Our doubles lineup performed well considering we went with all new teams," McInerney said. "Winning that doubles point was the deciding factor in the match and we found a way to win."

UWM will be off next weekend but returns to action in two weeks with three road contests. The Panthers will play at IUPUI Feb. 5, at Ball State Feb. 6 and at IPFW Feb. 7.