Feb. 19, 2011

Results

WATERLOO, Iowa - The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee women's tennis team continued a busy weekend with a 6-1 loss to Northern Iowa Saturday.

The Panthers' (3-2) lone point came thanks to a three-set win at number-one singles by Maddy Soule, who also won a doubles match.

UWM nearly claimed two other singles matches, as Laia Gonzalez-Garrido pulled out a 6-3, 6-7, 6-1 win over Kelly Fritz in the second spot. Then, at sixth-singles, Kristin Kurer dropped a three-set decision to Chelsea Moore. Kurer won her first set, 7-5, before dropping the second frame, 6-4. Moore then pulled out a 10-8 victory in a third-set tiebreaker.

"This was a frustrating loss because it shows how close we are to beating highly-regarded teams," UWM head coach Sean McInerney said. "We ended up losing the match 6-1 but had chances to win the match 4-3 if we could have finished off the match at third doubles and won the third sets in singles. The goal of this program is to win, not come close, against upper-level competition and we didn't get it done today. I think we competed very hard and are starting to get used to winning so this was a tough one, but I know we will improve and continue to fight as a team."

Soule's victory was hard-fought, as she won the first set, 6-3, before dropping the second frame, 6-4. But, the sophomore bounced back to win the deciding set, 6-4, claiming her 12th singles win of the season and fourth in five spring dual contests.

"As we have the entire season we really played well in singles," McInerney said. "Maddy had an outstanding win over a very good player. She really fought hard for the win and I was proud of her for finding a way to win even after she struggled through the second set.

"Kelly Fritz continues to play outstanding tennis. She did a great job fighting back and taking the second set before falling in a tough third set at number-two singles. She has become a great competitor that is vital to our team's success. And, Kristin Kurer continues to prove that she is going to be a great player for our program. She really played well in both singles and doubles today. She lost a really tough third-set tie-breaker but I am really excited about her future and we will work everyday to make her the player she will needs to become."

The Panthers won one of the three doubles matches, with Soule and Brittany Skemp capturing an 8-2 win over Krissy Lankelma and Jessica Kunzelmann in the second slot.

"I was really happy with the way we came out during the doubles," McInerney said. "We really took it to them at two-doubles and our third doubles team had many chances but fell short. It was the best we have played as a team during doubles this season. It was disappointing to be so close to winning the point but it was a step in the right direction."

UWM wraps up the weekend with a pair of Sunday matches in Madison. The Panthers will face both Wisconsin and Western Illinois.