March 18, 2011

Results

FLOSSMOOR, Ill. - The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee women's tennis team split a pair of Horizon League matches Friday, falling to 14-time league champion UIC in the morning before bouncing back to roll past Valparaiso later in the day.

The Panthers (8-5, 2-1 Horizon) could not break through against the Flames (6-3, 1-0), who won all six singles outings and all three doubles contests. But Milwaukee then turned the tables against the Crusaders (0-8, 0-1), dominating each of the singles and doubles matches.

"It was a solid weekend for us," UWM head coach Sean McInerney said. "The Valpo win was an important one for us and I am extremely happy with how aggressive we came out. We have worked really hard the past two weeks on being more assertive in our matches and I think this weekend was a step in the right direction."

In the win over Valpo, Maddy Soule (number-one singles), Kristin Kurer (five-singles) and Beth Ganser (six-singles) all claimed 6-0, 6-0 victories. Meanwhile, Sammi Schoen (two-singles) and Megan Gow (three-singles) each dropped just one game while Brittany Skemp (four-singles) dropped only three games.

Milwaukee also dominated in doubles play, dropping only two games among the three matches.

Against UIC, the most competitive singles match came in the top slot, where Soule pushed two-time league player of the year Mariya Kovaleva before falling, 6-1, 6-4. In doubles play, the tandem of Soule and Mary Ellen Donovan did win three games in the third slot before seeing UIC pull away.

"We did some real good things against UIC but simply didn't string enough points together to put pressure on them," McInerney said. "They are very well-coached and talented and we have a lot of work to do as a program to challenge them in the coming years."

The Panthers now hit the road for their spring break trip to South Carolina, where they will face Sioux Falls in Hilton Head Island on Tuesday. Milwaukee's next league matches are in a little over a week, with the Panthers facing Youngstown State next Saturday and Cleveland State next Sunday.