March 4, 2012

Results

MILWAUKEE - Northern Illinois claimed the doubles point and won in the top three singles spots to capture a 4-3 win over the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee women's tennis team Sunday afternoon.

The Panthers (7-5) found themselves on the short-end of a 4-3 decision for the second-straight outing after enjoying a three-match winning streak.

Maddy Soule and Christina Colarossi continued their strong play in the top doubles spot for UWM, capturing an 8-4 win. But, NIU (6-4) won the other two doubles matches - including a tight 8-6 decision in the third spot - to claim the point.

In singles action, the key win for the Huskies came in the top spot, where Sara McLaughlin outlasted Soule, 6-4, 0-6, 6-4. NIU's other two wins were in straight-sets.

"This was obviously an extremely disappointing loss for our team," UWM head coach Sean McInerney said. "I give NIU a lot of credit for how hard they played. We did not deserve to win this match. We came out extremely flat and lacked the energy needed to win a match. We have had a very successful non-conference season because we have played so hard and with great passion ... this was not the case today."

Milwaukee's victories came courtesy of Colarossi, who won in three sets in the fourth spot; Kristin Kurer, who had a straight-sets win in the fifth slot; and Brittany Skemp, who won in three sets in the sixth spot.

"I was very happy with the play of Colarossi, Kurer and Skemp in singles," McInerney said. "We have been talking for weeks about how we need to improve our bottom half of the lineup and today we proved we have very good depth. I am proud of them and their effort."

UWM has one match next week, hosting Whitewater Friday at LeClub.