MILWAUKEE, Wis. – After spending last weekend in Iowa, the Milwaukee tennis team gears up for a short road trip across the border for a dual against Big Ten powerhouse Northwestern on Saturday, Feb. 17.
LAST TIME OUT: Milwaukee traveled to Iowa last weekend falling both to Drake and Northern Iowa. The Panthers lost a heartbreaker against Northern Iowa, 4-3, but accumulated single wins from
Anna Daniel Fuentes,
Nicole Clarke and
Lucy Harper. The tandem
Loren Nelson and
Agata Jurczak tallied the Panthers' win in doubles.
WHEN & WHERE: The Panthers take on the Wildcats at the Combe Tennis Center in Evanston, Ill. The dual is set for 4 p.m. Fans can stay tuned to live to stats
HERE. Audiences can also watch the action live
HERE (Note: There is a video charge.)
OPPONENT SCOUTING: Northwestern currently sits 3-3 on the season with losses to nationally ranked opponents #21 Kentucky, #16 UCLA and #11 Texas. In the newest NCAA poll (Feb. 14), the Wildcats fell out of the Top 25 with a loss to Oregon, but are receiving votes.
The Wildcats are led by three seniors with Erin Larner as their star. Larner is a 3x All-Big Ten award winner, and finished the 2016-17 season ranked No. 75 in the nation. The Portland, Ore. native has competed primarily at No. 1 singles her entire collegiate career and has accumulated a 74-40 singles record and 84-35 record in doubles.
Senior Maddie Lipp has competed at the NCAA Doubles Championships two years in a row with fellow senior Alex Chatt. Lipp, a 2x All-Big Ten selection finished the 2016-17 season ranked No. 23 in doubles with Chatt. In singles play, Lipp primarily has competed at No. 2, and has compiled a 61-39 singles record and 92-33 record. Currently, Lipp is partnered with Larner in doubles and featured as the nation's top-ranked doubles team.
In addition to the top-ranked doubles team, Northwestern's lineup also features 12
th-ranked doubles partners Alex Chatt and Lee Or.
#TBT: Back on this date, Milwaukee took down conference foe Green Bay, 5-2 in 2007.
HOME SWEET HOME: After being on the road for four-straight matches, UWM returns home for the three-straight matches beginning Saturday, Feb. 24. The weekend of February 24-25, the Panthers will face-off against South Dakota State and Chicago State at River Glen Elite. On March 2, Milwaukee will go up against WAC opponent Chicago State and will follow-up with cross-town rival Marquette the next day.
