MILWAUKEE, Wis. – The Milwaukee tennis team is back home this weekend hosting Drake and Eastern Illinois beginning Friday. MKE will take on Drake at a neutral site being held at the Helfaer Tennis Stadium at Marquette and follow-up with EIU Saturday at River Glen Elite beginning at 1 p.m.
 
LAST TIME OUT: Last weekend, MKE suffered a 6-1 loss to Chicago State, but rebounded with a 7-0 sweep over former Horizon League opponent Valparaiso the next day.
 
Senior Alexandra Belle went two on the weekend improving her record to 4-2 in duals this season. Belle and Mayya Perova also went perfect on the weekend to remain undefeated. The duo sit 6-0 as the Panthers No. 1 doubles team.
 
ABOUT DRAKE: The Bulldogs are on a current two-match losing streak having lost to Nebraska and Wyoming last weekend. The team is 3-5 on the season so far and coming off a 15-6 (5-0 Missouri Valley).
 
Returning for the Bulldogs is sophomore Liza Petushkova who led the Missouri Valley with 19 singles wins and was named MVC Freshman of the Year and All-MVC team.
 
In all, the Bulldogs return five players from last season including Megan Webb (All-MVC No. 2 doubles), Alex Kozlowski, Joely Lomas and Kenya Williams.
 
ABOUT EASTERN ILLINOIS: In 2017-18, the Eastern Illinois Panthers finished 13-13 (6-3 Ohio Valley) losing in the semifinal round of the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament.
 
EIU are currently 3-4 entering the weekend with four-straight loses to Bradley, Omaha, Ball State and Indianapolis.
 
The team returns Srishti Slaria and Rachel Papavasilopoulos. Senior Slaria is the only returner with double-digit wins from a season ago, while Papavasilopoulos' season was cut short due to injury. So far this season, Papavasilopoulos is 14-4 overall and 5-2 in dual's at the No. 1 singles.
 
AWARDS, AWARDS, AWARDS: The Panthers took home HL honors in the first two weeks of competitive play.
 
Belle earned Singles Player of the Week for the week of Jan. 22, and the Panthers swept the awards for the week of Jan. 28 with Nicole Clarke grabbing Singles Player of the Week and Belle/Perova earning Doubles Team of the Week.
 
UPCOMING SCHEDULE: After these two duals, the Panthers will sit comfortably playing the next five matches in their home state and four-of-five on their home court.
 
Up next, MKE will travel just across the street to take on Cardinal Stritch Saturday, Feb. 23 at North Shore Elite beginning at 3 p.m. Following Cardinal Stritch, the Panthers will host Dayton from River Glen Elite. The dual is slated for a 12 p.m. start time.