MILWAUKEE, Wis. – This weekend concludes the non-conference portion of the Milwaukee tennis team schedule with the team hosting Northern Iowa Friday and a trip to UW-Whitewater Saturday.
 
LAST TIME OUT: The Panthers had just one match last weekend, but extended their win streak to three defeating North Dakota, 5-2.
 
MKE earned the first point of the match winning the doubles point with wins coming from Mayya Perova and Nicole Clarke. Alexandra Belle and Anna Daniel Fuentes picked up the second win to earn the point.
 
In singles play, Belle, Clarke and Perova won in straight sets, while freshman Nikki Milner battled it out winning the tiebreaker 12-10 in the third.
 
With the win, the Panthers improved to 5-6 on the season.
 
WHEN & WHERE: Friday, March 8 features a Panthers vs Panther matchup. MKE will host Northern Iowa from River Glen Elite at 1 p.m. MKE will travel the next day to Lake Geneva (Wis.) to face Whitewater. The match Saturday is set to begin at 5 p.m. from the Lake Geneva Tennis Club.
 
SCOUTING NORTHERN IOWA: UNI return a total of six players from last year's roster, including two seniors and four freshmen.
 
Senior Reghan Lynch leads the Panthers with the most experience on the court. The UAB transfer finished 6-17 overall, and 6-11 from the No. 2 sport. Lynch also recorded a 8-16 record in doubles.
 
UNI capped off a 6-12 (1-4 MVC) 2017-18 season, and are currently 2-2 so far with wins against North Dakota and Southern Illinois Edwardsville.
 
ABOUT THE WARHAWKS: The DIII powerhouse entered the 2018-19 season coming off an NCAA regional finish, No. 34 DIII National Ranking, and a 21-7 team record. Although the team fell short of its 11h straight NCAA Tournament appearance, the Warhawks sent an individual and a doubles team to the NCAA Division III Championships.
 
Senior Gabi Kitchell leads the Warhawk tennis team with a current record of 13-1 overall. The All-American reached the first round of the NCAA Singles Tournament a season ago, and finished the season with a national single ranking of No. 30 by the ITA. Kitchell compiled a 15-5 singles mark, and 13-5 doubles in 2017-18.
 
This fall, Whitewater claimed its 12^th straight Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) Title in October.
 
AWARDS, AWARDS, AWARDS: The Panthers took home HL honors in the first two weeks of competitive play, and recently for the week of Feb. 25.
 
Junior Nicole Clarke grabbed her second honor of the season for Singles Player of Week. Clarke notably moved up from the No. 3-4 positions to now the No. 2 position in the single's lineup and went 2-0 from the No. 2 spot last weekend.
 
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.
 
LEAGUE PLAY STARTS SOON: Beginning March 23, MKE will start its conference season. The Panthers will host its first two HL opponents March 23 and 24 against Cleveland State and Youngstown State.