MILWAUKEE, Wis. – The Milwaukee tennis team will travel to Illinois State for the Redbird Invitational beginning Saturday, March 29. In addition to the Panthers, the invitational includes teams from the Mid-American, Atlantic 10 and Missouri Valley.
WHO & WHEN: The women's tennis Redbird Invitational includes four teams this year, host Illinois State, Dayton, Bowling Green and the MKE Panthers. The Panthers will square off against Bowling Green Saturday beginning at 2 p.m., while Illinois State and Dayton will start the Invite off at 10 a.m. Winners of each match will move onto the Championship round set for Sunday at 1 p.m., and the Third Place round will begin at 9 a.m. All matches will be held at the Bloomington Tennis Center.
SCOUTING THE OPPONENTS
ILLINOIS STATE: The Redbirds are currently 4-4 with wins over Eastern Illinois, Chicago State, Western Illinois and fellow Horizon League foe IUPUI. The team is led by Laura Arciniegas who comes in with a 6-0 record, splitting time between the No. 4 and No. 6 lines. In doubles, Natalia Bravo and Tara Damnjanovic come in at 4-1 – all as ISU's No. 1 doubles team.
BOWLING GREEN: The BGSU Falcons are coming off a 10-10, 2019 record and are currently 3-3 on the season with wins over two Horizon League opponents in Youngstown State and Cleveland State, and also a 6-1 victory over Saint Francis. The team is comprised of two seniors, two juniors and three underclassmen.
DAYTON: The Dayton Flyers are coming off a 2-5 loss to Cleveland State and sit at 0-9 so far this season. The Flyers also competed against Northern Kentucky in its first match this season, losing 1-6. The team is combined for a 21-54 record in singles and a 10-32 record in doubles.
PANTHERS DOMINATING DOUBLES: The Panthers are a combined 20-4 in doubles action so far this season. Leading the way are No. 2 doubles team,
Mayya Perova and
Anika Tylek. The duo are 8-1, and right behind the all-sophomore team are
Nicole Clarke and
Nikki Milner who are 1-1 at the No. 1 line.
LEAGUE HONORS: Mark it three times this year already that the Panthers have won league awards. Recently, Perova and Tylek were tabbed Horizon League Doubles Team of the Week for the week of Feb. 24. This marks the second time the duo earned the award.
MKE also swept both categories with
Nicole Clarke earning Singles Player of the Week, while
Mayya Perova and
Anika Tylek earned Doubles Team of the Week for the week of Feb. 11.
Finally for the week of Jan. 28, Clarke and
Nikki Milner were also tabbed Horizon League Doubles Team of the Week.
NEXT UP: After the Redbird Invitational, the black & gold come back home, but will play at the Helfaer Tennis and Recreation Center in a head-to-head, crosstown rival match against Marquette on Thursday, March 5. The match is slated for 5 p.m.
