MILWAUKEE, Wis. – This weekend marks the final two regular season matches for the Milwaukee tennis team as the Panthers will host Cleveland State starting Saturday, April 24 at 1 p.m. from River Glen Elite.
Last Time Out: The Panthers dropped just one match in their entire series against Oakland last weekend. The Black & Gold swept the Golden Grizzlies 2-0, winning 7-0 and 6-1, and improve to 12-7, 5-5 HL on the season.
Scouting Cleveland State: Cleveland State enters the weekend 8-9, 6-4 HL and fresh off a sweep over Northern Kentucky.
The Vikings are led by senior newcomer and transfer Miruna Vasilescu who is 15-2 overall and holds a perfect 10-0 conference singles record. Vasilescu previously spent three years at Akron before the school discontinued the sport. She comes in with a combined 49-23 ingles record her first three seasons, playing primarily at the No. 1 and No. 2 singles spots.
Blanche Lenoan is second on the team in singles wins with 14. Lenoan has competed primarily from the No. 2 singles line, and is currently on a nine-match win streak.
In doubles, Lenoan is paired with Kateryna Avram and the duo are 13-4 – all from the No. 2 doubles position.
Awards!: For the week of April 19,
Greta Carbone and
Nikki Milner were named Horizon League Doubles Team of the Week, a first for the duo together. Carbone and Milner went 1-0 over Oakland, winning 6-4 Saturday and were leading 4-2 on Sunday before the Panthers clinched the doubles point.
Mamma Mia!: Freshman
Greta Carbone will be a strong candidate for Freshman of the Year and Player of the Year this 2021 season. Entering this weekend, Carbone holds a 15-3, 9-1 HL record – 14 of those wins coming from the No. 1 singles line. She also has the second most wins from the No. 1 line behind Miruna Vasilescu (15) from Cleveland State with whom she will showdown with this weekend.
#SeniorStatus: Against Oakland, senior
Anna Daniel Fuentes surpassed her single season career victories by going 1-1 on the weekend. Daniel Fuentes owns a 13-5, 5-4 HL record.
In doubles, Daniel Fuentes has been paired with
Agata Jurczak and the two have been steadfast and reliable. The duo are 11-5 together, splitting time between the No. 2 and No. 3 doubles lines.
No Fan Attendance: Just a reminder that there is no fan attendance allowed at River Glen Elite.
What's On the Line: The Panthers tournament goals lie in their own hands. The Horizon League takes the top four teams into the tournament and the Panthers enter the weekend in fourth place. Here are the current standings:
- UIC 15-5, 7-1
- Youngstown State 14-8, 7-1
- Cleveland State 8-9, 6-4
- Milwaukee 12-7, 5-5
- Northern Kentucky 6-5, 3-3
- Oakland 2-16, 2-8
- IUPUI 2-12, 0-8
Playoff Scenarios: Below are the seeding scenarios for Milwaukee:
MKE – 2-0 against CSU
- NKU 1-1 or 0-2 (vs. YSU) – Panthers No. 3 seed
- NKU 2-0 (vs. YSU) – Panthers No. 4 seed
MKE – 1-1 against CSU
- NKU 0-2 (vs. YSU) – Panthers No. 4 seed
- NKU 1-1 (vs. YSU) – NKU and MKE splits series, but NKU holds 8-6 advantage in points. Panther out of tournament (No. 5 seed).
- NKU 2-0 (vs. YSU) – Panthers out of tournament (No. 5 seed)
MKE – 0-2 against CSU
- NKU 0-2 – Panthers No. 4 seed
- NKU 2-0 or 1-1 (vs. YSU) – Panthers out of tournament (No. 5 seed)
