MILWAUKEE – The Milwaukee women's tennis team wrapped up an impressive day of play by completing the sweep of the full match when it hosted Whitewater Sunday afternoon at River Glen Elite, winning by a final score of 7-0.
 
The Panthers (6-8) started the day off by winning on all three doubles courts and then finished off the Warhawks (8-3) with victories in all six singles matches, capped by a nice comeback effort by Giorgia Cavestro at No. 6 to close out the afternoon in perfect fashion.
 
"Excellent day today for the Panthers," head coach Ryan Kucera said. "We brought focus and intent from start to finish. All three doubles courts played with diligence – really imposed our aggressive tennis. Especially in our service games, we ran the right plays and created tons of net chances. Getting so many net finishes in our services games really got us going and carried through the rest of our play."
 
The victory improves MKE to 6-2 at home this season and comes against a UWW squad that claimed the WIAC league title in the fall and ranked No. 36 when the spring season began in the ITA Collegiate tennis rankings earlier in the campaign.
 
The Panthers got things going quickly out of the gates, with Nadiia Konieva and Cavestro blitzing Courtney Day and Gianna Nikoleit, 6-0, at No. 2.
 
Babette Burgersdijk and Sara Simonova handily topped Kasey Schlict and Kellie Ha by a final score of 6-3 at No. 1 and Alice Shields and Anouk Ma-Ajong then made it a 3-for-3 showing with a 6-4 victory at No. 3.
 
Singles started in similar dominant form, with Burgersdijk (6-0, 6-2 at No. 1) and Shields (6-1, 6-1 at No. 3) making quick work and Konieva (6-1, 6-3 at No. 2) not far behind to officially clinch the deciding point.
 
"In singles, we knew we needed to be aggressive right away and keep pressure on," Kucera said. "Whitewater defends well and pressures with great ball shape and consistency. We were confident and able to swing freely, which led to a lot of offensive opportunities. Pairing that with more strong net play, we consistently put ourselves in successful positions. This is something we must continue as a team."
 
Ma-Ajong played well against Molly Asfeld at No. 5, winning 6-3, 6-1 and Simonova battled to her win at No. 4 by a final of 6-3, 6-3 over Kellie Ha.
 
"There were individual positives on all courts!" Kucera said. "Our performances at five and six were especially noteworthy. Anouk was excellent – she played with great determination. She executed well when she had offensive opportunities and countered when her opponent put her in the corners."
 
That turned the attention to court six, where Cavestro dropped the first set. After working ahead in set two and then holding off a late comeback effort, Cavestro slammed the door with a 10-6 win in the tiebreaker with the rest of the team cheering from the adjacent court.
 
"Giorgia was extremely tough, both mentally and physically," Kucera said. "A difficult first set, but her response shows what a competitor she is. She implemented the small adjustments we needed to make and kept her trust in herself. Even rolling her ankle in the super tiebreak couldn't stop her! Very proud of Gio, and everyone for a great team win heading into the off week."
 
Up next, the Panthers take a break for a stretch, returning to play on the road at Valparaiso March 25, set to start at 1 p.m.
 
Milwaukee Panthers 7, Whitewater 0
Singles competition
1. Babette Burgersdijk (MKE) def. Gianna Nikoleit (UWW) 6-0, 6-2
2. Nadiia Konieva (MKE) def. Cassie Lee (UWW) 6-1, 6-3
3. Alice Shields (MKE) def. Kasey Schlict (UWW) 6-1, 6-1
4. Sara Simonova (MKE) def. Kellie Ha (UWW) 6-3, 6-3
5. Anouk Ma-Ajong (MKE) def. Molly Asfeld (UWW) 6-3, 6-1
6. Giorgia Cavestro (MKE) def. Gracie Ha (UWW) 3-6, 6-4, 10-6

Doubles competition
1. Babette Burgersdijk/Sara Simonova (MKE) def. Kasey Schlict/Kellie Ha (UWW) 6-3
2. Nadiia Konieva/Giorgia Cavestro (MKE) def. Courtney Day/Gianna Nikoleit (UWW) 6-0
3. Alice Shields/Anouk Ma-Ajong (MKE) def. Cassie Lee/Gracie Ha (UWW) 6-4