The Milwaukee women's tennis team returns home this weekend, set to welcome Chicago State for the first time as a Horizon League opponent. The league office announced last summer the addition of the Cougars as an affiliate member for both women's and men's tennis in the conference.
 
The two teams square off Saturday afternoon at River Glen Elite, set for a start time of 1 p.m. as the Panthers look to continue a recent run of success against Chicago State, a team they have beaten in seven of the past eight meetings.
 
River Glen Elite, the home of MKE Tennis, is located at 2001 Good Hope Road in Milwaukee (53209), a half-mile west of I-43 between River Hills and Glendale. Admission is free.
 
SCOUTING THE OPPONENTS
Chicago State went 7-16 overall a season ago, falling in the first round of the WAC Tournament. The team was ranked fifth in the preseason Horizon League poll this season but did pick up a first-place vote. Jack Barton has been the head coach since 2010 and was named CSU Coach of the Year in 2015-16. 
 
CSU is 9-13 on the season overall and off to the same 1-2 start in league play as MKE. The Cougars defeated Oakland (6-1 April 1) and lost to Youngtown State (5-2 April 7) and Cleveland State (4-3 April 8). Katarina Dukic leads the way in singles victories and is 10-10 on the season.
 
The Panthers are 10-7 all-time in the series but have been very good of late. The team has won two straight and seven of the past eight, claiming a 4-3 victory a year ago in March.
 
HORIZON HISTORY
Milwaukee is now 14-16 in Horizon League openers all-time after topping Oakland 4-3, with a 6-1 win over IUPUI a year ago snapping what had been a three-match losing streak in conference openers. The team went 3-3 a year ago to finish in third place. The Panthers have claimed one regular-season Horizon League Championship in program history which came in 2013-14, going 7-1 that spring.

LAST WEEK
Milwaukee had a tough go if it against the No. 1 and No. 2 teams in the preseason poll last week, despite playing much better than the final scores indicated, starting with a 6-1 loss to Cleveland State. Milwaukee then responded quickly after dropping the opening doubles point against Youngstown State the next day, but could not convert its opportunities in falling to by a final score of 7-0.
 
The Panthers took control against the Penguins early in singles play by winning first sets on four courts, but were unable to carry that momentum through the rest of the day in falling to the reigning Horizon League Tournament champions. MKE grabbed 1-0 advantages at the No. 2, 3, 4, and 6 positions, only to see the Penguins respond and take back momentum and then win the third set in each situation.
 
SO FAR SO GOOD
The Panthers have seven dual wins this season so far and some strong results to build on, including Nadiia Konieva and Giorgia Cavestro being named the Nike #HLTennis Women's Doubles Team of the Week March 8 and Babette Burgersdijk and Sara Simonova being named the Nike #HLTennis Women's Doubles Team of the Week Feb. 15. Overall in the spring dual season, Konieva leads the way with 10 individual victories (10-6 record), while Alice Shields has eight (8-6). In doubles, Shields/Iva Stejskalova lead the squad with seven wins (7-4), while Cavestro/Konieva (7-7) also have seven.
 
HOME SWEET HOME
The Panthers have been stellar at home of late, going 30-13 over the past four-plus years (7-2 in 2023), including a 10-3 mark in 2021. Last season, MKE claimed victories in three of its final four home duals heading into the postseason.

UP NEXT
The Panthers close out the regular season at home next weekend with a pair of matches. Up first is Northern Kentucky Saturday, set for a 1 p.m. start.