The final weekend of the regular season is here for the Milwaukee women's tennis team, hosting matches on Saturday and Sunday to wrap up play before it's time for the Horizon League Championships.
 
The Panthers welcome Northern Kentucky Saturday and IUPUI Sunday, with both matches set to start at 1 p.m. at River Glen Elite.
 
Milwaukee is 1-3 in conference play and currently tied for fifth place. The top six teams in the league standings will head to the Horizon League Championships next weekend. NKU sits at 2-2, while IUPUI is currently 0-4.
 
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
Northern Kentucky sits at 9-7 overall on the season and is 2-2 in league action, knocking off IUPUI and Oakland prior to losses to losses to Youngstown State and Cleveland State, both by 5-2 scorelines. Ananya Kothakota leads the lineup with nine singles wins (9-7), while Sylvia Gray has eight (8-7). The doubles team of Ashlee Fisk and Elizabth Rozin is an impressive 9-4 on the year. Head coach Brian Nester is in his 11^th season with the program and the team was picked to finish fourth in the Horizon League Preseason poll.
 
Milwaukee holds the solid 5-2 advantage in the all-time series, having won the past two meetings as well as three of the last four. A year ago, MKE claimed the 4-3 decision at home.
 
IUPUI is 9-14 and sits 0-4 in Horizon League matches following a 2-19 campaign a year ago. The Jaguars also play at Chicago State Saturday before heading to Milwaukee. Meghan Bernard is 15-11 on the season in singles play, while Samantha Hayward and Sarah Lounsbury both have 12 wins apiece. The doubles tandem of Bernard/Hayward is 16-9 on the year.
 
Milwaukee is 14-7 in the all-time series against the Jaguars but has been on a real roll since 2008. The Panthers have claimed wins in the past 11 consecutive meetings, claiming a 6-1 victory a year ago. They are also a perfect 9-0 at home in the series all-time.
 
SALUTE THE SENIORS
The program will recognize graduating seniors Anika Tylek and Anouk Ma-Ajong in a post-match ceremony Sunday. Tylek is a four-year member of the program; Ma-Ajong is in her first season with the Panthers following time at St. Francis (three seasons) and Western Illinois.
 
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.
 
The 2023 championship event will take place at the Varsity Tennis Center in Ann Arbor, Mich., from April 28-30.

LAST WEEK
Chicago State grabbed the doubles point to open the day and rode the momentum into singles action, handing the Milwaukee women's tennis team a 5-2 loss April 15 at River Glen Elite. The Panthers (7-12, 1-3 Horizon League) saw their recent run of success against the Cougars (10-12, 2-2 Horizon League) come to an end, starting well in singles before being able to secure two points on the afternoon.
 
Nadiia Konieva played very well at No. 2 singles, defeating Katarina Dukic by a score of 6-4, 6-3, to improve to 11-6 in dual-season action.
 
Sara Simonova provided another highlight to wrap up the match, coming back after dropping the second set to top Amina Taibi by a final score of 6-3, 5-7, 10-6 at No. 6 singles.
 
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 (11-6 record), while Alice Shields has eight (8-7). In doubles, Shields/Iva Stejskalova lead the squad with seven wins (7-4), while Cavestro/Konieva (7-8) also have seven.
 
HOME SWEET HOME
The Panthers have been stellar at home of late, going 30-14 over the past four-plus years (7-3 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 Horizon League Championships open April 28. More information will be available following the completion of the season this weekend.