MILWAUKEE – The Milwaukee women's tennis team earned the doubles point and had early momentum in singles play, but was unable to close out Northern Kentucky Saturday afternoon at River Glen Elite in falling by a final score of 4-3.
 
The Panthers (7-12, 1-3 Horizon League) edged the Norse (9-7, 2-2 Horizon League) in an exciting start to the day in doubles and then got wins from Alice Shields at No. 3 and Nadiia Konieva at No. 2 to extend the early lead and keep momentum on the home side at the time.
 
"Definitely a gut-puncher today," head coach Ryan Kucera said. "We battled extremely hard in singles. We were off like a rocket on the top courts. Alice and Nadiia were fantastic. They had excellent tactics, but most importantly they were focused and aggressive. The energy and competitive spirit on those courts was a huge boost to the team."
 
NKU responded, however, claiming victories on courts 4, 5, and 6, setting up a winner-take-all clinching match on court #1.
 
Babette Burgersdijk blitzed through the first set 6-0, but Elizabeth Rozin had an answer to make it 1-1 and send to a third. The deciding set then also went extra, with Rozin claiming an 8-6 decision to give NKU the victory.
 
"The fourth point is always the toughest, and we just couldn't push ourselves over the hump," Kucera said. "Babette played her heart out. It was an excellent match. Her opponent made a bunch of runs, but Babs just kept responding. She left it all out there, and even though it didn't go her way we are all so proud of her. We had plenty of chances to get that fourth point, and it stings that we couldn't convert. The good news is we have another great opportunity to honor our seniors and compete together tomorrow."

Burgersdijk battled from down 5-3 to force the tie-break and had Rozin on the ropes before the match was decided.
 
Doubles went down to the wire after the first two matches were split, with Iva Stejskalova and Alice Shields dominating at No. 1, winning 6-1, to make it 1-1.
 
Nadiia Konieva and Giorgia Cavestro then finished off the doubles point, taking down Angela Rinaldi and Ananya Kothakota 7-6 (7-4).
 
"I'm very proud of our doubles point," Kucera said. "We were aggressive, confident in our tactics, and we brought excellent energy. Giorgia and Nadya played an excellent tiebreak to clinch the point for us."
 
Shields defeated Laura Sola Grau by a final scoreline of 6-3, 6-1 and Konieva did well to take care of Ashlee Fisk, 6-3, 6-3 to highlight singles victories for MKE.
 
The regular season concludes Sunday afternoon, with Milwaukee hosting IUPUI starting at 1 p.m. The match against the Jaguars also serves as "Senior Day" for the program, recognizing Anika Tylek and Anouk Ma-Ajong in a post-match ceremony.
 
Northern Kentucky 4, Milwaukee Panthers 3
 
Singles competition
1. Elizabeth Rozin (NKU) def. Babette Burgersdijk (MKE) 0-6, 6-4, 7-6 (8-6)
2. Nadiia Konieva (MKE) def. Ashlee Fisk (NKU) 6-3, 6-3
3. Alice Shields (MKE) def. Laura Sola Grau (NKU) 6-3, 6-1
4. Ananya Kothakota (NKU) def. Anika Tylek (MKE) 6-3, 6-2
5. Mariajose Hernandez (NKU) def. Iva Stejskalova (MKE) 6-4, 6-3
6. Sylvia Gray (NKU) def. Sara Simonova (MKE) 6-4, 6-4
 
Doubles competition
1. Iva Stejskalova/Alice Shields (MKE) def. Laura Sola Grau/Mariajose Hernandez (NKU) 6-1
2. Elizabeth Rozin/Ashlee Fisk (NKU) def. Sara Simonova/Babette Burgersdijk (MKE) 6-4
3. Nadiia Konieva/Giorgia Cavestro (MKE) def. Angela Rinaldi/Ananya Kothakota (NKU) 7-6 (7-4)