MILWAUKEE – The Milwaukee women's tennis team has earned the No. 5 seed in the Horizon League Championship and will face No. 4 Northern Kentucky Friday, April 28 from the Varsity Tennis Center hosted by the University of Michigan at 10 a.m. (CT).
 
Horizon League Championship Central
2023 Tournament Bracket
 
It will be a familiar foe for the Panthers, who fell to the Norse this past weekend in a 4-3 heartbreaker. That will mark the second consecutive season that MKE will face a first-round postseason opponent after competing against them the final weekend of the regular season (it was Oakland a year ago). The team will hope for a familiar path after playing its way to the championship for the first time in program history last year.
 
The 2023 Horizon League Tennis Championship begins Friday at the Varsity Tennis Center in Ann Arbor, Michigan. The $6 million indoor and outdoor complex was built in 1997 and provides a state-of-the-art competition site for the event. The indoor facility accommodates eight indoor courts. The outdoor facility consists of 12 championship caliber courts with seating for 600 spectators. Live statistics will be available for all matches and the championship will be streamed on ESPN+. All links are available on the Milwaukee website.
 
Varsity Tennis Center: 2250 S. State St. Ann Arbor, MI 48104 (parking is free)
 
SCOUTING THE OPPONENTS
Northern Kentucky sits at 10-8 overall on the season went 3-3 in league action, knocking off the Panthers before falling to Chicago State in the regular-season finale. Ananya Kothakota leads the lineup with 11 singles wins (11-7), while Sylvia Gray has 10 (10-7). The doubles team of Ashlee Fisk and Elizabth Rozin is an impressive 10-5 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 a 5-3 advantage in the all-time series, having won the past two of the past three meetings. A year ago, MKE claimed the 4-3 decision at home.
 
HORIZON HISTORY
Milwaukee is now 14-16 in Horizon League openers all-time after topping Oakland 4-3 this season, 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 team is 11-33 in the Horizon League Championship all-time, but did go 2-1 a year ago in reaching the championship match for the first time in program history.
 
20-20 VISION
The Panthers have a pair of student-athletes who have already reached 20 singles victories this season, something that has not been done since 2017. Both Alice Shields (20-11) and Nadiia Konieva (20-14) have achieved the milestone, last notched by Berta Masdevall Masip in 2017 when she finished 21-10. Shields is also one doubles win away from 20, sitting at 19-10. The last Panther to accomplish a 20-win season in doubles was Alex Belle (24-5) in 2018-19.
 
SALUTE THE SENIORS
The program recognized graduating seniors Anika Tylek and Anouk Ma-Ajong in a post-match ceremony in the regular-season finale against IUPUI. 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.
 
HOME SWEET HOME
The Panthers have been stellar at home of late, going 31-15 over the past four-plus years (8-4 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 winner between the Panthers and Norse will take on top-seeded Youngstown State who finished a perfect 6-0 in league play. Semifinals are scheduled for Saturday, April 29 at 10 a.m. CT.