The Milwaukee women's tennis team opens the home portion of the spring schedule this weekend, set to battle a pair of non-conference opponents. Up first is North Dakota Saturday, followed on Sunday by a dual against Bradley. Both matches are scheduled to get underway at 1 p.m. from River Glen Elite.
 
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.
 
The Panthers are off to a 1-1 start to the campaign, having dropped the opener at Drake before topping Northern Iowa by a convincing 6-1 scoreline last weekend.
 
MKE outlasted UNI in a tough doubles portion and then went on to take care of business in five of six singles flights after that, dropping just one decision – which did go to a three-set battle. Three Panthers won twice, with Nadiia Konieva, Laure Razet, and Emilia Durska all going a perfect 2-0 on the day to lead the charge, as Mark Goldin picked up his first official dual victory as the Milwaukee head coach.
 
SCOUTING THE OPPONENTS
Saturday's match will be the seventh meeting in the all-time series, with Milwaukee holding the 4-2 advantage. A year ago, North Dakota earned a 5-2 decision that snapped what was a four-match winning streak for the Panthers. Tom Boysen has led the Fighting Hawks since July of 2021. A year ago, the team captured a few program firsts, finishing with double-digit wins at 11-13 and sitting tied for second in the Summit League standings with a 5-2 record. UND started conference play with five straight wins, becoming the first team in program history to accomplish the feat while also ending the regular season as the only program to win a point off of nationally-ranked Denver in league action. 

Boysen and the UND women made its loudest noise in the postseason, taking down Kansas City by a 4-1 score in the Summit League semifinals to advance to the title match for the first time since moving to Division I. Andrea Jansson and Nore Heinitz each also earned All-Summit League honors, with Jansson becoming the first player to earn multiple all-conference selections in the program's Division I history. 
 
The team is off to a 1-4 start this year, claiming a 4-3 victory over Air Force. Its most recent action was a 6-1 loss at Minnesota Jan. 26. Jule Schulte (3-1) leads the way early in singles victories, with Jansson and Sapir Sela both a perfect 4-0 in doubles action so far.
 
Milwaukee is 10-9 all-time against Bradley, with the teams playing nearly every season since 1999. The Panthers enjoyed an eight-match win streak from 2007 through 2014, but the Braves have the strong run of late, having claimed the past four – including a 4-3 decision the last time they faced off in 2020. In fact, each of the past three meetings have been closely-contested 4-3 decisions. BU is 1-1 so far this season, falling to Arkansas (9-0 Jan. 20) while topping Omaha (6-1 Jan. 27). The team has a busy weekend, taking on Chicago State and St. Thomas Saturday before heading to Milwaukee Sunday afternoon. Matt Tyler, in his 11th season as the head coach, is coming off a 7-15 season a year ago.
 
NEW LEADERSHIP AT THE TOP 
Hopes remain high this spring for the Panthers and first-year head coach Mark Goldin after the team reached the Horizon League Tournament semifinals. That followed a trip to the league championship match the year prior. A year ago, the squad was knocked out by top-seeded Youngstown State, coming up just short of a return trip to the title match.
 
Goldin is a fixture in the Milwaukee tennis community and was named the head coach of the Panthers in August, 2023, following a very successful run as the head coach at Cardinal Stritch University and, most recently, as the assistant general manager at Elite Sports Club in Mequon.

His tenure at Cardinal Stritch from 2013 to 2021 was impressive, earning the Wilson ITA Women's NAIA National Coach of the Year Award in 2014 in addition to four East Region Wilson ITA Coach of the Year accolades and Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference Coach of the Year honors on eight different occasions (4 women's/4 men's).
 
Goldin guided the Wolves to a 64-1 overall CCAC conference record over his first eight seasons on the women's side after founding the program, eight CCAC Conference championship titles, and a team ranking as high as No. 4 in the nation. On the men's side, the team went 61-4 in CCAC play, claiming seven league titles as well as a national ranking as high as No. 2 in back-to-back seasons. His teams also received the highest team GPA awards from the department numerous times, including winning the award on each side his final semester.
 
No stranger to the Panthers, Goldin served as an assistant with the program from 2009 through 2012, helping the team improve from near the bottom of the league standings to a Top-3 program in his time. In fact, MKE went from five team wins, 39 individual wins and a 2-6 conference record in his first year to 13 team wins, 126 individual wins and a 6-2 Horizon League record for third place, the best in school history at the time.
  
ROSTER MAKEUP
The current roster comes from an extensive background of seven different countries and will consist of five returners, a transfer to the program, and two freshmen. Leading the way for the returners in Nadiia Konieva, who was named All-Horizon League First Team as well as the Horizon League Freshmen of the Year following an outstanding first season with the Panthers (just fourth MKE tennis player to earn Freshman of the Year honors in program history). She finished the season with an overall record of 20-14 in singles play and 18-14 in doubles action. Konieva played singles from No. 2 to No. 4 position and recorded 20 singles victories, the first Panther to achieve the 20-plus milestone since 2017.
 
FALL FESTIVITES
This fall, Milwaukee competed in three different tournaments, visiting Michigan and for a pair of trips in addition to an event in-state. Konieva led the way in singles with a 5-1 mark, with newcomer Laure Razet joining her for the team lead with a 5-2 ledger. Freshman Evelina Anastasi was next at 4-2. In doubles, the team of Konieva and Razet paced the Panthers at an impressive 4-1.
 
Milwaukee has been picked to finish fourth in the league this season in a poll of the league's coaches, despite very strong finishes to their campaign each of the past two years. The Panthers finished 2-4 last spring and went into the Horizon League Tournament as the No. 5 seed, knocking off No. 4 Northern Kentucky, 4-0, before falling to Youngstown State in the semifinals.
 
HOME SWEET HOME
The Panthers have been stellar at home of late, going 23-11 over the past four-plus years, including a 10-3 mark in 2021. Last season, MKE claimed victories in three of its final four home duals heading into the postseason and were 8-4 overall.
 
UP NEXT
Just one match awaits next week, taking the short trip down to Chicago to take on UIC Friday. Start time against the Flames is set for 12 p.m.