Following a break of nearly two weeks in the spring schedule, the Milwaukee women's tennis team returns to action this weekend with a pair of matches. Up first the Panthers will welcome Western Illinois to town Saturday, followed by a road trip to battle Whitewater Sunday. The team heads into March with a record of 4-6 overall.
 
Saturday afternoon MKE hosts the Leathernecks at River Glen Elite, getting underway at 1 p.m. that day. 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 weekend then concludes with a quick drive to take on the Warhawks, set to take place at Lake Geneva Tennis & Pickleball (630 Veterans Parkway, Lake Geneva, Wis. 53147). Action will get underway at 1 p.m.
 
SCOUTING THE OPPONENTS
WESTERN ILLINOIS: The team is coming off a season last year in which it went 2-16 overall and 0-6 in conference matches. However, the new campaign is already much more promising … not only was the team picked third in the Ohio Valley Conference preseason poll, but the Leathernecks have already won four times (4-5 overall), with most recent action resulting in a 4-0 loss at Missouri Feb. 22. The Panthers have gone 10-3 all-time against WIU, with a streak of nine straight victories heading into Saturday – including the most recent six occasions by a score of 7-0 (last time in Feb. 2020).
 
Second-year head coach Luke Ogren sees his squad led by Nour Gueblaoui (4-3), Mana Fawcett (4-4), and Paige Grice (4-4) in singles play, as well as by Fawcett and Grice (4-1) in doubles action.
 
WHITEWATER: The all-time series against Whitewater is an interesting one, with the Panthers holding the 13-6 advantage. However, both teams have recorded long winning streaks in the process. The Warhawks went first, claiming the first six meetings dating back the first one in 1990. Then, beginning with an 8-1 victory in 2006, the Panthers will go into the matchup on Saturday having come out on top in the past 13 meetings, including back-to-back 7-0 wins in 2022 and 2023 and a 6-1 decision last year.

Whitewater boasts a very successful NCAA D-III program and has won the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference title the past 18 consecutive seasons, including this fall when the Warhawks went 7-1 overall and 5-1 in conference duals. Frank Barnes was honored as league coach of the year for the 10^th time in his career. The team will actually be making its spring 2025 debut when it hosts the Panthers Saturday.
 
MAKING HISTORY
Milwaukee and Marquette have been meeting regularly for much of the past two decades, with the Golden Eagles unbeaten in the series – until Feb. 2 that is. The Panthers won the doubles point against the Golden Eagles and then had to wait until the very end to close out the match, with Emilia Durska coming through with the three-set come-from-behind win to give MKE its first victory in program history over its city rival.
 
That gives Milwaukee a perfect 2-0 record against the Big East this season. In addition to the win over Marquette, the Panthers also defeated Providence, 6-1, back on Jan. 26, marking the first MKE victory over a team from the Big East since February of 2007.
 
OFF AND RUNNING
Nadiia Konieva and Nikola Nikolajeva were selected as the Under Armour Horizon League Tennis Doubles Team of the Week Jan. 29. The honor is the second of Konieva's time with the Panthers and a career-first for Nikolajeva.
 
Konieva and Nikolajeva played a key role in the Panthers to a 2-0 week to open the season, getting things underway with a strong start in doubles in both matches. They defeated Bradley, 6-3, Friday, and followed that up with a 6-0 blanking of Providence Sunday - winning both at No. 1 doubles.
 
YEAR NO. 2 LOADING
Expectations for the new season are high for the Panthers and second-year head coach Mark Goldin. The Panthers went 9-12 overall last season, finishing the year as the No. 4 seed (3-3 record) for the Horizon League Tournament before suffering a heartbreaking defeat in the opening round. The team was selected third in the 2025 Horizon League preseason poll.
 
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 as the assistant general manager at Elite Sports Club in Mequon.

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 and three freshmen. Leading the way for the returners is Nadiia Konieva, who finished last season with a singles record of 17-9 and a doubles ledger of 17-8. Her 17 wins led the team in singles play and her 17 doubles victories finished second on the squad and just one off the lead, playing primarily at No. 2. That followed All-Horizon League First Team honors as well as the Horizon League Freshmen of the Year accolades following an outstanding first season with the Panthers.
 
FALL FESTIVITES
This fall, Milwaukee competed in three different tournaments, visiting Minnesota, Illinois, and Ohio. Emilia Durska (5-2) and freshman Nikola Nikolajeva (5-3) led the way in singles with five victories apiece. In doubles play, Nadiia Konieva and Nikolajeva teamed up at No. 1 the entire schedule and paced the Panthers with a 7-3 record.
 
HOME SWEET HOME
The Panthers have been stellar at home of late, going 29-13 over the past four-plus years, including a 10-3 mark in 2021.
 
UP NEXT
The Panthers have just one match on the schedule next week, hosting Northern Iowa Saturday. Start time is set for 11:30 a.m.