With the non-conference portion of the season behind it, the Milwaukee women's tennis team opens Horizon League action this weekend when it hosts Oakland Saturday.
 
The Panthers and Golden Grizzlies are set to get underway at 11:30 a.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 head into action after posting a 6-10 mark to date, most recently wrapping up its spring trip to Florida, having to battle injury and a short roster in taking on Connecticut, Morgan State, and NJIT in Orlando last week.
 
SCOUTING THE OPPONENTS
OAKLAND: The Golden Grizzlies are coming off a season in which they went 5-14 overall and 1-6 in Horizon League action. The team was ranked No. 4 in the league preseason poll and is led by second-year head coach David Brown, who had served as a coach for adults and junior athletes at the Peachtree Tennis Club in Clinton Township since August 2021.
 
The team went 3-8 in its non-league schedule so far in 2025, closing out the slate with losses in its final four matchups, falling to Wayne State (L, 5-2 March 23) and Bowling Green (L, 6-1 March 14) in most recent action. The OU website does not list any current statistics from the 2024-25 campaign.
 
NIFTY NIKO
Nikola Nikolajeva was brilliant in helping the Panthers to a 2-0 team record with her recent play. She started things with a huge comeback victory to help Milwaukee to a thrilling and dramatic 4-3 victory over Western Illinois March 1. The match was deadlocked at three points apiece with Nikolajeva left at No. 2 singles to determine the winner. Down 5-1 in the deciding third set, she fought off six match points and then won the tiebreaker 11-9 to send the Panthers to the big victory over the Leathernecks.
 
Then, on Sunday, she moved up a spot to No. 1 singles due to injury and dispatched Whitewater's #1, 6-2, 6-0 as part of a 7-0 MKE victory. She was rewarded with Horizon League Singles Player of the Week honors March 5 for her efforts.
 
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 hit the road to continue Horizon League play, set for matches at Youngstown State Saturday (10 a.m. CT) and Cleveland State Sunday (9 a.m. CT).