The Milwaukee women's tennis team will wrap up the regular season this weekend, set to host a pair of Horizon League matches as the year comes to a close in preparation for the postseason. Every matchup is crucial this weekend as just one result separates fourth from seventh in the current conference standings, with only the top six teams making the event.
 
The Panthers will welcome IU Indianapolis Friday, followed by a visit from Northern Kentucky on Saturday. Both matches are set to get underway at River Glen Elite with 11:30 a.m. start times. Saturday will also serve as "Senior Day" for the lone MKE senior, honoring four-year student-athlete Giorgia Cavestro.
 
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 at 7-14 overall and 1-3 in conference matches after topping Chicago State last weekend by a final score of 7-0.
 
MKE holds all-time records of 16-7 against IU Indy and 7-4 against Northern Kentucky. The Panthers have won the past 13 consecutive against the Jaguars – the longest active streak against any one opponent. The last time MKE was defeated by the Jags was a 5-2 loss in 2007 which also makes them a perfect 7-0 in the series since IU Indy joined the Horizon League back in 2017.
 
The Norse defeated the Panthers to end the season for the program last spring, a tough 4-3 loss in the Horizon League Tournament. That ended a streak of two in a row for MKE as well as a run of four out of five
 
IU INDY: The Jaguars went 8-12 last year and were pegged for sixth in the preseason poll following an 0-6 ledger last spring. Pawel Gajdzik, head coach since August of 2022, added two newcomers in freshman Hanan Awale and junior Calli Sokolowski to the returners. Gajdzik's team earned a 2-10 record during the 2024-25 season and still in search of a league victory at 0-4. Grace Lampman (7-5) and Sokolowski (7-9) lead singles play with seven wins, while Chloe Bailey leads doubles action with seven victories.
 
NORTHERN KENTUCKY: The Norse went 6-12 overall last school year and were 2-4 in conference play. They were picked to finish fifth in the preseason poll this year. The team enters play Saturday at 5-9 overall and 1-3 in conference action, having dropped each of their past four outings including most recently to Cleveland State (L, 6-1 April 12) and Youngstown State (L, 6-1 April 13). Ashlee Fisk (8-6, all at No. 1) paces the squad in singles wins, while a trio of players are tied for the team lead with five doubles victories. Head coach Brian Nester is in his 13^th season with the program.

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 31-16 over the past four-plus years, including a 10-3 mark in 2021.
 
UP NEXT
The Panthers will battle for final seed positioning over the weekend, with the top six teams in the conference advancing to the Horizon League Championships. That event will get underway April 25 at the Varsity Tennis Center in Ann Arbor, Mich.