With a 6-1 win over Chicago State already on its ledger from its home opener Tuesday, the Milwaukee women's tennis team continues the week with two more matches, taking on a pair of Illinois counterparts.
 
Up first will be another home match Saturday, welcoming Illinois State to town. Then, it's off to DeKalb, Ill., for a date with Northern Illinois Sunday. Action against the Redbirds gets underway Saturday at 12 p.m., while the battle against the Huskies is scheduled to start at 1 p.m. Sunday.
 
Saturday's action takes place at River Glen Elite, the home of MKE Tennis, which 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. Sunday the team will battle NIU at the Nelson Tennis Center on campus.
 
Third-year head coach Mark Goldin and his team had to battle through and overcome numerous injuries a year ago, finishing with an 8-17 overall mark that yielded a strong finish - knocking off third-seeded Oakland in the Horizon League Championships before falling in the semifinals to eventual league champion YSU. The Panthers also added a historic result, posting MKE's first-ever win over Marquette with a 4-3 decision in February. The team is also coming off a very successful fall campaign, finishing with cumulative records of 24-15 as a team in singles action for the fall and 18-9 in doubles play.
 
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.
 
2026 UPDATE
The Panthers are 1-2 following their win over Chicago State, which followed a challenging opening to the campaign where the team dropped 4-0 decisions to Wisconsin and Harvard in Madison.
 
The Panthers closed out two of the first three singles decisions against the Cougars and secured the victory with Nadiia Konieva's win at No. 2 singles. The team kept winning the rest of the afternoon, capped by an impressive comeback victory from Nel Van Hout at No. 1 singles to finish off the 6-1 team decision.
 
SCOUTING THE OPPONENTS
Milwaukee is 0-8 all-time against Illinois State, with the all-time series dating back to 1996. The matchup was revived in 2023 (for the first time since 2014), with the Redbirds claiming a 5-2 decision that season and a 6-1 victory a year ago. The squad is 2-2 on the young season, picking up back-to-back wins over Western Illinois (W, 4-3 Jan. 28) and Saint Louis (W, 4-1 Feb. 1) after losses to Purdue and Western Michigan to open the spring slate.
 
Head coach Maja Kovacek has returned the program to the top of the Missouri Valley Conference, having led the Redbirds to three regular season titles, two NCAA Tournament appearances and a 41-5 record in league play the past eight seasons. Named head coach in June of 2014, Kovacek is a three-time MVC Coach of the Year who has led the program to a 31-15 mark over the past two seasons, including a 13-3 mark in MVC play. During the 2024-25 campaign, the Redbirds finished 6-2 in conference play and had four players earn All-MVC honors.
 
The Panthers are 4-15 in the series against Northern Illinois, with the Huskies claiming a 4-0 result when the two teams met last season. That extended NIU's win streak in the series to four, dating back to a 5-2 victory at home for Milwaukee in 2017.
 
In just six seasons leading the program, Eric Burns ranks among the winningest women's tennis coaches ever at NIU while leading the Huskies to double-digit wins in six consecutive seasons, the longest streak in school history. His .581 winning percentage at NIU entering the 2026 dual match season is the best of any women's tennis coach all-time and he ranks second on the Huskie women's tennis all-time wins list with 93. The team went 22-9 overall last year, posting a 7-3 record in MAC league play, with the season coming to a conclusion in the tennis NIT Championship in May.
 
They are off to a 5-2 start this spring, with a 6-1 loss to Minnesota Jan. 31 snapping what was a four-match winning streak. Lucia Yecora paces singles play with a 5-2 record, with three others recording four victories. The doubles tandem of Malika Kabdesh and Nataly Ninova are a team-best 4-1.
 
ROSTER MAKEUP
The current roster comes from an extensive background of eight different countries and will consist of seven returners, one sophomore transfer, and one freshman. Leading the way for the returners is Nadiaa Konieva, who last season was named All-Horizon League Second Team following a campaign in which she stepped up to play No. 1 singles as well as continuing her role as a part of the No. 1 doubles squad. Konieva led the Panthers in doubles victories with 16 and finished just one off the team lead in total victories with 25 (nine singles wins).
 
Emilia Durska concluded the campaign with a 14-13 singles record and a 12-18 doubles ledger, with her 26 total victories tied for the team lead. Durska competed from No. 2 through No. 5 in singles play and No. 2/No. 3 in doubles. Nikola Nikolajeva put together a stellar first season with the Panthers, tying for the overall team lead in victories with 26. She finished with a 12-10 record in singles play as well as a 14-9 mark in doubles action, which was played mostly at No. 2 singles and the majority of the year at No. 1 doubles before an injury slowed her near the end of the spring slate.

FALL FESTIVITIES
The team is coming off a very successful fall 2025 campaign, competing at the Gopher Invitational, the Warhawk Fall Invite, and the Horizon League Individual Championships. Newcomer Nel Van Hout led the way, combining for 18 victories – going 8-1 in singles and 10-2 in doubles action. Emilia Durska was second with 12 total wins (4 singles/8 doubles). Nadiia Konieva and Nikola Nikolajeva were each 5-2 in singles, while Sara Simonova was 7-2 in doubles.
 
The Panthers went 24-15 as a team in singles action for the fall; 18-9 in doubles play.
 
HOME SWEET HOME
The Panthers have been very solid at home of late, going 31-18 over the past five-plus years, including a 10-3 mark in 2021.
 
UP NEXT
The Panthers are off until Friday, Feb. 13, heading across town to take on Marquette. Start time is set for 5 p.m.