With the majority of the non-conference portion of the season behind it, the Milwaukee women's tennis team opens Horizon League action this weekend when it travels to battle Oakland Saturday.
 
The Panthers and Golden Grizzlies are set to get underway at 3:30 p.m. from Bloomfield Tennis & Fitness, located nearby the Oakland campus in Bloomfield Hills, Mich.
 
The Panthers head into conference action at 5-7 overall, an impressive feat considering the squad has played without numerous key members of the lineup the entire stretch due to injuries.
 
SCOUTING THE OPPONENTS
OAKLAND: The Golden Grizzlies are coming off a season in which they went 7-11 overall and 4-2 in Horizon League action, dropping their league tournament opener to Milwaukee, 4-2, as the No. 3 seed. The team was ranked No. 1 in the league preseason poll, however, and is led by third-year head coach David Brown, who had served as a coach for adults and junior athletes at the Peachtree Tennis Club in Clinton Township prior to the OU job.
 
The team went 3-8 in its non-league schedule so far in 2026, closing out the slate with a trip to California that resulted in a win against Redlands (W, 5-2 March 3) and a loss at UC Irvine (L, 7-0 March 4). The team has dropped six of its past seven heading into league play. The OU website does not list current statistics from the 2025-26 campaign.
 
Milwaukee has a solid 14-6 all-time record against OU, with wins in seven of the past eight matchups. In fact, the 4-3 regular-season defeat by the Grizz a year ago snapped what was a streak of seven consecutive MKE wins dating back to 2019. The Panthers have also claimed the past three played in Rochester, Mich.
 
LAST WEEK
The Panthers went 1-0 last week, dominating in a win over Whitewater on a weekend in which they also had a match against Bradley cancelled.
 
The squad was impressive from start to finish in picking up a convincing 6-1 victory over Whitewater Friday. The Panthers swept through doubles against the Warhawks – the reigning Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference champions – in quick fashion and rode the momentum into singles play. The decision extended the MKE win streak in the all-time series to 15, dating back to 2006.

The team of Laure Razet and Nel Van Hout breezed past UWW's Molly Ansfeld and Crystine Lee, 6-0, in just 15 minutes at No. 2 to open the day. Nadiia Konieva and Sara Simonova then took down the clinching point at the top of the lineup just a short time later, claiming a 6-1 victory. At No. 3, Honoka Yamashita and Elisa Rubio dug out of a quick 2-0 hole and led, 4-2, when the match was halted after the clinching point was secured. Singles action was all Panthers, taking five of the six points available, with no MKE slot filled at No. 6 singles due to the team's injury situation.

LET'S GET THIS STARTED
The Panthers have gone 14-18 all-time in Horizon League openers, dating back to the 1992-93 school year. The team has also won three of its past four conference lid-lifters, with a 4-3 loss to Oakland at home a year ago the only blemish in that span. Mark Goldin is 1-1 in his MKE league openers.
 
ON THE MOVE
Due to official availability, the home match against Cleveland State April 4 will have to be moved up in start time and location. The match will now get underway at 8 a.m. and be held at North Shore Elite in Glendale, Wis. (5750 N. Glen Park Rd., Glendale, Wis., 53209).
 
HORIZON LEAGUE HONORS
Nel Van Hout continues to be an early-season bright spot, posting a 2-0 week in singles play last month to run her win streak to seven consecutive dating back to the fall (it reached eight before it was snapped). She was recognized with Horizon League Singles Player of the Week honors Feb. 18 after the 2-0 week. She defeated Marquette, 6-3, 6-3 at No. 1 Friday before topping the University of Chicago - the second-ranked team in NCAA DIII - by a score of 6-4, 6-3 at No. 2 singles. She is now 15-3 on the season overall in singles matches.
 
The team of Nadiia Konieva and Sara Simonova was also recognized Feb. 18, earning Horizon League Doubles Team of the Week. The honor is the third of Konieva and Simonova's career, but the first together as a team.
 
The tandem posted a 2-0 week with wins over Marquette and UChicago. The duo overcame a 4-2 deficit at No. 2 singles to defeat Marquette Friday, fighting off two match points before claiming the 7-5 decision. On Sunday, they took down the Maroons No. 2 team by a final score of 6-3 to improve to 9-2 at the time as a team on the year (12-2 currently).
 
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 Nadiia 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.
 
THE COACH
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.

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 33-20 over the past five-plus years, including a 10-3 mark in 2021.
 
UP NEXT
The Panthers head off to Florida for their spring trip next, scheduled to take on North Alabama (March 25) and Stetson (March 26) on their time away (scheduled March 23-29).