Following a break in the schedule of 11 days, the Milwaukee women's tennis team sets its course for Florida for a spring break trip that will see it compete against a pair of teams this week.
 
The Panthers will head to DeLand, Fla., taking on North Alabama and host Stetson, with both matches set to be played at the Mandy Stoll Tennis Center. Milwaukee will take on the Lions Wednesday before battling the Hatters Thursday. Both days the action will get underway at 9 a.m. CT. Stetson will also be providing live statistics of both matches, with all links posted to the Milwaukee website.
 
The Mandy Stoll Tennis Center is home of the Stetson tennis program. Located on the eastside of the DeLand campus and built in 1996, the state-of-the-art facility is named in honor of Mandy Marie Stoll, who was the tennis team's top player when she tragically passed away in an automobile accident in April 1988. During her three years as a member of the Stetson tennis team, she set school records of 20 consecutive wins and 27 victories in one season.
 
The facility includes a state-of-the-art electronic scoreboard, six courts, with plans for six additional courts in the future, a kiosk, three gazebos and courtside bleachers.
 
The Panthers head into play Wednesday at 5-8 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
NORTH ALABAMA: The Lions are coming off a record season, going 19-6 overall and 7-2 record in Atlantic Sun Conference play. UNA won two ASUN Championship Tournament matches against Austin Peay and North Florida, advancing to play top-seeded Stetson in the tournament final. Former standout Stanislava Bobrovnikova and Eeva Ristola were named the ASUN's Doubles Pair of the Year, and head coach Olaya Garrido-Rivas was named the ASUN's Coach of the Year – the first in the Division I era. The season culminated with a UTR Sports NIT Championship Tournament appearance. The Lions secured their first-ever tournament victory with a triumph over Middle Tennessee in the quarterfinal round before falling to No. 48 Charlotte in the semifinals.
 
The squad checks in at with a 12-3 mark this spring, with a 6-1 loss at North Florida March 22 snapping what was a 10-match win streak. Emma Ansorge (11-1) and Samme Schouten (10-3) are leading play on the singles side, while Ansorge and Mathilde Delaney are a perfect 11-0 in doubles action. Wednesday's matchup will be the first-ever in the series between MKE/NAU.
 
STETSON: The match Thursday will also be the first-ever between the two opponents in program history. Named the head coach in 2016, Travis Sandlant enters his ninth year leading the Hatters in 2025-26. Sandlant entered this year with a 68-48 record at Stetson and is 215-119 over his career dual match record in 12 seasons, including six years at East Tennessee State. Sandlant has twice been named the Atlantic Sun Conference Coach of the Year (2013 at ETSU and 2022 at Stetson), has guided his teams to four NCAA Championships (three at ETSU and one at Stetson), four ASUN Conference titles (three at ETSU and one at Stetson) and two ASUN regular season titles (one at each school).
 
Last spring, the Hatters claimed their second consecutive ASUN regular-season title (going 8-1 in conference play) on their way to the ASUN tournament championship. The team finished 18-4 overall, earning a spot in the NCAA Tournament where it fell to No. 16 Washington, 4-0. The team would earn spots in both the Intercollegiate Tennis Association Mid-Major Top 25 and Southeast Regional Rankings.
 
This season, the team is rolling. The Hatters are 12-4 overall but enter play this week on a nine-match winning streak, not having lost since a 6-1 decision at No. 39 UCF back on Feb. 22. They are also 10-1 at home (winning the past 10), posting victories of 7-0 or 6-1 in each of their past six outings. Yuki Mizuguchi and Anastajia Adeikyte are both an impressive 15-1 to lead the way in singles; Clelia Lombardi is top in doubles wins at 11-3.
 
LAST WEEK
The Panthers were off last week but suffered a 4-3 loss to Oakland in most recent action March 14 to get Horizon League play underway. Nadiia Konieva claimed victories in both singles and doubles and Nel Van Hout topped the reigning Horizon League Fall Singles Champion to lead the way for the Panthers. But the Golden Grizzlies – who were selected for the top spot in the conference preseason poll this year – were able to overcome MKE's win of the doubles point with strong play the rest of the match.

LET'S GET THIS STARTED
The Panthers have now gone 14-19 all-time in Horizon League openers, dating back to the 1992-93 school year. The team had won three of its past four conference lid-lifters prior to 2026, with a 4-3 loss to Oakland at home a year ago the only blemish in that span. Mark Goldin is now 1-2 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 return home to resume conference action, opening April with a pair of home matches. Up first the team will host Youngstown State April 3, set to get underway at 11 a.m. from River Glen Elite.