MILWAUKEE – The Milwaukee women's tennis team was impressive from start to finish in picking up a convincing 6-1 victory over Whitewater Friday from River Glen Elite.
 
The Panthers (5-7) swept through doubles against the Warhawks (5-3) – the reigning Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference champions – in quick fashion and rode the momentum into singles play. Today's decision extends the MKE win streak in the all-time series to 15, dating back to 2006.
 
"The team played great today," head coach Mark Goldin said. "We've been putting a heavy focus the last couple of weeks on the mental side of tennis to get ready for conference play [starts next week], knowing it's going to be a battle for every conference match. And they showed today that they really put the focus on attitude and effort and everything we can control. That's what we've been working on and they executed today."
 
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, with Yamashita securing the first point with a 6-2, 6-3 win at No. 4. The top of the lineup came through after that, with Van Hout dispatching Abigail Weaver at No. 1, 6-0, 6-3, before Konieva closed out Gracie Ha at No. 2 by a final score of 6-1, 6-1. That gave MKE the 4-1 lead on the day, with Whitewater picking up a point at No. 6 by forfeit due Milwaukee's player availability/injury situation.
 
"That's kind of been our motto all year, is players stepping up, and whoever is available, we play them and we compete," Goldin said of his team's health status. "We don't think about anything we can't control, and the girls did a good job of that today and came up with the results we wanted."
 
Rubio closed out the next team point with a 6-1, 6-3 win at No. 5 and Simonova gave the Panthers the sweep of available singles decisions with a hard-fought first set victory before claiming the 6-3, 6-0 decision over Ansfeld at No. 3 singles.
 
Up next, the Panthers are off for eight days before beginning Horizon League play, hitting the road to take on Oakland March 14. The teams get underway at 3:30 p.m. CT that day.
 
Milwaukee 6, Whitewater 1
Singles competition
1. Nel Van Hout (MKE) def. Abigail Weaver (UWW) 6-0, 6-3
2. Nadiia Konieva (MKE) def. Gracie Ha (UWW) 6-1, 6-1
3. Sara Simonova (MKE) def. Molly Asfeld (UWW) 6-3, 6-0
4. Honoka Yamashita (MKE) def. Crystina Lee (UWW) 6-2, 6-3
5. Elisa Rubio (MKE) def. Kaitlyn Remke (UWW) 6-1, 6-3
6. Ashley Adkisson (UWW) def. No player (MKE), by forfeit
Doubles competition
1. Nadiia Konieva/Sara Simonova (MKE) def. Gracie Ha/Abigail Weaver (UWW) 6-1
2. Nel Van Hout/Laure Razet (MKE) def. Molly Asfeld/Crystina Lee (UWW) 6-0
3. Honoka Yamashita/Elisa Rubio (MKE) vs. Alex Repplier/Kaitlyn Remke (UWW) 4-2, unfinished