Coming off a huge week of Horizon League play in its most recent action, the Milwaukee women's tennis team hits the road to wrap up regular-season play this weekend. At 2-1 in the league standings, the Panthers are still alive for a share of the regular-season title.
 
Milwaukee makes the trek to Northern Kentucky Friday evening and then heads to IU Indy Saturday morning for the final two matches of the campaign before the postseason gets underway.
 
A pair of victories this weekend would clinch at least a share of the Horizon League regular-season title for just the second time in program history, joining the list with the championship won back in the 2013-14 campaign. The Panthers can still finish anywhere from the top seed to the fourth seed, but a pair of MKE victories and losses by Youngstown State (to Oakland) and the Golden Grizzlies (to Cleveland State) in other action would mean the No. 1 seed for Milwaukee.
 
Play gets underway Friday at 5 p.m. CT against the Norse at Five Seasons Sports Club in Crestview Hills, Ky. Action then gets underway at 11:30 a.m. CT Saturday morning against the 'Jags from West Indy Raquet Club.
 
The Norse defeated the Panthers to end the season for the program in the 2024 Horizon League Tournament (L, 4-3) and made it back-to-back wins in the series with a 5-2 decision in Milwaukee last spring. MKE still holds the upper hand in the all-time series at 7-5.
 
MKE holds an all-time record of 16-8 against IU Indy and actually saw its 13-match winning streak in the series come to a close last spring when the Jaguars pulled off the 4-3 result, snapping what was the longest active streak the Panthers had against any one opponent. The team has still won the last five on the road in Indianapolis, a streak that dates back to February of 2007.
 
SCOUTING THE OPPONENTS
NORTHERN KENTUCKY: The Norse went 8-10 overall last school year and were 3-3 in conference play. They were picked to finish fifth in the preseason poll this year. The team enters play Friday at 2-11 overall and 0-4 in conference action, having dropped each of its past seven matches, with a 6-1 defeat at the hands of YSU April 12 the most recent. Head coach Brian Nester is in his 14^th season with the program.

IU INDY: The Jaguars went 4-11 last year and were pegged for sixth in the preseason poll following a 2-4 ledger last spring. Pawel Gajdzik, head coach since August of 2022, added two transfers and a freshman to the 2025 roster, of which all have returned in 2026. That has helped the squad show a great leap, heading into the weekend at 6-5 overall and 2-2 in conference play, having dropped matches to YSU (L, 6-1 April 11) and CSU (L, 7-0 April 12) in most recent action, snapping what was a four-match winning streak.
 
Kally Kadzinski (11-7 record) leads the way in singles play, while a trio of players (Kadzinski, Sara Jankovic, Elle Kotre) are all tied for the team lead in doubles wins at six.
 
LAST WEEK
The Panthers had their best week of the season, recording victories over the top two teams from the 2026 Horizon League Preseason Poll. Against Youngstown State (No. 2), Nadiaa Konieva and Sara Simonova helped the team get off to a fast start in doubles and kept it up from there, topping the Penguins by a final score of 5-2. Konieva then came through for the Panthers in singles action as well, clinching the match with her comeback victory at No. 2 singles. The 5-2 decision not only came against the defending Horizon League Tournament champions, but also snapped what was an eight-match win streak YSU had in the series.
 
The team one-upped that on Saturday, overcoming dropping the doubles point with an impressive showing in singles. Konieva came through on "Senior Day" with a huge three-set victory at No. 2 singles to lead the squad to a thrilling 4-3 victory over the Vikings. She dropped the first set but came up big after that, winning the second before pulling away in the third. Serving and down 15-40 with the set tied 3-3, she held serve and broke in the next before closing out the 4-6, 6-3, 6-3 victory to send MKE to the win.

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 will head to Lindner Family Tennis Center in Cincinnati, Ohio, for the Horizon League Championships next, held April 24-26. Matchup dates and times will be posted to the website when available.