The Milwaukee Panthers women’s tennis team secured a 6-1 win over Whitewater on Friday at River Glen Elite. The Panthers, who now have a 5-7 record, extended their winning streak against the Warhawks to 15 matches, a run that began in 2006.
Head coach Mark Goldin highlighted the team’s focus on mental preparation ahead of conference play. “The team played great today,” 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.”
Milwaukee took all available doubles matches, with Laure Razet and Nel Van Hout defeating Molly Ansfeld and Crystine Lee 6-0 at No. 2 in just 15 minutes. Nadiia Konieva and Sara Simonova clinched the top doubles point with a 6-1 victory.
In singles, Honoka Yamashita won at No. 4 by scores of 6-2, 6-3, followed by Van Hout’s win at No. 1 (6-0, 6-3) over Abigail Weaver. Konieva added another point at No. 2 with a 6-1, 6-1 result against Gracie Ha.
Whitewater earned its only point due to a forfeit at No. 6 singles because of Milwaukee’s player availability related to injuries.
Goldin commented on his team’s resilience: “That’s kind of been our motto all year, is players stepping up, and whoever is available, we play them and we compete,” he said. “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.”
Elisa Rubio delivered another win for Milwaukee at No. 5 singles (6-1, 6-3), while Simonova completed the sweep of available singles matches with a straight-set victory (6-3, 6-0) over Ansfeld at No. 3.
With this victory, Milwaukee prepares for Horizon League play after an eight-day break when they visit Oakland on March 14.
The Milwaukee Panthers Women’s Tennis Team competes in dual matches and tournaments as part of NCAA Division I athletics at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. The program is committed to helping student-athletes balance academic responsibilities alongside athletic commitments while contributing to the university’s broader athletic tradition.
