The Milwaukee Panthers women’s tennis team narrowly lost to Oakland University, 4-3, in a Horizon League match on March 14 at Bloomfield Tennis & Fitness. The Panthers started strong by winning the doubles point but were ultimately edged out as Oakland secured victories in four of six singles matches.
This result is significant as Oakland was selected for the top spot in the conference preseason poll, making them a challenging opponent for Milwaukee. The Panthers’ performance demonstrated resilience despite missing players and dealing with injuries.
Head coach Mark Goldin said, “The team left it all on the court today. We are still missing some players and have a few players playing with injuries, so that part has been a real challenge. We focused on what we could control – attitude and effort – and we gave them a very tough battle.” Goldin also said, “In the end, we didn’t get the win, but I thought the girls were very tough mentally, and competed hard. Now it is time to get back to training, get healthy, and get ready for the next one.”
Nadiia Konieva led Milwaukee by winning both her singles and doubles matches. She partnered with Sara Simonova for a 6-3 doubles victory and later won her singles match against Nisa Balut in three sets (6-1, 4-6, 6-3). Nel Van Hout also contributed by defeating Martyna Piechowicz—who won the Horizon League Singles Championship Title last September—in straight sets (6-4, 6-3).
The Milwaukee Panthers Women’s Tennis Team engages in dual matches and seasonal tournaments according to the official website. The team bolsters the athletic legacy at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee as stated on its official website and forms part of Panthers athletics at the university as indicated online. The program seeks to assist student-athletes in maintaining equilibrium between their studies and sports as noted on its website, while following NCAA Division I guidelines according to official information.
Looking ahead, Milwaukee will travel to Florida for their spring trip where they are scheduled to face North Alabama on March 25 and Stetson on March 26 during their time away from March 23–29.
