Milwaukee City Wire

The Milwaukee women's tennis team began their Horizon League play with a 4-3 victory over Oakland on Saturday at the Bloomfield Township Tennis and Health Club. The Panthers, now holding a record of 7-8 overall and 1-0 in the league, secured an important road win against the Golden Grizzlies, who are currently 4-10 overall and 0-2 in the league.

Head coach Mark Goldin expressed satisfaction with his team's performance: "We had a fun time battling in our conference opener. We came out with great energy and stayed tough mentally throughout the match."

Milwaukee started strong in doubles play as Babette Burgersdijk and Nadiia Konieva defeated Oakland's top duo of Isabelle Popma and Emma Hultqvist with a score of 6-1. Due to injuries, Oakland could not field a third doubles team, giving Milwaukee an automatic win by default at No. 3 doubles.

In singles competition, Emilia Durska led the charge for Milwaukee at No. 5 singles by defeating Tara Montreuil in straight sets, 7-6 (7-1), 7-5. Coach Goldin praised Durska's resilience: "Emilia was down two set points in first set and won," he said. "She then went down, 1-4, in second set and won again – she kept her head up and kept fighting and played great in the pressure situations."

Laure Razet clinched the match for Milwaukee at No. 3 singles with a hard-fought victory over Isabelle Popma, winning 7-6 (7-2), 6-2.

Looking ahead, Coach Goldin noted that his team has some time to rest before facing Cleveland State on Saturday followed by Youngstown State on Sunday. Both matches will take place at River Glen Elite starting at 1 p.m.