Milwaukee City Wire

MILWAUKEE – The Milwaukee women's tennis team concluded their regular season with a 5-2 loss against Northern Kentucky on Saturday afternoon, despite showing promise in doubles play.

"It was awesome and to do it in the fashion we did in fighting off eight match points," head coach Mark Goldin commented on the doubles result. "All we talked about with the recent injuries is to only think about what we can control and give ourselves the best chance to win and I thought we did just that and it showed."

Milwaukee, now 7-15 overall and 1-5 in the Horizon League, managed to secure a doubles point, beginning the match strongly. Northern Kentucky, holding a 7-9 record and 3-3 in the league, took over in singles, securing the necessary wins.

"It was decided by a few points and it's been unfortunate that we've had a few now that haven't gone our way in the end," added Goldin. "But, it is a result we can live with because we felt like we did everything in our control. I am proud of the team for doing that and now our focus is Oakland next week in the first round. We want to get everyone healthy and ready to make a run in the tournament. The timing with people coming back from injury is working out where I feel like if we can get our top lineup out there Friday, we can make a strong run in the postseason."

Elisa Rubio and Emilia Durska achieved a clear 6-0 result at No. 2 doubles. Meanwhile, Giorgia Cavestro and Honoka Yamashita showed resilience at No. 3, narrowing their deficit before losing.

Nadiia Konieva and Sara Simonova achieved a victory at No. 1 doubles, overcoming match points to secure the 1-0 advantage. In singles, Northern Kentucky took an early lead, which Milwaukee's Simonova attempted to counter with a win at No. 4 singles.

Despite early set victories by Milwaukee's players, Northern Kentucky rallied to clinch the final outcome. Konieva forced a tie in the third set before Northern Kentucky's Ashlee Fisk won the match.

Post-match "Senior Day" festivities honored Giorgia Cavestro. Milwaukee now looks ahead to the Horizon League Championships starting April 25, seeded sixth.

Northern Kentucky 5, Milwaukee 2

Singles competition results:

1. Ashlee Fisk (NKU) def. Nadiia Konieva (MKE) 3-6, 6-2, 7-5

2. Darya Gneidina (NKU) def. Emilia Durska (MKE) 3-6, 6-0, 7-5

3. Ana Isabela Serrano (NKU) def. Elisa Rubio (MKE) 6-1, 6-2

4. Sara Simonova (MKE) def. Catharina Cardosa (NKU) 6-4, 6-3

5. Mariajose Hernandez (NKU) def. Honoka Yamashita (MKE) 6-4, 6-2

6. Alyssa Cameron (NKU) def. Giorgia Cavestro (MKE) 6-0, 6-0

Doubles competition results:

1. Nadiia Konieva/Sara Simonova (MKE) def. Mariajose Hernandez/Darya Gneidina (NKU) 7-6 (7-3)

2. Emilia Durska/Elisa Rubio (MKE) def. Catharina Cardosa/Alyssa Cameron (NKU) 6-0

3. Ashlee Fisk/Ana Isabela Serrano (NKU) def. Giorgia Cavestro/Honoka Yamashita (MKE) 6-3