April 18, 2012

MILWAUKEE - The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee women's tennis team will look to put an exclamation point on one of its best regular seasons in school history this weekend.

The Panthers (12-7, 5-1 Horizon) square off with UIC Thursday at 4 p.m. in a battle for the top spot in the league standings. Then Saturday, UWM hosts Detroit at 4:30 p.m. Both matches will be played at LeClub.

Milwaukee enters the final weekend of the regular season still in the hunt for the league title, with UIC at 6-0 and Cleveland State also at 5-1. UWM seems nearly assured of a top-three finish in the standings, which would mark its best ever.

Thursday's contest with UIC will pose the stiffest test of the season for the Panthers. The Flames have won an amazing 139-straight Horizon League matches and have won the last 15 league titles. Then Saturday, Detroit (5-11, 2-4) will visit Milwaukee. The Titans are led by Chloe Karoub (14 singles wins), Amanda Cornwell (13) and Elena Strakhova (12).

This season has seen a number of Panthers make a mark in the school record books. In fact, Milwaukee has already set a school-record for league wins and the record for overall wins is within striking distance. This season's records include:

- As a team, UWM is now 12-7 overall. The record for team wins is 14, set in the 2007-08 season. Milwaukee also won 13 matches in 2006-07.

- In league play, the Panthers' five wins are already the most in school history. Previously, UWM won four league contests in 2007-08. Plus, the Panthers appear ready to finish higher than ever before in the league standings, with a fourth-place finish in 1997-98 the current standard.

- In singles play, Maddy Soule has 23 wins. She holds the single-season school record, having won 24 a season ago. Her career total of 47 wins in two seasons is up to third on the school's all-time list. Sammi Schoen holds the record with 57 victories.

- Brittany Skemp has 21 singles wins, the fourth-best in school history. Skemp is up to 40 career wins, placing her eighth in school history. Plus, the 20 wins for Kristin Kurer and Chelsea Bailey are in the top 10 all-time.

- In doubles play, the tandem of Soule and Christina Colarossi has gone 22-11 this season. The 22 wins are a new school record, besting the 20 wins for Kari Kastenholz (2007-08) and Ali O'Neal (2006-07). Plus, Soule is up to 38 career doubles wins, good for eighth on the all-time list.

- The tandem of Kurer and Kelly Fritz has won 18 doubles contests. That puts each of them in a tie for sixth on the single-season list.

After this weekend, UWM will head to the Horizon League Championships in Indianapolis. If the Panthers finish in the top two of the league standings, Milwaukee won't have to play until the semifinals Saturday. If UWM finishes third, it would open play with a match Friday.