Aug. 14, 2012

MILWAUKEE - The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee women's tennis team will play in four fall events leading into a spring schedule that includes at least 20 regular season matches.

The full schedule opens Sept. 16 at the Minnesota Invite, all leading up to the Horizon League Championships April 26-28, 2013.

"I am very excited about the level of competition we have on this year's schedule," head coach Sean McInerney said. "It is going to give us the opportunity to learn and grow as a team and be ready for the challenge of our very tough league matches. We will be challenged in every match and that is what we need to take the next step in conference play. We are looking forward to seeing how we match up against such high level programs."

The fall invite schedule will also include a trip to DePaul and the ITA Midwest Championships, as well as Milwaukee's new Panther Round Robin. That event is slated for Oct. 13-14, with three and possibly four schools competing.

The spring schedule begins at IUPUI Jan. 25 and includes non-league matches with regional powers Marquette and DePaul. UWM will also square off with Missouri Valley Conference foes Drake and Bradley as well as Mid-American Conference opponents Ball State and Toledo.

The Horizon League schedule starts March 1 when the Panthers play at Green Bay. UWM will then play home matches against Cleveland State, Youngstown State and Wright State while visiting UIC, Valparaiso and Detroit.

Last season, the Panthers claimed a best-ever third-place finish in the Horizon League and return all of their top players, including all-league performers Maddy Soule and Chelsea Bailey.