Sept. 13, 2012

MILWAUKEE - The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee women's tennis team opens the fall portion of its 2012-13 schedule by taking part in the Gopher Invitational this weekend.

The action in Minneapolis begins Friday morning and runs through Sunday at the Baseline Tennis Center.

Milwaukee returns nearly every player from its roster of a season ago, including a pair of all-league performers.

Senior Maddy Soule leads the list of returnees for Horizon League Coach of the Year Sean McInerney. She claimed a spot on the All-League First Team last year after setting a school record for singles victories. The junior won 16 matches in the spring and 25 contests overall, posting a 6-2 record in the top singles spot during league play.

Soule also continues to move up in the UWM record book. She is now up to 49 career singles wins - third in school history - and she also has 40 doubles wins, a figure that is seventh in school history.

Sophomore Chelsea Bailey was the second player to claim a spot on the all-league team a season ago, while fellow sophomore Christina Colarossi teamed with Soule to collect 24 doubles wins. Senior Kelly Fritz, who teamed up mainly with junior Kristin Kurer a year ago, tallied 18 doubles victories. And, senior Brittany Skemp posted an impressive 23 singles wins and 11 doubles tallies last season.

As a team, the Panthers collected a best-ever third-place finish in the Horizon League standings. UWM also set a school record with six league wins, had individuals set school records for both singles and doubles wins and finished one win shy of the school record for overall team wins. The Panthers have also now increased their overall and league win total in each of the last two seasons.

This weekend's field in Minnesota includes Air Force, Eastern Michigan, Gustavus Adolphus, St. Catherine University, Northern Iowa and Iowa along with the Panthers and the host Gophers.

The event will be divided into three singles flights and two doubles flights. Singles will consist of 16 players in each flight (Gold - A Flight, Maroon - B Flight, and Gopher - C Flight). Doubles will also highlight 16 teams in each flight (Gold - A Flight, Maroon - B Flight).

Milwaukee Weekend Lineup
Gold Singles - Maddy Soule
Maroon Singles - Kelly Fritz; Christina Colarossi; Chelsea Bailey
Gopher Singles - Kristin Kurer; Brittany Skemp; Dana Shannon

Gold Doubles - Soule/Colarossi; Fritz/Shannon; Bailey/Skemp
Maroon Doubles - Kurer/Donovan