Oct. 26, 2010

MILWAUKEE - The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee wrapped up its fall season at the ITA Second Chance Regional this past weekend.

The event provided another weekend of experience against excellent competition for a young Panther squad, which features two freshmen and four sophomores to go with one junior and one senior.

"This experience was a great learning tool for our program," UWM head coach Sean McInerney said. "It gave our players an idea of the level of competition we will have to be able to compete with to take this program to the next level."

Panthers players won three singles matches while UWM tandems won a pair of doubles contests. The competition included players from Michigan State and Marquette as well as strong players from MAC schools Western Michigan and Bowling Green

"Overall, as a team, we competed very hard, which is the first step at an event of this caliber," McInerney said. "As coaches we learned a lot on how the best programs in the Midwest prepare, compete and improve throughout the season."

In all this fall, Maddy Soule led the Panthers with eight singles wins while Kristin Kurer had seven singles victories. In doubles action, Soule and Kelly Fritz teamed up for four wins while three other tandems collected a pair of victories.

The fall season was setup as a time for progress by the Panthers, with this being the first fall campaign where McInerney has been in charge of the program. Getting one more weekend of competition at the regional level should serve the team well this spring.

"We were able to play 24 matches over the weekend, giving us great experience in the future," McInerney said. "I am now really looking forward to the off-season, where the team can get the rest it deserves and allow us to focus on the individual needs of our athletes."