The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee women’s tennis team traveled to Fort Wayne, Ind. this weekend and battled out a pair of 4-3 victories against both IPFW and the University of Dayton respectively.

With both matches coming by such a small margin of victory, the women needed their fair share of big time performances and they were not let down.

The team started out their Saturday with their first 4-3 victory against hosting IPFW. The four hour marathon came down to the wire, as senior Traci Litcsh beat Mollee Carpenter in straight sets (6-3, 6-1) to clinch the victory for the Panthers.

Though the final matchup may have been an easy one for Carpenter, earning team victory for the women was a little more problematic.

Kelly Drvaric and Kari Krastenholz opened doubles play with an 8-5 victory over Ashlie Coulson and Stacy Lish of Fort Wayne. After dropping the number two doubles match badly, (8-1) the pressure was on freshman Sammi Schoen and sophomore Ashley Schoneman to earn the opening point for the Panthers.

The duo rose to the equation, fighting off a match point by the Mastadons’ Alexa Rang and Hannah Hager, to win an 8-6 tiebreaker, and a decisive advantage as the team entered singles play.

When asked about the key to Schoen and Schoneman’s victory, Coach Matt McCaskill replied, “They just kept their composure and didn’t let the fans and noise get to them. They focused, and played more consistent than the other team, which got them the victory.”

If their first matchup wasn’t exciting enough, their second one was. After expending so much energy against IPFW in the morning, the Panther women faced a daunting challenge in facing a fresh Dayton team later in the evening. In the early stages of the matchup the Flyers seemed to take advantage.

“We were stressing all week because we knew both matches were going to be tight…So, getting the doubles point was a big focus,” said McCaskill. That being the case, the Panthers weren’t as fortunate against Dayton.

Drvaric and Krastenholz opened doubles play with another strong showing, as they ousted the Flyers’ tandem of Allysa Detroy and Megan Grey, 8-6. The Panthers could not carry that momentum into their next two matchups though. After the doubles portion concluded, they found themselves with the monumental task of winning four out of the six singles matches, to emerge victorious.

“To lose the doubles point against Dayton was tough,” said McCaskill, and though that may have been the case, the women never gave up.

After Drvaric captured an opening three set victory over Dayton’s Allysa Detroy in singles play, the Panthers dropped their next two matches. The women ripped off three straight, that included two three-set victories by Sammi Schoen and Traci Litscher, consecutively. The win was clinched for the Panthers, again in the final match, when Ashley Schoneman earned a straight set win over Dayton’s Molly Mathew’s (6-3, 6-0).

McCaskill was beaming with pride, when asked about the effort of his team, “It was definitely something special…I can’t say enough about the gutsy performances from top to bottom. Everyone dug down deep and came up with their best stuff.”

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