ANN ARBOR, Mich. – The Milwaukee women's tennis team could not carry over the momentum of a first-round upset into the semifinals on Saturday, falling to Youngstown State in the Horizon League Championship at Varsity Center.
 
"Obviously, it's disappointing to have our season come to an end," head coach Ryan Kucera said. "Today wasn't our day, but it wasn't for a lack of heart. We were probably two or three points away from flipping that doubles point. It was very high quality on every court, they produced some big shots at the net on big points."
 
The Panthers (9-14) looked to be in decent shape against the Penguins (10-8) midway through the opening doubles portion of the match, only to see the unbeaten regular-season champs (6-0) and reigning tournament title holders take over and carry that momentum into singles play.
 
YSU was coming off a first-round bye and Milwaukee had to play much later than scheduled Friday due to the event being moved indoors. Today's match was also played inside and the start time was moved up by two hours from the original schedule.
 
Unlike the regular season matchup where the Panthers won four first-sets in singles play, the Penguins were up to the challenge today and claimed first-set victories on all six singles courts.
 
"We started a bit cold in singles, but we responded and came roaring back on all courts," Kucera said. "Every second set we either had a lead or were tied deep into the set. That's who we are, competitors through the end. We left everything we had out there."
 
YSU went on to claim the first two wins to move to three points on the day and then closed it out on courts four and five simultaneously to record the 5-0 victory and advance to the Horizon League title match for the third consecutive season.
 
"At the end of the day, I am immensely proud of what we have done this season," Kucera said. "We have grown in every possible way: as people, as tennis players, and as a family. We created a unified spirit and worked every day to help each other become the best versions of ourselves. We had many great moments on the court, but even more special memories and lessons learned off the court. It could not have been a more rewarding first year for me, and I am thankful to have spent this season with such an incredible group of student-athletes. We will keep going! The future is very bright."
 
That concludes the 2022-23 campaign for the MKE roster, who say goodbye to graduating players Anika Tylek and Anouk Ma-Ajong. Kucera's squad claimed nine victories on the season, the third-most wins for a first-year head coach in the 32-year history of the program.
 
Singles competition
1. Rigazio, Elisa (YSU) def. Babette Burgersdijk (MKE) 6-2, 6-3
2. Minich, Lili (YSU) vs. Nadiia Konieva (MKE) 7-5, 2-2, unfinished
3. Masarikova, Eliska (YSU) def. Alice Shields (MKE) 6-2, 6-4
4. Rosas, Cecilia (YSU) def. Anika Tylek (MKE) 6-2, 6-3
5. Marko, Julia (YSU) def. Sara Simonova (MKE) 6-2, 6-3
6. Ito, Moka (YSU) vs. Anouk Ma-Ajong (MKE) 6-1, 5-5, unfinished
 
Doubles competition
1. Masarikova, Eliska/Rigazio, Elisa (YSU) def. Iva Stejskalova/Alice Shields (MKE) 6-3
2. Rosas, Cecilia/Minich, Lili (YSU) def. Babette Burgersdijk/Sara Simonova (MKE) 6-3
3. Marko, Julia/Greyling, Line (YSU) vs. Nadiia Konieva/Giorgia Cavestro (MKE) 4-4, unfinished