Monday, 03/12/2012

THIS WEEK IN PANTHER TENNIS

Saturday, Mar. 10 vs. Tennessee-Martin 3:00 PM

Sunday, Mar 11 vs. Murray State 12:00 PM

Tuesday, Mar. 13 at Middle Tennessee State 2:00 PM

The University of Northern Iowa women's tennis team (8-4) will travel to Tennessee for their spring break trip this week. The Panthers will take on Tennessee-Martin on Saturday at 3:00 p.m. They will then face Murray State at noon on Sunday. On Tuesday, the Panthers will go up against Middle Tennessee State. All of the matches will take place at the Buck Bouldin Tennis Center in Murfreesboro, TN, which is 40 minutes from Nashville.

SCOUTING THE OPPONENTS

    This will be the ninth match of the season for the University of Tennessee-Martin. The Skyhawks are 2-6 on the spring season. They lost to Middle Tennessee State, 6-1, earlier this season. This will be the first time that the UNI and Tennessee-Martin have played each other.
    Murray State will be playing in its 10th match of the season. The Racers have a 4-4 record so far this season. They will take on Middle Tennessee State before they play the Panthers. Earlier this season, Murray State lost to MVC team Southern Illinois, 2-5. UNI and Murray State are first time opponents.
    This will be the 13th match of the season for Middle Tennessee State. The Blue Raiders are 6-4 on the spring season. They will be facing Florida International and Murray State before taking on the Panthers. This will mark the first time that UNI and Middle Tennessee State have played each other.

 PANTHERS HAVE SUCCESS IN WISCONSIN

    The Panthers returned from their road trip to Wisconsin last weekend with two wins. UNI defeated Milwaukee 4-3 on Friday and they swept Green Bay 7-0 on Saturday. Jessica Kunzelmann had two singles wins on the weekend, helping her to move up the all-time career singles wins list. Krissy Lankelma and Chelsea Moore also had two singles wins on the weekend. The doubles teams of Kunzelmann/Nina Pfahler and Moore/Stefannia Sampaio had two wins on the weekend as well.

KUNZELMANN GETTING CLOSER TO THE TOP

    Jessica Kunzelmann is making her way to the top of the all-time career singles wins list. She currently has 84 career wins which puts her tied with Nancy Land for second place. She is only two wins away from the leader, Carolinna Hannes, who has 86 total wins.

IN-STATE RIVALS GET BEST OF PANTHERS

    The Panthers took on both the University of Iowa and Iowa State last weekend. The Hawkeyes defeated the Panthers 7-0 in Iowa City last Saturday. The Panthers then fell to Iowa State 7-0 at home on Sunday. The lone win of that match came from the doubles team of Krissy Lankelma and Cassandra Dix who defeated Maria Fernanda Macedo and Jenna Langhorst of Iowa State 8-4 in the No. 1 match. With no singles wins this weekend, Jessica Kunzelmann remains in fourth place on the all-time career singles win list.

UNI SCORES PERFECT WEEKEND

    The Panther had a successful weekend, both at home and on the road last weekend. On Saturday they hosted Western Illinois and swept the Leathernecks 7-0. They then traveled to Des Moines on Sunday to take on both Chicago State and UMKC. They defeated the Cougars of Chicago State 5-2. The Panthers then played the University of Missouri-Kansas City Kangaroos later that day and won that match 4-3. Krissy Lankelma was the only Panther to go 2-0 on the day in singles play. The doubles teams of Cassandra Dix/Krissy Lankelma and Chelsea Moore/Stefannia Sampaio were also 2-0 on the day. Jessica Kunzelmann earned two singles wins last weekend to put her closer to the top of the all-time career singles wins list.

TOUGH WEEKEND FOR PANTHERS

    The Panthers suffered two loses on the road last weekend. They fell to the No. 29 University of Nebraska Huskers, 7-0. They also lost to the Air Force Academy Eagles 6-1. Freshman Nina Pfahler was the lone singles winner for the Panthers against Air Force. She defeated the Eagles' Melissa Cecil in the No. 1 match. Pfahler and teammate Jessica Kunzelmann had the only doubles win for the Panthers against Air Force.