Tennis Opens Fall Season in Virginia with Four Wins

Williamsburg, Va. (EMUEagles.com) – The Eastern Michigan University women's tennis program opened its fall 2010 fall campaign by taking part in the 18th annual William and Mary Invitational on Friday. The day was highlighted by a quartet of victories and the collegiate debut of freshman Nino Mebuke.

In her debut, Mebuke, who hails from Tbilisi, Georgia, started her day with a first round Flight B win over Virginia Tech's Shannon Betts with a 6-3, 6-2 straight set victory. In the Flight C consolidation match, senior Xu Chang scored a 6-7, 7-6, 10-3 come-from-behind victory over Kelly Tidwell of Richmond.
Sophomore Celine Donnet rounded out the Eagles' singles' victories as she upended the host school's Tori Ford, 6-2, 6-2 in the Flight E consolidation semi-final.

In doubles, Mebuke teamed with junior Miriam Westerink to score an 8-5 victory in the first round of the Flight A competition.

“This is a difficult tournament for us with only two days of practice so far,” said Eagles' Head Coach Ryan Ray. “Those schools that start in August have an advantage on us. I think freshman Nino Mebuke had a solid day in her first college action. We will need to continue to sharpen our skills as the weekend progresses.”

The Eagles will resume competition Saturday, Sept. 11, during day two of the William and Mary Invite, and finish the weekend at the final day of the competition Sunday, Sept. 12.

Singles
Flight A
1st Round
Dominika Zaprazna (Marshall) def. Miriam Westerink (EMU) 6-1,6-3
Consolation
Erin Vierra (Virginia) def. Miriam Westerink (EMU) 6-1,6-0

Flight B
1st Round
Diana Ivanova (Old Dominion) def. Nino Mebuke (EMU) 6-4,6-3
Consolation
Nino Mebuke (EMU) def. Shannon Betts (Virginia Tech) 6-3,6-2

Flight C
1st Round
Caryssa Peretz (Virginia) def. Mariya Toncheva (EMU) 6-1,6-0
Arina Alilueva (Old Dominion) def. Xu Chang (EMU) 0-6,6-3,6-4
Consolation
Natasha Makorova (Columbia) def. Mariya Toncheva (EMU) 6-2,6-0
Xu Chang (EMU) def. Kelly Tidwell (Richmond) 6-7,7-6,10-3

Flight D
1st Round
Alex Smyth (Richmond) def. Marcela Rivero (EMU) 6-1,6-4
Consolation
Maria Voscekova (Marshall) def. Marcela Rivero (EMU) 4-6,6-2,10-2

Flight E
1st Round
Melissa Esnal (Old Dominion) def. Celine Donnet (EMU) 6-3,6-3
Consolation
Celine Donnet (EMU) bye
Consolation SemiFinal
Celine Donnet (EMU) def. Tori Ford (William & Mary) 6-2,6-2

Doubles
Flight A
1st Round
Westerink/Mebuke (EMU) def. Cunningham/Smyth (Richmond) 8-5

Flight B
1st Round
Kellner/Kucin (Marshall) def. Xu/Toncheva (EMU) 8-2
Betts/Martinez-Marcos (Virginia Tech) def. Rivero/Donnet (EMU) 8-5

Eastern Michigan Athletics

Related News

Next Event

Related Videos