Eastern Michigan Athletics
Friday, April 29
Chippewa Club
2 p.m.
Eastern Michigan University
2
vs
4
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Western Michigan
Eagles Bow Out of MAC Tennis Tourney After 4-2 Loss to Western
4/29/2011 8:12:29 PM | Tennis
Hard-fought match ends in EMU loss
Photo Gallery.
YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) -- The match lasted just shy of four hours, but unfortunately, it was the Western Michigan University women's tennis team who outlasted the host-school Eastern Michigan University Eagles, 4-2, in the quarterfinals of the 2011 Mid-American Conference women's tennis championship in Ypsilanti, Mich.
After losing the No. 3 doubles match to the No. 3 seed Broncos, the Eagles (No. 6 seed) retaliated by picking up a win at the No. 1 singles position as Nino Mebuke and Miriam Westerink picked up the 8-4 win. However, WMU rallied to take the decisive doubles match, earning the doubles point in the process.
Behind 1-0 in the match, Mebuke continued with her momentum from doubles play, earning the first singles win by either side, in a 6-2, 6-2 win over All-MAC first team and MAC Freshman of the Year choice Nini Sujashvili. Marcela Rivero followed behind Mebuke, winning another two-set match, 6-0, 6-4, and giving the Eagles a 2-1 lead overall.
However, Western Michigan would win each of the next three matches to finish. Eastern fought to take each match to a decisive third set. Westerink, after losing her first set 7-5, forced a third set afteet r taking the middle match, 6-1. She would lose 6-3 in the deciding set.
Likewise, Georgia de'Lisle-Tarr also forced a third set after being downed in the first, only to lose by a score of 6-3 in her match as well. Mariya Toncheva was in the midst of her comeback, winning the second set after losing the first, but the game was abandoned per MAC rules, which state that after one team earns four points, the remainder of the unfinished matches are to be abandoned.
"We gave them a good push today and we gave a really good effort at times, but in the end, we were 0-3 in three-set matches and that's the difference in the match," said EMU head coach Ryan Ray. "We pushed a lot of teams close this year and it helped up grow a little bit, but next year we look forward to turning those types of matches into victories. The first match [against Western Michigan] was just as close, so we expected a hard-fought battle here today. We're very even with Western but in the end it comes down to who wants it the hardest and who pushes the most, and today we just didn't get it done."
The Broncos now move on to the semi-finals to face the No. 2 Akron Zips.
No. 3 Western Michigan 4, No. 6 Eastern Michigan 2
Singles competition
1. Maggie Remynse (WMU) def. Miriam Westerink (EMU) 7-5, 1-6, 6-3
2. Nino Mebuke (EMU) def. Nini Sujashvili (WMU) 6-2, 6-2
3. Maria Nivia (WMU) def. Xu Chang (EMU) 4-6, 6-0, 6-1
4. Jill Pastunink (WMU) vs. Mariya Toncheva (EMU) 6-2, 4-6, unfinished
5. Marcela Rivero (EMU) def. Amanda Moccia (WMU) 6-0, 6-4
6. Rachel Denny (WMU) def. Georgia de'Lisle-Tar (EMU) 6-1, 3-6, 6-3
Doubles competition
1. Nino Mebuke/Miriam Westerink (EMU) def. April Kerr/Nini Sujashvili (WMU) 8-4
2. Maria Nivia/Jill Pastunink (WMU) def. Georgia de'Lisle-Tar/Xu Chang (EMU) 8-4
3. Amanda Moccia/Maggie Remynse (WMU) def. Marcela Rivero/Celine Donnet (EMU) 8-4
Match Notes:
Order of finish: Doubles (3,1,2); Singles (2,5,3,1,6)
MAC Women's Tennis Championship Match #4
Western Michigan advances to play Saturday, April 30, at 2 p.m.
YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) -- The match lasted just shy of four hours, but unfortunately, it was the Western Michigan University women's tennis team who outlasted the host-school Eastern Michigan University Eagles, 4-2, in the quarterfinals of the 2011 Mid-American Conference women's tennis championship in Ypsilanti, Mich.
After losing the No. 3 doubles match to the No. 3 seed Broncos, the Eagles (No. 6 seed) retaliated by picking up a win at the No. 1 singles position as Nino Mebuke and Miriam Westerink picked up the 8-4 win. However, WMU rallied to take the decisive doubles match, earning the doubles point in the process.
Behind 1-0 in the match, Mebuke continued with her momentum from doubles play, earning the first singles win by either side, in a 6-2, 6-2 win over All-MAC first team and MAC Freshman of the Year choice Nini Sujashvili. Marcela Rivero followed behind Mebuke, winning another two-set match, 6-0, 6-4, and giving the Eagles a 2-1 lead overall.
However, Western Michigan would win each of the next three matches to finish. Eastern fought to take each match to a decisive third set. Westerink, after losing her first set 7-5, forced a third set afteet r taking the middle match, 6-1. She would lose 6-3 in the deciding set.
Likewise, Georgia de'Lisle-Tarr also forced a third set after being downed in the first, only to lose by a score of 6-3 in her match as well. Mariya Toncheva was in the midst of her comeback, winning the second set after losing the first, but the game was abandoned per MAC rules, which state that after one team earns four points, the remainder of the unfinished matches are to be abandoned.
"We gave them a good push today and we gave a really good effort at times, but in the end, we were 0-3 in three-set matches and that's the difference in the match," said EMU head coach Ryan Ray. "We pushed a lot of teams close this year and it helped up grow a little bit, but next year we look forward to turning those types of matches into victories. The first match [against Western Michigan] was just as close, so we expected a hard-fought battle here today. We're very even with Western but in the end it comes down to who wants it the hardest and who pushes the most, and today we just didn't get it done."
The Broncos now move on to the semi-finals to face the No. 2 Akron Zips.
No. 3 Western Michigan 4, No. 6 Eastern Michigan 2
Singles competition
1. Maggie Remynse (WMU) def. Miriam Westerink (EMU) 7-5, 1-6, 6-3
2. Nino Mebuke (EMU) def. Nini Sujashvili (WMU) 6-2, 6-2
3. Maria Nivia (WMU) def. Xu Chang (EMU) 4-6, 6-0, 6-1
4. Jill Pastunink (WMU) vs. Mariya Toncheva (EMU) 6-2, 4-6, unfinished
5. Marcela Rivero (EMU) def. Amanda Moccia (WMU) 6-0, 6-4
6. Rachel Denny (WMU) def. Georgia de'Lisle-Tar (EMU) 6-1, 3-6, 6-3
Doubles competition
1. Nino Mebuke/Miriam Westerink (EMU) def. April Kerr/Nini Sujashvili (WMU) 8-4
2. Maria Nivia/Jill Pastunink (WMU) def. Georgia de'Lisle-Tar/Xu Chang (EMU) 8-4
3. Amanda Moccia/Maggie Remynse (WMU) def. Marcela Rivero/Celine Donnet (EMU) 8-4
Match Notes:
Order of finish: Doubles (3,1,2); Singles (2,5,3,1,6)
MAC Women's Tennis Championship Match #4
Western Michigan advances to play Saturday, April 30, at 2 p.m.
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