Eastern Michigan Athletics
Friday, March 6
Chippewa Club
1 p.m.
Eastern Michigan University
3
vs
4
Oakland
Tennis Falls to Oakland in Home Opener
3/6/2020 4:41:00 PM | Tennis
The Eagles fought but ultimately fell, 4-3
YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) – The Eastern Michigan University tennis team was on the court for its first home contest of the 2020 campaign today, March 6. The Eagles played well, but ultimately fell to their Horizon League and Southeast Michigan foe, Oakland University, 4-3.
The match got underway with doubles, where EMU and OU battled to gain an early tilt in the match. After a tough loss at the No. 3 spot, Eastern's No. 2 pairing, comprised of junior Vasavi Ganesan (Tamil Nadu, India-Algappa Marticulation School) and freshman Isabelle Popma (Staphorst, Netherlands-Center for Sports and Education) knotted to doubles score at one apiece. They defeated their Golden Grizzly counterparts with ease, 6-2, to earn their team-best ninth win of the season. Despite extreme effort, EMU fell at the No. 1 spot, 6-4, which gave Oakland the doubles point and put the Golden Grizzlies ahead in the match, 1-0.
EMU was resilient in singles as it notched three wins, including two that came via third-set tiebreakers, to stay in contention throughout the match. Sophomore Julia Piatek (Melgiew, Poland-Liceum Lublin) needed no-such tiebreak in her rout of OU's Alexandra Whall at the No. 6 position. Freshman Emma-Lou Pommiers (Aire Sur I'adour, France-Saint Dominique Pau), after giving up a 5-2 lead in the first, rallied back to win the second set of her match in the No. 4 spot, 6-3, before edging out a 10-6 tiebreak win. Ganesan also avenged a first-set loss with a 6-3 second-set win, and a 10-7 tiebreak thriller.
Despite the singles effort, EMU ultimately went down, 4-3. Still, Head Coach Jayson Wiseman was encouraged by his team's effort. "We picked up critical singles points in some matches that I knew we should get," said EMU's second-year head man. "Although we have to swallow a tough loss, Oakland is a great barometer for what we can expect to see in Mid-American Conference play. I look forward to having the chance to build off of today's performance with our team."
Eastern will enjoy a long weekend before returning to action Wednesday, March 11, against Cleveland State University. First serve is scheduled for 12 p.m. inside Ypsilanti's Chippewa Club.
The match got underway with doubles, where EMU and OU battled to gain an early tilt in the match. After a tough loss at the No. 3 spot, Eastern's No. 2 pairing, comprised of junior Vasavi Ganesan (Tamil Nadu, India-Algappa Marticulation School) and freshman Isabelle Popma (Staphorst, Netherlands-Center for Sports and Education) knotted to doubles score at one apiece. They defeated their Golden Grizzly counterparts with ease, 6-2, to earn their team-best ninth win of the season. Despite extreme effort, EMU fell at the No. 1 spot, 6-4, which gave Oakland the doubles point and put the Golden Grizzlies ahead in the match, 1-0.
EMU was resilient in singles as it notched three wins, including two that came via third-set tiebreakers, to stay in contention throughout the match. Sophomore Julia Piatek (Melgiew, Poland-Liceum Lublin) needed no-such tiebreak in her rout of OU's Alexandra Whall at the No. 6 position. Freshman Emma-Lou Pommiers (Aire Sur I'adour, France-Saint Dominique Pau), after giving up a 5-2 lead in the first, rallied back to win the second set of her match in the No. 4 spot, 6-3, before edging out a 10-6 tiebreak win. Ganesan also avenged a first-set loss with a 6-3 second-set win, and a 10-7 tiebreak thriller.
Despite the singles effort, EMU ultimately went down, 4-3. Still, Head Coach Jayson Wiseman was encouraged by his team's effort. "We picked up critical singles points in some matches that I knew we should get," said EMU's second-year head man. "Although we have to swallow a tough loss, Oakland is a great barometer for what we can expect to see in Mid-American Conference play. I look forward to having the chance to build off of today's performance with our team."
Eastern will enjoy a long weekend before returning to action Wednesday, March 11, against Cleveland State University. First serve is scheduled for 12 p.m. inside Ypsilanti's Chippewa Club.
Team Stats
#1 Doubles Match
#2 Doubles Match
#3 Doubles Match
#1 Singles Match
12
THIELMAN, Ava / 0 [OAK]
66
22
#2 Singles Match
123
PATEL, Nirva / 0 [OAK]
737
6610
#3 Singles Match
12
MALTSEVA, Darya / 0 [OAK]
66
42
#4 Singles Match
123
KURZ, Victoria / 0 [OAK]
737
5610
#5 Singles Match
12
CHAKRABORTY, Aarja / 0 [OAK]
66
10
#6 Singles Match
12
WHALL, Alexandra / 0 [OAK]
31
66
Players Mentioned
Tennis Senior Day Highlights 2025 vs. BGSU
Sunday, April 13
Tennis Recap vs. NIU
Saturday, April 12
Highlights: EMU Falls to Miami in Close 4-3 Match
Monday, March 31
Tennis Claws Back to Defeat Ball State, 4-3
Monday, March 24