Eastern Michigan Athletics
Friday, March 12
Chippewa Club
1 p.m.
Eastern Michigan University
1
vs
6
Ball State
Tennis Falls to Ball State in Conference Opener, 6-1
3/12/2021 5:36:00 PM | Tennis
Popma earns singles point in strong showing
Boxscore
YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) -- The Eastern Michigan University tennis team fell to Mid-American Conference foe Ball State University, 6-1 on Friday, March 12, at the Chippewa Club. The Eagles (6-5; 0-1 MAC) saw many tenacious efforts, but only came away with one singles point against the Cardinals (10-2; 1-0 MAC).
"It is always really tough to open MAC play against one of the favorites to win the conference, but despite the loss I think we took some very positive things away from this match," said Head Coach Jayson Wiseman. "We made Ball State work every single point and were very close in a lot of spots where a few points here or there really made a big difference."
The Eagles were unable to earn the doubles point, as the Cardinals were able to win two of the three tight matches. Redshirt juniors Luisa Pelayo (Porto, Portugal-Colegio Cebes (Wright State)) and Grace Whitney (Imlay, Mich.-Imlay City (Wright State)) picked up Eastern's sole doubles win, downing the Cardinals 6-2 at the No. 2 spot. With the performance today, the duo continues their dominant stretch, improving their record to 6-1 at No. 2.
"Really proud of Luisa and Grace for getting the doubles win at No. 2, they had great energy that the other two teams really fed off of, which helped them come back from early deficits," said Wiseman.
At the No. 1 spot, the doubles pairing of redshirt freshman Isabelle Popma (Staphorst, Netherlands-Center for Sports and Education) and redshirt sophomore Julia Piatek (Melgiew, Poland-Liceum Lublin (Salem)) fought valiantly, but ultimately fell to BSU, 4-6. Meanwhile at No. 3, the duo of redshirt junior Vasavi Ganesan (Tamil Nadu, India-Alagappa Matriculation School (Eastern Florida State)) and redshirt freshman Emma-Lou Pommiers (Aire-sur-I'Adour, France-Saint Dominique Pau) also challenged the Cardinals, but could not muster a win, losing 5-7.
In singles action, Popma came away with a hard-fought win, pulling out a victory in tie-breaker fashion (6-2, 4-6, 1-0). The Netherlands native is now 4-7 in the No.1 position in the young season.
"Isabelle was fantastic at #1 today, every match she is getting better and today was a major step forward for her," said Wiseman.
The Eagles will remain at home for another conference showdown against Northern Illinois on Sunday, March 14, with action set to commence at 1 p.m.
To keep up with everything Eastern Michigan tennis, continue to visit EMUEagles.com or follow the team on Twitter (@EMU_Tennis), or Instagram (@EMUEaglesTennis).
Full Results
Doubles
Jessica Braun/ Silvia Martinez (BSU) def. Julia Piatek/ Isabelle Popma (EMU), 4-6
Luisa Pelayo/ Grace Whitney (EMU) def. Amy Kaplan/ Emma Peeler (BSU), 6-2
Rebecca Herrington/ Mariyah Polishchuk (BSU) def. Vasavi Ganesan/ Emma-Lou Pommiers (EMU)
Order of finish: 2, 1, 3
Singles
Isabelle Popma (EMU) def. Emma Peeler (BSU), 6-2, 4-6, 1-0
Jessica Braun (BSU) def. Luisa Pelayo (EMU), 6-3, 4-6, 6-2
Mariyah Polishchuk (BSU) def. Vasavi Ganesan (EMU), 6-3, 6-4
Amy Kaplan (BSU) def. Vered Bert (EMU), 6-2, 6-2
Rebecca Herrington (BSU) def. Emma-Lou Pommiers (EMU), 6-2, 6-4
Livia Lukacs (BSU) def. Julia Piatek (EMU), 6-4, 7-5
Order of finish: 4, 3, 5, 1, 6, 2
YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) -- The Eastern Michigan University tennis team fell to Mid-American Conference foe Ball State University, 6-1 on Friday, March 12, at the Chippewa Club. The Eagles (6-5; 0-1 MAC) saw many tenacious efforts, but only came away with one singles point against the Cardinals (10-2; 1-0 MAC).
"It is always really tough to open MAC play against one of the favorites to win the conference, but despite the loss I think we took some very positive things away from this match," said Head Coach Jayson Wiseman. "We made Ball State work every single point and were very close in a lot of spots where a few points here or there really made a big difference."
The Eagles were unable to earn the doubles point, as the Cardinals were able to win two of the three tight matches. Redshirt juniors Luisa Pelayo (Porto, Portugal-Colegio Cebes (Wright State)) and Grace Whitney (Imlay, Mich.-Imlay City (Wright State)) picked up Eastern's sole doubles win, downing the Cardinals 6-2 at the No. 2 spot. With the performance today, the duo continues their dominant stretch, improving their record to 6-1 at No. 2.
"Really proud of Luisa and Grace for getting the doubles win at No. 2, they had great energy that the other two teams really fed off of, which helped them come back from early deficits," said Wiseman.
At the No. 1 spot, the doubles pairing of redshirt freshman Isabelle Popma (Staphorst, Netherlands-Center for Sports and Education) and redshirt sophomore Julia Piatek (Melgiew, Poland-Liceum Lublin (Salem)) fought valiantly, but ultimately fell to BSU, 4-6. Meanwhile at No. 3, the duo of redshirt junior Vasavi Ganesan (Tamil Nadu, India-Alagappa Matriculation School (Eastern Florida State)) and redshirt freshman Emma-Lou Pommiers (Aire-sur-I'Adour, France-Saint Dominique Pau) also challenged the Cardinals, but could not muster a win, losing 5-7.
In singles action, Popma came away with a hard-fought win, pulling out a victory in tie-breaker fashion (6-2, 4-6, 1-0). The Netherlands native is now 4-7 in the No.1 position in the young season.
"Isabelle was fantastic at #1 today, every match she is getting better and today was a major step forward for her," said Wiseman.
The Eagles will remain at home for another conference showdown against Northern Illinois on Sunday, March 14, with action set to commence at 1 p.m.
To keep up with everything Eastern Michigan tennis, continue to visit EMUEagles.com or follow the team on Twitter (@EMU_Tennis), or Instagram (@EMUEaglesTennis).
Full Results
Doubles
Jessica Braun/ Silvia Martinez (BSU) def. Julia Piatek/ Isabelle Popma (EMU), 4-6
Luisa Pelayo/ Grace Whitney (EMU) def. Amy Kaplan/ Emma Peeler (BSU), 6-2
Rebecca Herrington/ Mariyah Polishchuk (BSU) def. Vasavi Ganesan/ Emma-Lou Pommiers (EMU)
Order of finish: 2, 1, 3
Singles
Isabelle Popma (EMU) def. Emma Peeler (BSU), 6-2, 4-6, 1-0
Jessica Braun (BSU) def. Luisa Pelayo (EMU), 6-3, 4-6, 6-2
Mariyah Polishchuk (BSU) def. Vasavi Ganesan (EMU), 6-3, 6-4
Amy Kaplan (BSU) def. Vered Bert (EMU), 6-2, 6-2
Rebecca Herrington (BSU) def. Emma-Lou Pommiers (EMU), 6-2, 6-4
Livia Lukacs (BSU) def. Julia Piatek (EMU), 6-4, 7-5
Order of finish: 4, 3, 5, 1, 6, 2
Team Stats
#1 Doubles Match
#2 Doubles Match
#3 Doubles Match
Order of Finish:
2,1,3
#1 Singles Match
123
Emma Peeler / 0 [BSU]
260
641
#2 Singles Match
123
Jessica Braun / 0 [BSU]
646
362
#3 Singles Match
12
Mariya Polishchuk / 0 [BSU]
66
34
#4 Singles Match
12
Amy Kaplan / 0 [BSU]
66
22
#5 Singles Match
12
Rebecca Herrington / 0 [BSU]
66
24
#6 Singles Match
12
Livia Lukacs / 0 [BSU]
67
45
Order of Finish:
4,3,5,1,6,2
Players Mentioned
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