Indiana Invitational Awaits EMU Tennis

Tennis at INDIANA INVITATIONAL
Date	Friday, Oct. 4-Sunday, Oct. 6, 2024
Venue	IU Varsity Tennis Courts \| Bloomington, Ind.
Teams	EMU, Indiana, Ball State, Northern Illinois, Purdue, North Texas, Memphis
Notes/Stats	EMU Notes (pdf)
Results / Watch	n/a \| n/a
Social Media	X: @EMUEaglesTennis \| Instagram: @EMU_Tennis

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. (EMUEagles.com) - The Eastern Michigan University tennis team hits the road this weekend to compete in the 2024 Indiana Invitational, hosted by Indiana University, Friday-Sunday, Oct. 4-6, in Bloomington, Ind. The Eagles are one of seven teams that will compete in the event at the IU Varsity Tennis Courts and features six flights of singles and three flights of doubles.

TOURNAMENT INFO: THE BASICS
Eastern is one of seven teams set to compete in the individual fall event. Along with the Eagles and host Hoosiers of Indiana, the field also features Ball State and Northern Illinois from the Mid-American Conference; Purdue from the Big Ten; and both Memphis and North Texas from the American.

TOURNAMENT INFO: HOW IT WORKS
The Indiana Invitational is comprised of six flights of singles and three flights of doubles play. Eight players or teams were placed into each bracket with each set to play three matches over the weekend as each flight is played out to place. The Eagles will have eight individuals playing singles and combing to form four doubles teams as well. Here is the breakdown of each flight:
Singles:
» Flight #1: Daniella Shved
» Flight #2: Kseniia Saenko
» Flight #3: Iva Daneva
» Flight #4: Sabina Brichackova & Lara Diaz Zayas
» Flight #5: Viki Hazmukova
» Flight #6: Marta Komar & Regina Mendez

Doubles:
» Flight #1: Saenko/Shved
» Flight #2: Brichackova/Daneva
» Flight #3: Diaz Zayas/Hazmukova & Komar/Mendez

FIRST SERVES
» Eastern opened its fall slate by hosting the Block E Invitational, Sept. 20-21, with the team of Kseniia Saenko and Prerna Vichare winning the title at Draw #2 doubles. Individually, both Daniella Shved (#1) and Sabina Brichackova (#2) finished third in their respective brackets of singles play.
» Five players made their debuts for the Eagles at the Block E Invitational, including all four newcomers for the 2024-25 season. Freshmen Iva Daneva and Lara Diaz Zayas played in singles and doubles while rookie Viki Hazmukova and transfer player Marta Komar saw action in doubles. Lily Tria, who did not play for EMU while on the roster in 2023-24, played in singles and doubles.
» The Eagles' 2024-25 roster features 10 players, including six returnees and four newcomers. In total, nine different nations are represented on the roster, including the U.S., Argentina, Czechia, India, Israel, Mexico, North Macedonia, Poland, and Russia.
» Ryan Kucera returns for his second season as the team's head coach and will look to guide the team to the MAC Tournament for the second year in a row, which would mark the first time it has happened since the 2014 and 2015 tournaments.
» Players are not the only addition to the roster this year as the coaching staff has added both Masha Polishchuk and Andrew Dobbs. Polishchuk, a MAC champion during her playing career at Ball State, will serve as a graduate assistant coach while Dobbs will serve as an undergraduate assistant.

RECAP: BLOCK E INVITE
The Eagles opened their 2024 fall schedule by playing host to the Block E Invitational, Sept. 20-21, at the Chippewa Club in Ypsilanti. The tournament featured seven singles and four doubles brackets that were played out to place with the Eagles collecting 19 wins over two days, led by the team of Kseniia Saenko and Prerna Vichare, who were a perfect 3-0 to claim the title in Doubles Draw #2.

Additionally, two Eagles finished in third place in their respective brackets in singles play, including Daniella Shved and Sabina Brichackova. Shved, playing at in Singles Draw #1, took bronze with a 2-1 record on the weekend with only a close 6-2, 1-6, 5-10 loss in the semifinals blemishing her record. Brichackova, playing in Singles Draw #2, also was 2-1 on her way to third place.

MAKING DEBUTS
All four newcomers to the program were in action at the Block E Invitational with freshmen Iva Daneva and Lara Diaz Zayas playing singles and doubles while freshman Viki Hazmukova and senior transfer Marta Komar played doubles.

Daneva won her first collegiate match, 6-2, 6-2, over Elina Ivanova (Findlay) before falling twice, including to teammate Sabina Brichackova, to finish fourth in Single Draw #2, while Diaz Zayas bounced back from a loss in her debut match to win twice to finish fifth.

In doubles play, Daneva teamed with Daniella Shved to place third in Doubles Draw #1 while Diaz Zayas and Hazmukova also took third place while playing in Doubles Draw #3. Komar and Brichackova finished sixth in Doubles Draw #1.

WHO WAS THAT?
Lily Tria took the court for the first time as a member of the Eastern program after not playing during the 2023-24 season. In the Block E Invitational, Tria was 1-1 in Singles Draw #7 to finish second in her bracket while recording her first win as an NCAA Division I player after playing two years at Colby-Sawyer (NAIA). Tria also was 1-1 in doubles with partner Regina Mendez, who was fifth in Singles Draw #5, as the duo finished second in Doubles Draw #4 while also recording her first NCAA Division I win at doubles.

UP THE LADDER
With wins collected at the Block E Invitational (Sept. 20-21), two Eagles continue to make their climbs toward the program's all-time top 20 in several career categories. Sabina Brichackova has tallied 48 singles wins, which has her nine from tying for 20th with Victoria Domina (2003-05) while her 45 doubles wins after 11 off the pace for 19th with two former players. Overall, her 93 combined wins have her seven shy of the century mark and 28 from reaching the top 20.

Prerna Vichare also is nearing the ledger. Her 46 doubles wins have her 10 shy of tying for 19th with Miriam Westerink (2008-12) and Avi Gogvadze (2014-18) while her 75 career combined wins leave her 25 shy of 100.

WELCOME ABOARD
The coaching staff has grown for the 2024-25 season as Ryan Kucera has added Masha Polishchuk as a graduate assistant coach and Andrew Dobbs as an undergraduate assistant. Polishchuk is no stranger to the MAC as she was a three-year No. 1 singles player at Ball State. The 2023 MAC Player of the Year and 2023 MAC Tournament MVP, she finished her collegiate career playing at Texas Tech last season before coming to Ypsilanti.

ON THE HORIZON
Next up for the Eagles will be the 2024 ITA Midwest Regional Championships, Oct. 10-14, at the Auer Tennis Complex in Columbus, Ohio. The five-day event, which is hosted by Ohio State, will crown one singles and one doubles champion with those victors, along with their respective finals opponents, will earn berths into the ITA National Fall Championships, Nov. 1-5, in San Diego, Calif.

FOLLOW US
For all things EMU Tennis, be sure to check out the team's social media accounts, including EMUEaglesTennis on X (formerly Twitter) and EMU_Tennis on Instagram.

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Players Mentioned

Sabina Brichackova

Iva Daneva

Lara Diaz Zayas

Viki Hazmukova

Marta Komar

Regina Mendez Carreño

Kseniia Saenko

Daniella Shved

Lily Tria

Prerna Vichare

Eastern Michigan Athletics