Tennis Downs Visiting Oakland, 6-1

YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) – The Eastern Michigan University tennis team collected its fifth consecutive victory overall and at home as the Eagles handed visiting Oakland University a 6-1 defeat inside the Chippewa Club Saturday, Feb. 10. The Eagles, who won the doubles point before claiming five of the six singles matches against the Golden Grizzlies (1-2), now stand 5-1 on the year, which ties for the third-best start in program history behind two 6-0 starts, while Head Coach Ryan Kucera is tied for the second-best start to a career with the program.

Quoting Kucera
"It was a great team win," Kucera said. "We were challenged in several ways and that doubles point was a battle. We were a little tight and hesitant at times and Oakland was great at taking advantage. I'm so proud, though, because we just kept responding. Prerna (Vichare) and Dani (Shved) stepped up big in the tiebreak to get us over the hump.

"Singles was a great show of composure and concentration," Kucera continued. "Oakland threw a lot at us to try to take away our rhythm, but we handled it well and, across the board, our play was rock solid. I was especially proud of us mentally; we stayed focused on what we needed to do and never wavered. With the win behind us, I am fired up for another great test tomorrow (at Michigan State)."

How It Happened
The Eagles claimed the doubles point for the fifth consecutive match but needed extra play. After the duo of Linda Eloundou (Yaounde, Cameroon/Augustine Meyou/New Mexico Military Institute) and Andrea Quiroz (Lima, Peru/La Molina 1278/Alcorn State) swept their way to a 6-0 win at No. 3, the Golden Grizzlies pulled even with a 6-4 victory at No. 2. At No. 1, Daniella Shved (Holon, Israel/Ort Holon) and Prerna Vichare (Mumbai, India/Narsee Monjee College of Commerce and Economics) battled their way to victory as they came back from being down, 4-3, to take a 5-4 lead before both teams traded points. With the score tied at 6-6, the match went to the tiebreaker with the Eagles winning, 7-4, to take the match, 7-6, and win the doubles point.

Leading 1-0 in the team score, the Eagles took to the court for singles play and needed little time before earning their second point as Eloundou worked her way to a 6-1, 6-1 win at No. 5 singles for a 2-0 lead. Shved made it 3-0 for the Eagles with her 6-2, 6-0 win at No. 2 before Oakland would grab the win at No. 1 to make it 3-1. That was as close as the visitors would get as Eastern won the final three matches to claim the win, starting with Regina Mendez (Los Cabos, Mexico/Picacho McGregor) at No. 6, who scored a 6-3, 6-1 decision to clinch the team victory. With a team victory assured, Quiroz grabbed another win, this time with a 6-2, 6-3 victory at No. 3, and Ksyusha Saenko (Voronezh, Russia/Gymnasium 2) closed things out at No. 4 with her 7-5, 6-3 decision.

Notes
›› Eastern improved to 5-1 on the year while the Golden Grizzlies fell to 1-2.
›› The Eagles are 17-2 all-time against Oakland and have won two in a row after taking a 4-3 decision last year at OU. EMU is 12-1 all-time against the Golden Grizzlies when playing host to the dual after losing the last meeting, 4-3, March 6, 2020.
›› Eastern is now 98-109 all-time against fellow Michigan schools and 4-0 on the year with wins earlier this year against Hillsdale (6-1) and two over Ferris State (6-1 and 5-0).
›› The 5-1 start ranks tied for the third-best in program history behind on the 1984 and 2003 teams that opened 6-0. Additionally, it is the best start for the team since opening 5-1 in the 2014 campaign.
›› Head Coach Ryan Kucera is 5-1 in his first year with the program, which ties for the second-best start to a coaching career in program history with Lucy Parker, who was 5-1 in 1976-77, EMU's inaugural season. Tim Gray holds the record at 6-0 in 2003.
›› Eastern secured the doubles point for the fifth time this year after winning it just four times last year. All five wins have come in the past five duals and all have been at home.
›› In doubles play, Quiroz added her fifth consecutive win by a 6-0 score and the third in a row with Eloundou.
›› Mendez secured the team win for the Eagles with her straight-set win at No. 6 singles. It marked the first time this season she has clinched the team victory for the Eagles.

Up Next
Another intrastate battle awaits the Eagles when they travel north to East Lansing, Mich., Sunday, Feb. 11, for a meeting with Michigan State University. First serve inside the MSU Indoor Tennis Center is slated for 4 p.m.

Follow Along
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.

Eastern Michigan 6, Oakland 1
Feb. 10 • Chippewa Club • Ypsilanti, Mich.
SINGLES
#1: Emilia Jarvinen (O) def. Prerna Vichare, 6-3, 6-3
#2: Daniella Shved (EM) def. Isabelle Popma, 6-2, 6-0
#3: Andrea Quiroz (EM) def. Edie Hammond, 6-2, 6-3
#4: Ksyusha Saenko (EM) def. Emma Hultqvist, 7-5, 6-3
#5: Linda Eloundou (EM) def. Alma Orenstain, 6-1, 6-1
#6: Regina Mendez (EM) def. Aya Orenstain, 6-3, 6-1
Order of finish: 5, 2, 1, 6, 3, 4

DOUBLES
#1: Daniella Shved / Prerna Vichare (EM) def. Emma Hultqvist / Isabelle Popma, 7-6(4)
#2: Edie Hammond / Emilia Jarvinen (O) def. Sabina Brichackova / Ksyusha Saenko, 6-4
#3: Linda Eloundou / Andrea Quiroz (EM) def. Alma Orenstain / Aya Orenstain, 6-0
Order of finish: 3, 2, 1

Next Event

Team Stats

Players Mentioned

Sabina Brichackova

Linda Eloundou

Regina Mendez Carreño

Andrea Quiroz

Kseniia Saenko

Daniella Shved

Prerna Vichare