Tennis to Face Ball State Twice this Week

Spring Dual #14 - vs. BALL STATE (MAC Home Opener)
Date	Friday, March 22 - 1 p.m.
Venue	Chippewa Club (Ypsilanti, Mich.)
Preview Info	EMU Notes
Live	n/a
Twitter	@EMUEaglesTennis \| @EMUAthletics

Spring Dual #15 - at BALL STATE
Date	Sunday, March 24 - 12 p.m.
Venue	Northwest YMCA (Muncie, Ind.)
Preview Info	EMU Notes
Live	n/a
Twitter	@EMUEaglesTennis \| @EMUAthletics

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YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) -- The Eastern Michigan University tennis team is set to face Ball State University in a pair of matches this weekend as the Eagles and Cardinals will meet once each at their home venues, including Friday, March 22, in Ypsilanti, and Sunday, March 24, in Muncie, Ind. The Eagles (6-7, 0-1 Mid-American Conference) will welcome the Cardinals (4-9, 1-0 MAC) to town Friday with first serve in EMU's home MAC opener slated for 1 p.m. The two teams will then play in Muncie with the first serve Sunday slated for noon.

FIRST SERVES
» Eastern heads into its home MAC opener with a 6-7 overall record and a 0-1 league mark after dropping a 4-3 decision at Miami, March 17.
» With the 6-1 win over Hillsdale, Jan. 27, Ryan Kucera collected his first victory leading EMU after taking over Aug. 9, 2023. The 6-1 win over Cleveland State, Feb. 4, marked the first win over an NCAA Division I foe at EMU for Kucera, who is 6-7 with EMU and 33-45 in his career.
» It has been a tale of two locations this year for the Eagles as they are 6-0 at home and 0-7 on the road.
» After winning the doubles point just four times last year, the Eagles have done so six times in 2024, including five times at home and once on the road. The point won on the road at Miami, March 17, marked the first doubles point secured against the RedHawks since 2016.
» Sabina Brichackova and Ksyusha Saenko combined to win, 7-6(5), at No. 3 doubles to clinch the doubles point at Miami, March 17. For their efforts, they were named the MAC Doubles Team of the Week, March 19.

LOOKING BACK: MAC OPENER
The Eagles opened their 2024 MAC schedule with a tough 4-3 loss on the road at Miami Sunday, March 17. Eastern opened the match by winning the doubles point, marking the first time it had done so on the road this year. Despite the 1-0 lead thanks to doubles wins from Daniella Shved and Prerna Vichare at No. 1 and Sabina Brichackova and Ksyusha Saenko at No. 3, the Eagles found themselves down, 3-1, following three wins in singles play. But Brichackova captured a win at No. 6 before Saenko won at No. 4 to tie the match at 3-3. The RedHawks would then win the No. 3 singles match to claim the 4-3 victory.

DOUBLE IT UP
At Miami, March 17, Sabina Brichackova and Ksyusha Saenko battled for a 7-6(5) victory at No. 3 doubles to secure the doubles point for the Eagles. It marked the first time this year the Eagles have secured the doubles point on the road the first time Eastern has won the doubles point from Miami since April 17, 2016. For their efforts, the duo was named the MAC Doubles Team of the Week. The honor is the first earned for each player and marked the second time the Eagles have earned a doubles honor in 2024 as the team of Daniella Shved and Prerna Vichare were tabbed for the honor Feb. 6.

TALE OF TWO LOCATIONS
The Eagles are 6-7 this year with a 6-0 record at home and an 0-7 mark on the road. The last time Eastern has won on the road was a 5-2 win at Northern Illinois, April 14, 2023.

SCOUTING: BALL STATE
The Cardinals enter the weekend with a 4-9 record overall and 1-0 in MAC player after scoring a 4-3 home win over Northern Illinois, March 17. Winners of two in a row, including a 4-3 home win over visiting Bradley, the Cardinals have faced four of the same opponents as the Eagles and are 1-3 against those teams with a win over Oakland (5-2) and losses to Cleveland State (6-1), Butler (4-3), and Michigan State (4-0).

IN THE SERIES: EAGLES vs. CARDINALS
Eastern Michigan and Ball State will be meeting on the courts for the 47th and 48th times this week, which moves the series into fourth-most played in EMU history. Overall, Eastern holds a 32-14 record over Ball State despite the Cardinals having won the last three matches, including a pair of 5-2 decisions last year. Eastern last won April 1, 2022, with a 4-3 home decision.

LIFTING THE LID: MAC HOME OPENER
The Eagles are 25-15 all-time in their first home MAC match of the season, but have dropped three in a row, including a 5-2 decision to visiting Western Michigan, March 24, 2023. The Eagles hold a 3-2 record when Ball State is the first home MAC opponent with the Cardinals winning, 6-1, March 12, 2021, to snap a two-match winning streak in such contests.

BIG IMPROVEMENTS
Four Eagles have already posted improved win totals in singles play over their results from the 2023 season, including Linda Eloundou, who is +13 in wins, and Andrea Quiroz, who is +11. Eloundou is 17-6 this year after posting a 4-9 mark last year while Quiroz sits 14-10 after posting a 3-11 record. Additionally, Vidisha Reddy has improved by three (1-7 to 4-5) while Regina Mendez has improved by two (3-7 to 5-7).

AMONG THE LEADERS
Freshman Ksyusha Saenko has provided a large number of wins for the Eagles in her first collegiate season as her 17 singles wins ties for the most on the team (17, Linda Eloundou) while her 27 combined wins leads all Eagles. Saenko has added 10 wins in doubles play, which is second behind Andrea Quiroz' 11 wins.

STARTING STRONG
Last year, the Eagles played 15 duals and captured the doubles point four times. Through 13 duals this year, the Eagles have captured the doubles point six times, including five times at home and once on the road.

COUNTING HIGHER
A trio of Eagles have captured at least 10 singles wins this season with all three having reached 20+ combined wins when including doubles victories. Linda Eloundou and Ksyusha Saenko are tied for the team lead with identical 17-6 records while Andrea Quiroz is 14-10.

AND THE AWARD GOES TO...
Because of their comeback victory, Daniella Shved and Prerna Vichare were selected as the MAC Doubles Team of the Week, the league announced Feb. 6. It was the first award earned by the Eagles this season and the first since Shved and Wendy Zhang earned the doubles award, Feb. 16, 2023.

MITTEN MEETINGS
The Eagles will play seven matches against fellow Michigan schools during the 2024 season and are off to a 4-1 start after downing Hillsdale (Jan. 27), 6-1; Ferris State (Jan., 28), 6-1 and 5-0; and Oakland (Feb. 10), 6-1; before dropping a 4-0 decision on the road at Michigan State (Feb. 11). Eastern's remaining schedule will see a pair of MAC duals against Western Michigan, including April 12 on the road and April 19 at home. Overall, the Eagles hold a record of 98-110 all-time against Michigan schools through the five matches played in 2024.

WELCOME ABOARD
Eastern Michigan is guided by Ryan Kucera, who took the reigns as the program's head coach, Aug. 9. The 11th head coach in EMU history, Kucera came to Ypsilanti after one season leading Milwaukee, in which the Panthers advanced to the semifinals of the 2023 Horizon League Tournament. Prior to that, he spent two seasons at Minnesota State-Mankato where his second season saw the team reach the second round of the conference tournament. Kucera is a graduate of Grand View (Iowa) where he was a student-athlete from 2017-20 after one season at Luther College.

PRESEASON PROGNOSTICATIONS
The MAC announced its 2024 coaches preseason poll, Jan. 17, with the Eagles earning 28 points in the voting, tied with Ball State for fourth place. Toledo (47), Miami (38), and Buffalo (35) comprised the top three in the poll with Western Michigan (27), Northern Illinois (14), and Bowling Green (7) ranking sixth, seventh, and eighth, respectively. Toledo (6) and Miami (2) earned the first-place votes with the Rockets (6), RedHawks (1), and Cardinals (1) all earning votes for who will win the 2024 MAC Tournament that will take place in Toledo, Ohio, April 26-27.

ON THE HORIZON
The Eagles will play once next week when they welcome the Huskies of Northern Illinois University to town Friday, March 29, for a 1 p.m. Mid-American Conference match at the Chippewa Club in Ypsilanti. The match is the first of two in a row against NIU with the two teams meeting in DeKalb, Ill., Friday, April 5, at noon.

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

Linda Eloundou

Regina Mendez Carreño

Andrea Quiroz

Vidisha Reddy

Kseniia Saenko

Daniella Shved

Prerna Vichare

Wendy Zhang

Eastern Michigan Athletics