Tennis Welcomes Findlay to Town for Senior Day

Spring Dual #12 - vs FINDLAY
Date	Saturday, March 9 - 1 p.m.
Venue	Chippewa Club (Ypsilanti)
Preview Info	EMU Notes
Live	n/a
Twitter	@EMUEaglesTennis \| @EMUAthletics

Y
YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) -- After playing on the road in five consecutive matches, the Eastern Michigan University tennis team returns home this week as the Eagles are set to play host to the University of Findlay Saturday, March 9, at the Chippewa Club in Ypsilanti. The Eagles (5-6) and Oilers (6-4), who are ranked No. 22 in the March 7 ITA/NCAA Division II rankings, will take the courts for a 1 p.m. first serve after honoring EMU's two seniors, Linda Eloundou and Andrea Quiroz, on Senior Day.

FIRST SERVES
» Eastern enters the weekend with a 5-6 record after dropping two matches on the road last week, including a 6-1 score at South Carolina State (Feb. 27) and a 7-0 score at Charleston Southern (Feb. 29). Both teams competed in the 2023 NCAA Tournament after winning their conference tournaments.
» With the 6-1 win over Hillsdale, Jan. 27, Ryan Kucera collected his first victory leading EMU after taking the reins 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 5-6 with EMU and 32-44 in his career.
» The match with Findlay will mark the third in a row for the Eagles against a team they have previously not faced after taking on South Carolina State and Charleston Southern last week.
» It has been a tale of two locations this year for the Eagles as they are 5-0 at home and 0-6 on the road.
» The match with Findlay is the final non-conference competition on the 2024 schedule. The Eagles are set to return to action, March 17, with a trip to Oxford, Ohio, and a MAC opener with Miami.

THANK YOU, SENIORS!
Ahead of the match with Findlay, the program will hold Senior Day festivities as the Eagles will recognize the contributions of Linda Eloundou and Andrea Quiroz. The seniors, both of whom transferred into the program ahead of the 2022-23 season, have played big roles in the team's success and greatly improved as individuals this year. Eloundou, who came to Ypsilanti after playing at New Mexico Military Academy, holds a 20-14 singles record at EMU, including a team-best 16 wins this year, an improvement of 12 wins over her 2022-23 statistics. Quiroz came to Ypsilanti after playing at Alcorn State and ranks third on the team this year with 13 wins, an improvement of 10 wins from last year. The two seniors also have formed one of the top tandems at Eastern this year as they hold a team-best four wins, all of which came by 6-0 scores in dual action.

LOOKING BACK: PALMETTO STATE TRIP
Eastern Michigan spent its spring break in the Palmetto State with two matches against teams that played in the 2023 NCAA Tournament, falling in both. The trip started Feb. 27 in Orangeburg, S.C., where the Eagles dropped a 6-1 decision to host South Carolina State. Two days later, the Eagles traveled down the road to Charleston, S.C., and faced the Buccaneers of Charleston Southern and lost a 7-0 decision.

TALE OF TWO LOCATIONS
The Eagles are 5-6 this year with a 5-0 record at home and a 0-6 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: FINDLAY
The Oilers enter the weekend with a 6-4 record and the No. 22 ranking in the latest ITA Tennis NCAA Division II rankings. Findlay has two players ranked in the latest individual national rankings, including Anamarija Kovacevic, who is 10-4 and ranked No. 40, and Maria Valentina Salek Rivero, who holds a 10-3 record and the No. 5 position in the rankings. Kovacevic and teammate Elina Ivanova are also ranked nationally, holding the No. 32 spot in the doubles rankings.

IN THE SERIES: EAGLES vs. OILERS
Eastern Michigan and Findlay are set to meet for the first time in program history.

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 +12 in wins, and Andrea Quiroz, who is +10. Eloundou is 16-5 this year after posting a 4-9 mark last year while Quiroz sits 13-9 after posting a 3-11 record. Additionally, Regina Mendez has improved by two (3-7 to 5-7) while Vidisha Reddy has done the same (1-7 to 3-5).

STARTING STRONG
Last year, the Eagles played 15 duals and captured the doubles point four times. Through 11 duals this year, the Eagles have captured the doubles point five times, with all five coming at home.

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 leads the way with a 16-5 singles record. Freshman Ksyusha Saenko is 15-6 in singles while Andrea Quiroz is 13-9 in singles.

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
Eastern returns to action Sunday, March 17, when it travels to Oxford, Ohio, for its MAC opener at Miami University. The Eagles and RedHawks are slated for a noon first serve.

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.

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Linda Eloundou

Regina Mendez Carreño

Andrea Quiroz

Vidisha Reddy

Kseniia Saenko

Daniella Shved

Prerna Vichare

Wendy Zhang

Eastern Michigan Athletics