Eastern Michigan Athletics
Friday, April 12
Kalamazoo, Mich.
12 p.m.
Eastern Michigan University
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at
6
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Western Michigan
Tennis Falls at Western Michigan, 6-1
4/12/2024 9:11:00 PM | Tennis
Eloundou battles back to win at No. 5 for the Eagles in road defeat
KALAMAZOO, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) – Linda Eloundou battled back from one set down to win in three as the Eastern Michigan University tennis team fell on the road at Western Michigan University, 6-1, Friday, April 12, inside the West Hills Athletic Club in Kalamazoo, Mich. The Eagles (9-10, 3-4 Mid-American Conference) were unable to secure their first road win of 2024 while the Broncos (14-6, 5-2 MAC) moved into sole possession of second place in the league standings.
How It Happened
The Eagles fell into a 1-0 hole as the Broncos took the doubles point. After falling at No. 2, the No. 3 tandem of Sabina Brichackova (Cheb, Czech Republic/Gymnázium Jana Blahoslava) and Ksyusha Saenko (Voronezh, Russia/Gymnasium 2) posted a 6-4 win to knot things at 1-1. In the deciding match, the No. 1 team of Daniella Shved (Holon, Israel/Ort Holon) and Prerna Vichare (Mumbai, India/Narsee Monjee College of Commerce and Economics) battled to the end, but came up short, 7-6(2).
In singles play, the first two matches went to the Broncos with straight set wins as the Eagles fell at No. 6 and then No. 2. From there, Western Michigan clinched the team victory with a three-set win at No. 1 before adding another three-set win at No. 3. Eloundou (Yaounde, Cameroon/Augustine Meyou/New Mexico Military Institute) was next to finish and battled back from losing the first set at No. 5, 6-4, before winning 6-3, 7-5 for the lone EMU win on the day. The final match of the day was at No. 4 where Ksyusha Saenko (Voronezh, Russia/Gymnasium 2) fell in a marathon. After winning the first set, 6-1, she was unable to claim another set as both went to the tie breaker as she fell, 1-6, 7-6(7), 7-6(6).
Notes
›› Eastern fell to 9-10 overall and 3-4 in MAC play while Western Michigan improved to 14-6 overall and 5-2 in MAC play.
›› The Eagles have yet to win on the road this season, holding a 9-0 record at home and a 0-10 mark on the road.
›› Eastern fell to 15-44 all-time against the Broncos in the longest-running series in program history.
›› With the loss, the Eagles remain in fifth place in the latest MAC standings and are tied at 3-4 with Buffalo, who Eastern defeated last week, April 7, at home to gain the tie breaker. Miami University and Ball State University are just ahead of the Eagles at 4-3.
›› The team of Sabina Brichackova and Ksyusha Saenko won their match at No. 3 doubles. With the win, Brichackova now has 41 all-time wins in doubles play and 85 combined career victories.
›› Linda Eloundou has won 22 singles matches this year, the most of any EMU player. This comes one season after posting a 4-9 record in her debut for the Eagles, an improvement of 18 wins.
Up Next
Eastern will close out the weekend at home Sunday, April 14, when the University of Toledo comes to town. The Eagles and Rockets are set to meet outside at the Chippewa Club with the first serve slated for 1 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.
Western Michigan 6, Eastern Michigan 1
April 12 • West Hills Athletic Club • Kalamazoo, Mich.
SINGLES
#1: Lindsey Zieglar (W) def. Daniella Shved, 3-6, 6-0, 6-4
#2: Karin Hamilton (W) def. Andrea Quiroz, 6-4, 6-3
#3: Valeriya Monko (W) def. Prerna Vichare, 3-6, 7-5, 7-5
#4: Polina Khotko (W) def. Ksyusha Saenko, 1-6, 7-6(7), 7-6(6)
#5: Linda Eloundou (E) def. Maya Perkucin, 4-6, 6-3, 7-5
#6: Ariane Souligny (W) def. Sabina Brichackova, 6-4, 6-0
Order of Finish: 6, 2, 1, 3, 5, 6
DOUBLES
#1: Valeriya Monko/Lindsey Zieglar (W) def. Daniella Shved/Prerna Vichare, 7-6(2)
#2: Karin Hamilton/Polina Khotko (W) def. Linda Eloundou/Andrea Quiroz, 6-2
#3: Sabina Brichackova/Ksyusha Saenko (E) def. Sofia Balsera/Audrey Smitek, 6-4
Order of Finish: 2, 3, 1
How It Happened
The Eagles fell into a 1-0 hole as the Broncos took the doubles point. After falling at No. 2, the No. 3 tandem of Sabina Brichackova (Cheb, Czech Republic/Gymnázium Jana Blahoslava) and Ksyusha Saenko (Voronezh, Russia/Gymnasium 2) posted a 6-4 win to knot things at 1-1. In the deciding match, the No. 1 team of Daniella Shved (Holon, Israel/Ort Holon) and Prerna Vichare (Mumbai, India/Narsee Monjee College of Commerce and Economics) battled to the end, but came up short, 7-6(2).
In singles play, the first two matches went to the Broncos with straight set wins as the Eagles fell at No. 6 and then No. 2. From there, Western Michigan clinched the team victory with a three-set win at No. 1 before adding another three-set win at No. 3. Eloundou (Yaounde, Cameroon/Augustine Meyou/New Mexico Military Institute) was next to finish and battled back from losing the first set at No. 5, 6-4, before winning 6-3, 7-5 for the lone EMU win on the day. The final match of the day was at No. 4 where Ksyusha Saenko (Voronezh, Russia/Gymnasium 2) fell in a marathon. After winning the first set, 6-1, she was unable to claim another set as both went to the tie breaker as she fell, 1-6, 7-6(7), 7-6(6).
Notes
›› Eastern fell to 9-10 overall and 3-4 in MAC play while Western Michigan improved to 14-6 overall and 5-2 in MAC play.
›› The Eagles have yet to win on the road this season, holding a 9-0 record at home and a 0-10 mark on the road.
›› Eastern fell to 15-44 all-time against the Broncos in the longest-running series in program history.
›› With the loss, the Eagles remain in fifth place in the latest MAC standings and are tied at 3-4 with Buffalo, who Eastern defeated last week, April 7, at home to gain the tie breaker. Miami University and Ball State University are just ahead of the Eagles at 4-3.
›› The team of Sabina Brichackova and Ksyusha Saenko won their match at No. 3 doubles. With the win, Brichackova now has 41 all-time wins in doubles play and 85 combined career victories.
›› Linda Eloundou has won 22 singles matches this year, the most of any EMU player. This comes one season after posting a 4-9 record in her debut for the Eagles, an improvement of 18 wins.
Up Next
Eastern will close out the weekend at home Sunday, April 14, when the University of Toledo comes to town. The Eagles and Rockets are set to meet outside at the Chippewa Club with the first serve slated for 1 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.
Western Michigan 6, Eastern Michigan 1
April 12 • West Hills Athletic Club • Kalamazoo, Mich.
SINGLES
#1: Lindsey Zieglar (W) def. Daniella Shved, 3-6, 6-0, 6-4
#2: Karin Hamilton (W) def. Andrea Quiroz, 6-4, 6-3
#3: Valeriya Monko (W) def. Prerna Vichare, 3-6, 7-5, 7-5
#4: Polina Khotko (W) def. Ksyusha Saenko, 1-6, 7-6(7), 7-6(6)
#5: Linda Eloundou (E) def. Maya Perkucin, 4-6, 6-3, 7-5
#6: Ariane Souligny (W) def. Sabina Brichackova, 6-4, 6-0
Order of Finish: 6, 2, 1, 3, 5, 6
DOUBLES
#1: Valeriya Monko/Lindsey Zieglar (W) def. Daniella Shved/Prerna Vichare, 7-6(2)
#2: Karin Hamilton/Polina Khotko (W) def. Linda Eloundou/Andrea Quiroz, 6-2
#3: Sabina Brichackova/Ksyusha Saenko (E) def. Sofia Balsera/Audrey Smitek, 6-4
Order of Finish: 2, 3, 1
Team Stats
#1 Doubles Match
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#2 Doubles Match
#3 Doubles Match
Order of Finish:
2,1,3
#1 Singles Match
123
604
Lindsey Zieglar / 0 [WMUW]
366
#2 Singles Match
12
43
Karin Hamilton / 0 [WMUW]
66
#3 Singles Match
123
655
Valeriya Monko / 0 [WMUW]
377
#4 Singles Match
123
666
Polina Khotko / 0 [WMUW]
177
#5 Singles Match
123
467
Maya Perkucin / 0 [WMUW]
635
#6 Singles Match
12
40
Audrey Smitek / 0 [WMUW]
66
Order of Finish:
6,2,1,3,5,4
Players Mentioned
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