Tennis Closes 2024 Regular Season with Two MAC Matches

Spring Dual #21 - vs. WESTERN MICHIGAN
Date	Friday, April 19 - 1 p.m.
Venue	Chippewa Club (Ypsilanti, Mich.)
Preview Info	EMU Notes
Live	n/a
Twitter	@EMUEaglesTennis \| @EMUAthletics

Spring Dual #20 - vs. TOLEDO
Date	Sunday, April 21 - 12 p.m.
Venue	Perrysburg Tennis Center (Perrysburg, Ohio)
Preview Info	EMU Notes
Live	n/a
Twitter	@EMUEaglesTennis \| @EMUAthletics

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YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) -- -- The stakes will be high in the final weekend of regular season action for the Eastern Michigan University tennis team as the Eagles are set to play two matches that will go a long way in determining if EMU advances to the 2024 Mid-American Conference Tournament. The Eagles (10-10, 4-4 MAC) open the weekend at home Friday, April 19, with a 1 p.m. meeting with Western Michigan University (15-6, 6-2 MAC). The regular season ends Sunday, April 21, with the Eagles traveling to Bowling Green, Ohio, to take on Bowling Green State University in a noon contest.

THE STAKES
To make the 2024 MAC Tournament (April 26-27 in Toledo), a team has to finish in the top four of the final MAC standings. Heading into the final weekend of play, the Eagles are in position to earn a spot in the tournament field for the first time since 2018 as they currently are tied with Ball State for fourth, but hold the tie breaker over the Cardinals. Toledo (7-1), Western Michigan (6-2), and Miami (5-3) are the top three teams in the standings as of April 14. The full tournament field will be announced by the conference office following the conclusion of all matches played Sunday, April 14.

FIRST SERVES
» Eastern stands 10-10 on the year and 4-4 in the MAC after splitting its two matches over the weekend, including a 6-1 loss at Western Michigan, April 12, and a 4-3 home win over Toledo, April 14.
» The defeat of Toledo was the Rockets' first MAC loss in 17 matches and their first MAC road loss in 11.
» It has been a tale of two locations this year as EMU is 10-0 at home and 0-10 on the road.
» The 10 home wins are the most in a single season in program history, surpassing the eight tallied in 2017-18. At 10-0, the team would become the fourth to go undefeated at home in a single season and the first since the 2003-04 team went 7-0.
» 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 10-10 with EMU and 37-48 in his career.
» With 10 wins, Ryan Kucera is currently tied for the fourth-most wins in a debut season for an EMU tennis coach with Craig Capelli (2005-06). Ryan Ray (2006-07) sits third with 12 wins.
» With their win over Toledo, the Eagles are now 108-95 all-time in one-point matches and 42-44 when those matches are played against MAC foes.
» The match between EMU and WMU will be the 60th all-time, the most in any series for the Eagles.
» Linda Eloundou was huge for the Eagles over the weekend. She was lone victory at WMU before clinching the upset of Toledo with her three-set marathon win at No. 5 singles.
» The team of Sabina Brichackova and Ksyusha Saenko combined to go 2-0 at No. 3 doubles and clinched the doubles point against Toledo. For their efforts, they were named the MAC Doubles Team of the Week for the second time this year.
» Eastern has captured the doubles point in 10-of-20 matches (50 percent) after earning the point just four times last year. Since digital statistics began in 2005-06, the 10 doubles points won rank as the sixth-most in a single season for the Eagles and the most since EMU won 16 in 2021-22.

LOOKING BACK: WEEKEND SPLIT, AGAIN
The Eagles split their two matches over the weekend as they dropped a 6-1 decision on the road at Western Michigan, April 12, before rebounding to knock off Toledo, 4-3, in Ypsilanti, April 14. Linda Eloundou was huge for the Eagles as she was the lone winner against the Broncos with a 4-6, 6-3, 7-5 win at No. 5 singles before clinching the update of the Rockets two days later with her marathon 6-2, 6-7(4), 7-6(5) victory.

DOWNED ROCKETS
Not only did EMU defeat Toledo for the first time since March 26, 2021 (4-3 at home), the Eagles also snapped a 17-match winning streak UT had built in regular season MAC matches. The last time the Rockets dropped a match in MAC play came April 22, 2022, in a 4-3 home loss to Buffalo. The EMU win also snapped UT's 11-match road winning streak in MAC play with the previous loss coming March 27, 2022, in a 6-1 decision at Ball State.

ANOTHER HONOR
For the second time this season, the tandem of Sabina Brichackova and Ksyusha Saenko were named the MAC Doubles Team of the Week, the league announced April 16. Previously honored March 19 after securing the doubles point at Miami for the first time since 2016, Brichackova and Saenko went 2-0 on the weekend with the lone doubles win at Western Michigan and the clinching win against Toledo. Against the Rockets, the duo battled to a 7-5 win to gave EMU an early 1-0 lead in a match that saw the two sides split the singles matches, 3-3, making the doubles point the decider.

TALE OF TWO LOCATIONS
Following last weekend's split, the Eagles are 10-10 this year with a 10-0 record at home and a 0-10 mark on the road. The last time Eastern won on the road was a 5-2 win at Northern Illinois, April 14, 2023. The Eagles will have one final chance to claim a road win when they travel to Bowling Green Sunday, April 21, for the regular season finale.

HOME SWEEP HOME
The Eagles are 10-0 at home this season, a mark that is setting program records. The 10 wins are a single-season record, surpassing the eight home wins secured in the 2017-18 season and equal the combined home win total of the previous five seasons. The eighth EMU team to play nine or more home matches, this year's squad will finish with 11 home matches, surpassing the previous record of 10, which happened in both 1980-81 and 2017-18. Finally, three previous teams finished undefeated at home, including the 1978-79 (3-0), 2000-01 (5-0), and 2003-04 (7-0) squads.

DOUBLING UP
Last year, Eastern won the doubles point four times total. This year, the tides have turned as the Eagles have secured the point 10 times, including five times in MAC matches. Eastern has secured the doubles point nine times at home, including in MAC wins over Ball State (March 22), Northern Illinois (March 29), Buffalo (April 7), and Toledo (April 14) while also taking the point at Miami (March 17) in the MAC opener.

CLINCHING ALL AROUND
In the Eagles' nine wins, the clinching point for the team victory has been spread around through all six singles positions. So far, the team win has been clinched twice at No. 1, No. 2, No. 4, and No. 5 with single clinches coming from No. 3, and No. 6. In the four home MAC wins, the clinching point has been secured at No. 3 (Ball State), No. 2 (Northern Illinois), No. 1 (Buffalo), and No. 5 (Toledo).

CLIMBING HIGHER
The 11th head coach in program history, Ryan Kucera has accumulated 10 wins so far this season, a total that ranks him fourth for a first-year coach in program history with Craig Capelli (2005-06). The most wins in a debut season since Jayson Wiseman's 16 in 2017-18, Kucera also has four MAC wins, bettering the total of each of the past two seasons totals.

CLOSE CALLS
With their 4-3 win over Toledo, April 14, the Eagles are 2-3 this year in one-point matches after falling by the same score to Valparaiso (Feb. 18), Miami (March 17), and Ball State (March 24), all on the road. Following the match with UT, Eastern is now 108-95 all-time in one-point matches and 33-35 at home, including the 4-3 win over Buffalo, April 7. Additionally, the Eagles are 42-44 in one-point MAC meetings with an 19-21 home mark.

SCOUTING: WESTERN MICHIGAN
The Broncos enter the weekend with a 15-6 record and stand 6-2 in MAC play after winning both matches over the weekend. Winners of five in a row, WMU's two losses in league play have come on the road, including a 7-0 loss at Toledo, March 16, and a 4-3 setback at Northern Illinois, March 24.

IN THE SERIES: EAGLES vs. BRONCOS
Although Eastern trails in the all-time series with Western Michigan, 15-44, the Eagles have won two of the last four meetings. Eastern fell in the most recent meeting, 6-1, in Kalamazoo last weekend (April 12).

HELLO OLD FRIEND
The series with Western Michigan is the most-played in program history as this week's meeting will be the 60th all-time. One of three series with 50+ meetings, the EMU-WMU series is trailed only by Bowling Green (53) and Miami (50).

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). After falling at Western Michigan, 6-1, April 12, on the road, EMU will look to grab a win this Friday, April 19 at home, against the Broncos. Overall, the Eagles hold a record of 98-111 all-time against Michigan schools through the six matches played in 2024.

SCOUTING: BOWLING GREEN
The Falcons enter the weekend with a 7-13 record and stand 0-8 in MAC play following losses of 7-0 at Miami and 6-1 at Northern Illinois last week. BGSU has dropped seven in a row with its last victory coming March 17 in a 5-2 home win over Oakland. The Falcons play host to Miami Friday afternoon before welcoming Eastern to town.

IN THE SERIES: EAGLES vs. FALCONS
Eastern holds a 36-17 lead in the all-time series with Bowling Green and has won the last two matches, including a 6-1 decision in Ypsilanti, March 26, 2023. The two wins ended a four-match skid to the Falcons after the Eagles had won six in a row. The last time the two sides met in Bowling Green was March 27, 2022, a 4-3 EMU win.

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 +19 in wins, and Andrea Quiroz, who is +15. Eloundou is 23-7 this year after posting a 4-9 mark last year while Quiroz sits 18-13 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 5-8).

AMONG THE LEADERS
Freshman Ksyusha Saenko has provided a large amount of wins for the Eagles in her first collegiate season as her 19 singles wins are second on the team (23, Linda Eloundou) while her 33 combined wins are just one off the team lead of 34 recorded by Eloundou.

ON THE HORIZON
Should EMU qualify, the Eagles' next competition would be the 2024 MAC Tournament hosted by the University of Toledo, April 26-27, in Toledo, Ohio. The semifinals, pitting No. 1 against No. 4 and No. 2 against No. 3, will be played April 26, with the tournament final played one day later. The winner of the tournament earns the conference's automatic berth into the 2024 NCAA Women's Division I Tennis Tournament.

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

Eastern Michigan Athletics