Eastern Michigan Athletics
Sunday, April 21
Bowling Green, Ohio
12 p.m.
Eastern Michigan University
6
at
1
Bowling Green
Photo by: Steve King/KingStudios
Tennis Clinches Tournament Berth with 6-1 Win at BGSU
4/21/2024 5:59:00 PM | Tennis
Eagles secured their first road win of the year to make MAC field for the first time since 2018
PERRYSBURG, Ohio (EMUEagles.com) – Needing a win on the final day of the regular season to capture a berth into the postseason, the Eastern Michigan University tennis team did just that as the Eagles rolled to a 6-1 victory over Bowling Green State University Sunday, April 21, at the Perrysburg Tennis Center. The Eagles (12-10, 6-4 Mid-American Conference), who won on the road for the first time this year, captured the doubles point to spark their run to victory over the Falcons (7-15, 0-10 MAC).
Quoting Kucera
"I get emotional reflecting on how much we have grown this season," Head Coach Ryan Kucera said following the victory. "We have had a lot of tough matches on the road this year, but we didn't let that affect today. They had a great crowd for their senior day, but we stayed super composed and played a great doubles point. We started a little tight and down on some courts, but we stayed calm and roared back. Nobody let up in singles either. We knew we would need great shot tolerance against them indoors. For 1-3 (singles) to get off the court so quickly was huge for us.
"I am just incredibly proud of this team," Kucera said. "This is an elite conference and the team worked so hard all year to finish top four and get into the tournament. We built an identity based on a standard of discipline, toughness, and competing together each day to be the best we can be. I'm so thankful to Maria Potsi for being a great role model to these girls and to the athletes for buying in and believing in what we do. I'm so excited that we get to play more tennis and fight for a MAC championship starting Friday!"
How It Happened
For the second time this weekend and the 12th time all year, the Eagles jumped out to a 1-0 lead after securing the doubles point. The No. 3 team of Sabina Brichackova (Cheb, Czech Republic/Gymnázium Jana Blahoslava) and Ksyusha Saenko (Voronezh, Russia/Gymnasium 2) combined for a quick 6-0 win before Linda Eloundou (Yaounde, Cameroon/Augustine Meyou/New Mexico Military Institute) and Andrea Quiroz (Lima, Peru/La Molina 1278/Alcorn State) won their No. 2 match, 6-4, to clinch the point. The No. 1 team of Daniella Shved (Holon, Israel/Ort Holon) and Prerna Vichare (Mumbai, India/Narsee Monjee College of Commerce and Economics) led their No. 1 match, 5-4, when it was abandoned after EMU had clinched.
Moving into singles play, Vichare scored her second win of the weekend as she took a 6-1, 6-3 win at No. 2. Following a win by the Falcons at No. 4, the Eagles would go on to sweep the remaining four matches for the team win. First, Shved won at No. 1, 6-4, 6-0, before Quiroz clinched the win with her 6-1, 6-3 victory at No. 3. The final two matches saw Saenko win at No. 5, 7-6(4), 6-1 before Brichackova took a 7-5, 6-2 victory at No. 6.
Tournament Bound!
With the regular season complete, the Eagles finished fourth in the conference standings to earn a berth into the 2024 MAC Tournament which will be played April 26-27 in Toledo, Ohio. Eastern will be making its 20th appearance in the tournament since it went to a team format in 1999 and will be appearing for the first time since 2018. The Eagles have won the tournament twice, including 1998 and 2001, and finished as the runner-up five times with the most recent coming in 2014. Eastern will be the No. 4 seed in the 2024 edition and face No. 1 University of Toledo in the semifinals Friday, April 26.
Notes
›› Eastern finished the regular season at 12-10 overall and 6-4 in MAC play while Bowling Green ended its season at 6-16 overall and 0-10 in MAC play.
›› Prior to win at BGSU, the Eagles had not won the road this season. Eastern posted an 11-0 home record and picked up its first road in over one year with the last coming April 14, 2023, in a 5-2 win at Northern Illinois University.
›› Eastern secured the doubles point for the 12th time in 2024 after doing so just four times last year. It also marked the seventh time the Eagles captured the point in MAC play and just the second time on the road (at Miami, March 17).
›› Head Coach Ryan Kucera has moved up among the best in program history with his team's performance in 2024. His 12 wins are tied with Ryan Ray for third-most in the debut season for an EMU coach while his six MAC wins rank second. Overall, the six wins in conference play rank as the seventh-most in a single season and the most since the 2003-04 team finished 6-2 and were runner-up at the MAC Tournament.
›› With their singles wins today, Daniella Shved, Prerna Vichare, Ksyusha Saenko, and Sabina Brichackova each went 2-0 on the weekend to help the Eagles clinch a spot in the MAC Tournament.
›› The Eagles went 2-0 in doubles action against the Falcons to finish the weekend 4-1 (one match was unfinished) and capture the doubles point twice. The team of Linda Eloundou and Andrea Quiroz were a perfect 2-0.
Up Next
The Eagles will be the No. 4 seed in the 2024 MAC Tournament and will open play Friday, April 26, at 10 a.m. against the host and top-seeded University of Toledo at the UT Tennis Courts in Toledo, Ohio. The winner will play for the title and the conference's automatic berth into the NCAA Tournament Saturday, April 27, at 1 p.m. against the winner of the second semifinal between No. 2 Western Michigan University and No. 3 Miami University.
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, Bowling Green 1
April 21 • Perrysburg Tennis Club • Perrysburg, Ohio
SINGLES
#1: Daniella Shved (E) def. Lucy Furness, 6-4, 6-0
#2: Prerna Vichare (E) def. Hannah Neuman, 6-1, 6-3
#3: Andrea Quiroz (E) def. Tia Clemens, 6-1, 6-3
#4: Isabella Baker (B) def. Linda Eloundou, 6-2, 6-1
#5: Ksyusha Saenko (E) def. Leticia Fonseca, 7-6(4), 6-1
#6: Sabina Brichackova (E) def. Brynn Chaffee, 7-5, 6-2
Order of Finish: 2, 4, 1, 3, 5, 6
DOUBLES
#1: Daniella Shved/Prerna Vichare (E) led Lucy Furness/Hannah Neuman (B), 5-4, unfinished
#2: Linda Eloundou/Andrea Quiroz (E) def. Isabella Baker/Leticia Fonseca, 6-4
#3: Sabina Brichackova/Ksyusha Saenko (E) def. Tia Clemens/Brynn Chaffee, 6-0
Order of Finish: 3, 2
Quoting Kucera
"I get emotional reflecting on how much we have grown this season," Head Coach Ryan Kucera said following the victory. "We have had a lot of tough matches on the road this year, but we didn't let that affect today. They had a great crowd for their senior day, but we stayed super composed and played a great doubles point. We started a little tight and down on some courts, but we stayed calm and roared back. Nobody let up in singles either. We knew we would need great shot tolerance against them indoors. For 1-3 (singles) to get off the court so quickly was huge for us.
"I am just incredibly proud of this team," Kucera said. "This is an elite conference and the team worked so hard all year to finish top four and get into the tournament. We built an identity based on a standard of discipline, toughness, and competing together each day to be the best we can be. I'm so thankful to Maria Potsi for being a great role model to these girls and to the athletes for buying in and believing in what we do. I'm so excited that we get to play more tennis and fight for a MAC championship starting Friday!"
How It Happened
For the second time this weekend and the 12th time all year, the Eagles jumped out to a 1-0 lead after securing the doubles point. The No. 3 team of Sabina Brichackova (Cheb, Czech Republic/Gymnázium Jana Blahoslava) and Ksyusha Saenko (Voronezh, Russia/Gymnasium 2) combined for a quick 6-0 win before Linda Eloundou (Yaounde, Cameroon/Augustine Meyou/New Mexico Military Institute) and Andrea Quiroz (Lima, Peru/La Molina 1278/Alcorn State) won their No. 2 match, 6-4, to clinch the point. The No. 1 team of Daniella Shved (Holon, Israel/Ort Holon) and Prerna Vichare (Mumbai, India/Narsee Monjee College of Commerce and Economics) led their No. 1 match, 5-4, when it was abandoned after EMU had clinched.
Moving into singles play, Vichare scored her second win of the weekend as she took a 6-1, 6-3 win at No. 2. Following a win by the Falcons at No. 4, the Eagles would go on to sweep the remaining four matches for the team win. First, Shved won at No. 1, 6-4, 6-0, before Quiroz clinched the win with her 6-1, 6-3 victory at No. 3. The final two matches saw Saenko win at No. 5, 7-6(4), 6-1 before Brichackova took a 7-5, 6-2 victory at No. 6.
Tournament Bound!
With the regular season complete, the Eagles finished fourth in the conference standings to earn a berth into the 2024 MAC Tournament which will be played April 26-27 in Toledo, Ohio. Eastern will be making its 20th appearance in the tournament since it went to a team format in 1999 and will be appearing for the first time since 2018. The Eagles have won the tournament twice, including 1998 and 2001, and finished as the runner-up five times with the most recent coming in 2014. Eastern will be the No. 4 seed in the 2024 edition and face No. 1 University of Toledo in the semifinals Friday, April 26.
Notes
›› Eastern finished the regular season at 12-10 overall and 6-4 in MAC play while Bowling Green ended its season at 6-16 overall and 0-10 in MAC play.
›› Prior to win at BGSU, the Eagles had not won the road this season. Eastern posted an 11-0 home record and picked up its first road in over one year with the last coming April 14, 2023, in a 5-2 win at Northern Illinois University.
›› Eastern secured the doubles point for the 12th time in 2024 after doing so just four times last year. It also marked the seventh time the Eagles captured the point in MAC play and just the second time on the road (at Miami, March 17).
›› Head Coach Ryan Kucera has moved up among the best in program history with his team's performance in 2024. His 12 wins are tied with Ryan Ray for third-most in the debut season for an EMU coach while his six MAC wins rank second. Overall, the six wins in conference play rank as the seventh-most in a single season and the most since the 2003-04 team finished 6-2 and were runner-up at the MAC Tournament.
›› With their singles wins today, Daniella Shved, Prerna Vichare, Ksyusha Saenko, and Sabina Brichackova each went 2-0 on the weekend to help the Eagles clinch a spot in the MAC Tournament.
›› The Eagles went 2-0 in doubles action against the Falcons to finish the weekend 4-1 (one match was unfinished) and capture the doubles point twice. The team of Linda Eloundou and Andrea Quiroz were a perfect 2-0.
Up Next
The Eagles will be the No. 4 seed in the 2024 MAC Tournament and will open play Friday, April 26, at 10 a.m. against the host and top-seeded University of Toledo at the UT Tennis Courts in Toledo, Ohio. The winner will play for the title and the conference's automatic berth into the NCAA Tournament Saturday, April 27, at 1 p.m. against the winner of the second semifinal between No. 2 Western Michigan University and No. 3 Miami University.
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, Bowling Green 1
April 21 • Perrysburg Tennis Club • Perrysburg, Ohio
SINGLES
#1: Daniella Shved (E) def. Lucy Furness, 6-4, 6-0
#2: Prerna Vichare (E) def. Hannah Neuman, 6-1, 6-3
#3: Andrea Quiroz (E) def. Tia Clemens, 6-1, 6-3
#4: Isabella Baker (B) def. Linda Eloundou, 6-2, 6-1
#5: Ksyusha Saenko (E) def. Leticia Fonseca, 7-6(4), 6-1
#6: Sabina Brichackova (E) def. Brynn Chaffee, 7-5, 6-2
Order of Finish: 2, 4, 1, 3, 5, 6
DOUBLES
#1: Daniella Shved/Prerna Vichare (E) led Lucy Furness/Hannah Neuman (B), 5-4, unfinished
#2: Linda Eloundou/Andrea Quiroz (E) def. Isabella Baker/Leticia Fonseca, 6-4
#3: Sabina Brichackova/Ksyusha Saenko (E) def. Tia Clemens/Brynn Chaffee, 6-0
Order of Finish: 3, 2
Team Stats
#1 Doubles Match
#2 Doubles Match
#3 Doubles Match
Order of Finish:
3,2
#1 Singles Match
12
66
Furness, Lucy / 0 [BGSU]
40
#2 Singles Match
12
66
Neuman, Hannah / 0 [BGSU]
13
#3 Singles Match
12
66
Clemens, Tia / 0 [BGSU]
13
#4 Singles Match
12
21
Baker, Isabella / 0 [BGSU]
66
#5 Singles Match
12
76
Fonseca, Leticia / 0 [BGSU]
61
#6 Singles Match
12
76
Chaffee, Brynn / 0 [BGSU]
52
Order of Finish:
2,4,1,3,5,6
Players Mentioned
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