Tennis Ventures to NIU, Hosts Buffalo This Week

Spring Dual #17 - at NORTHERN ILLINOIS
Date	Friday, April 5 - 2 p.m. ET (1 p.m. CT)
Venue	Nelson Tennis Center (DeKalb, Ill.)
Preview Info	EMU Notes
Live	Watch
Twitter	@EMUEaglesTennis \| @EMUAthletics

Spring Dual #18 - vs. BUFFALO
Date	Sunday, April 7 - 1 p.m.
Venue	Chippewa Club (Ypsilanti)
Preview Info	EMU Notes
Live	n/a
Twitter	@EMUEaglesTennis \| @EMUAthletics

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YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) -- Two Mid-American Conference matches await the Eastern Michigan University tennis team this week with the Eagles traveling to face Northern Illinois University Friday, April 5, before returning home to play host to the University at Buffalo Sunday, April 7. The Eagles (8-8, 2-2 MAC) will be playing the Huskies (12-8, 1-3 MAC) for the second match in a row after defeating them in Ypsilanti, 6-1, March 29. EMU will be taking on the Bulls (15-6, 2-2 MAC) for the first time this season.

FIRST SERVES
» Eastern holds a 8-8 overall record and a 2-2 mark in MAC play after claiming a 6-1 win over visiting Northern Illinois, March 29.
» 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 8-8 with EMU and 35-46 in his career.
» It has been a tale of two locations this year for the Eagles as they are 8-0 at home and 0-8 on the road.
» The Eagles have won all eight home matches played this year with all but one ending in a 6-1 score. The lone exception was a 5-0 victory over Ferris State in the second match of a doubleheader when the teams were playing to clinch.
» Following the win over Northern Illinois, March 29, the team of Daniella Shved and Prerna Vichare were named the MAC Doubles Team of the Week (April 2) as their win at No. 1 helped the team capture the doubles point for the third time in four MAC matches.
» Several Eagles reached milestone wins with their victories against NIU, March 29, including Sabina Brichackova, who earned her 40th career doubles win; Prerna Vichare, who won her 25th singles and 40th doubles matches; and Linda Eloundou, who won her 20th singles match of the year.

LOOKING BACK: ANOTHER HOME WIN
The Eagles remained perfect at home in 2024 as they handed a 6-1 loss to visiting Northern Illinois, March 29. Eastern took the doubles point by posting 6-2 wins at both No. 1 and No. 3 before winning the first five singles matches. Daniella Shved and Prerna Vichare won the No. 1 doubles match with Sabina Brichackova and Ksyusha Saenko winning at No. 3. Shved (No. 1), Vichare (No. 2), and Brichackova (No. 6) each won their respective singles matches to post 2-0 records on the day.

MAC HONORS
Following the win over Northern Illinois, March 29, the MAC announced its weekly awards with Daniella Shved and Prerna Vichare being named the MAC Doubles Team of the Week for the second time this season. The duo won their match, 6-2, to help claim the doubles point for the third time in four MAC matches and the eighth time this year. As a team, EMU won the doubles point four times during the 2022-23 season.

SWEEPING THROUGH
Three players swept two matches played against NIU, March 29, to help the team to a 6-1 win. Daniella Shved and Prerna Vichare won at No. 1 doubles before winning No. 1 and No. 2 singles, respectively, while Sabina Brichackova won her No. 6 singles bout after joining with Ksyusha Saenko for the win at No. 3 doubles. Andrea Quiroz won her No. 3 singles match in straight sets.

TALE OF TWO LOCATIONS
Following their 6-1 home win over Northern Illinois, March 29, the Eagles are 8-8 this year with an 8-0 record at home and a 0-8 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 a chance to halt the streak this week against the Huskies in DeKalb Friday afternoon.

SCOUTING: NORTHERN ILLINOIS
The Huskies enter the weekend with a 12-8 record and are 1-3 in MAC play. Northern Illinois won a close, 4-3, decision over visiting Western Michigan, March 24, to earn its first league win of the year after dropping its first two matches, including a 4-3 decision at Ball State (March 17) and a 5-2 score to visiting Miami (March 22) and falling at EMU, March 29, 6-1. The Huskies are accustomed to close matches in 2024 as they hold a 3-1 record in matches ending in a 4-3 score.

IN THE SERIES: EAGLES vs. HUSKIES
Eastern Michigan holds a 34-11 all-time record against Northern Illinois and have won two consecutive meetings following the Eagles' 6-1 home win, March 29. With a win Friday in DeKalb, the Eagles would post three wins in a row over NIU for the first time since winning six in a row between 2011-16 and secure back-to-back wins at NIU for the first time since 2016 and 2018. EMU is 12-6 all-time in DeKalb and won the last meeting, 5-2, April 14, 2023.

LONG HISTORY
The series with Northern Illinois is one of the most played in Eastern history as the two sides will be meeting for the 46th time this week. The series ranks as the seventh-most played and the sixth-most played league competition as EMU's 47-match history with Michigan State is just ahead of NIU. The series with Western Michigan is the longest at 58 meetings.

SCOUTING: BUFFALO
The Bulls enter the week with a 15-6 record and a 2-2 mark in the MAC following a 7-0 win at home over Bowling Green, March 29. UB, who will play host to Western Michigan Friday, April 5, before facing Eastern, defeated BGSU, 4-3, on the road, March 15, to open the league season before falling at home to both Toledo (6-1) and Miami (4-3). The Bulls are 4-3 on the road this year and 1-0 in MAC play thanks to the 4-3 defeat of the Falcons.

IN THE SERIES: EAGLES vs. BULLS
Eastern holds an 11-14 record in its all-time series with Buffalo and has lost the last eight matches in a row, including a 5-2 decision in the most recent meeting, April 23, 2023, in Buffalo. The last time Eastern was victorious over UB was March 21, 2014, with a 4-3 road win while the last time the Eagles claimed a win over the Bulls in Ypsilanti came April 9, 2011, with a 4-3 score.

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 +16 in wins, and Andrea Quiroz, who is +14. Eloundou is 20-6 this year after posting a 4-9 mark last year while Quiroz sits 17-10 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 19 singles wins are second on the team (20, Linda Eloundou) while her 30 combined wins leads all Eagles. Saenko has added 11 wins in doubles play, which is second behind Andrea Quiroz' 13 wins.

STARTING STRONG
Last year, the Eagles played 15 duals and captured the doubles point four times. Through 16 duals this year, the Eagles have captured the doubles point eight times, including seven times at home and once on the road. Additionally, the Eagles have won the doubles point in two of their three MAC matches.

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.

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.

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 will play two more MAC matches next week as they will face Western Michigan University on the road and the University of Toledo at home. The Eagles and Broncos will meet Friday, April 12, in Kalamazoo for a 12 p.m. first serve before Eastern returns home Sunday, April 14, for a 1 p.m. meeting with the Rockets.

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