Tennis Falls at Cincinnati, 4-1

CINCINNATI, Ohio (EMUEagles.com) – The Eastern Michigan University tennis team captured the doubles point for the third consecutive dual, but were unable to secure victories in singles competition as the Eagles fell, 4-1, at the University of Cincinnati, Jan. 25, inside the Western Athletic Club in Cincinnati, Ohio. The Eagles and Bearcats are both 2-1 on the year following the dual.

"It was a frustrating result, but a lot of positives can come from today's match," Head Coach Ryan Kucera said. "Our doubles play was excellent. We came out firing and really played with the right tactics and the right mentality. It's a long match, though, and we need to learn to keep our discipline and our composure up the entire time. We lost that in some of the moments. There was a lot of high-level tennis being played, but we pressed too much, and they did a great job to maintain their level and not panic. I'm excited for the opportunity to learn from this and get back at it tomorrow against a great Dayton team."

How It Happened
The Eagles won the doubles point for the third dual in a row this season as the team of Iva Daneva (Kavadarci, North Macedonia/DSU Sportska Akademija) and Viki Hazmukova (Skvorec, Czechia/Skoly Brezova) combined for a 6-2 win at No. 3 before the No. 1 tandem of Sabina Brichackova (Cheb, Czechia/Gymnazium Jana Blahoslava) and Prerna Vichare (Mumbai, India/Narsee Monjee College of Commerce & Economics) won their match, 6-2, to clinch the point.

In singles play, the Bearcats swept through four matches to claim the four needed points to win the dual, 4-1. The Eagles that finished their matches included Daniella Shved (Holon, Israel/Ort Holon) at No. 1, Hazmukova at No. 3, Brichackova at No. 4, and Daneva at No. 5. Both Vichare, at No. 2, and Lara Diaz Zayas (Mar de Ajo, Argentina/SEADEA), at No. 6, were tied at one set apiece and tied in their respective third sets, but both matches were abandoned after UC secured the team win.

Match Notes
» Sabina Brichackova and Prerna Vichare are 3-0 at No. 1 doubles this year and have won 36 matches together in their careers at EMU. The duo moved closer to breaking into the top 20 all-time list for doubles wins as Brichackova's 52 and Vichare's 51 are four and five, respectively, short of tying for No. 19 with Miriam Westerink (2008-12) and Avi Gogvadze (2014-18) with 56.
» Viki Hazmukova joined with Iva Daneva to win at No. 3 doubles, giving her three wins in three doubles in her freshman season. The win for Daneva marked her first collegiate dual victory after not playing against Ferris State last week.

Historical Notes
» Eastern slipped to 2-1 on the year while Cincinnati improved to 2-1.
» The Eagles fell to 12-2 all-time against the Bearcats and saw their eight-match winning streak snapped. The last time EMU lost to UC was a 6-3 decision at Cincinnati, March 10, 2000.

Up Next
Eastern ends its two-match road trip through southwestern Ohio when it takes on the University of Dayton, Sunday, Jan. 26. The Eagles and Flyers will meet at 10 a.m. inside the South Regency Tennis Center in Miamisburg.

Dual #1: Cincinnati def. Eastern Michigan, 4-1
Singles
#1: Zeynep Erman (UC) def. Daniella Shved, 6-2, 6-1
#2: Prerna Vichare (EM) vs. Rozalia Gruszczynska (UC), 3-6, 6-6 (1-1), unfinished
#3: Gabrielle Guenther (UC) def. Viki Hazumokva, 6-4, 6-4
#4: Milica Popovski (UC) def. Sabina Brichackova, 6-3, 6-3
#5: Sakurako Watanabe (UC) def. Iva Daneva, 6-3, 6-4
#6: Lara Diaz Zayas (EM) vs. Callie Flanagan (UC), 7-5, 0-6, 3-3, unfinished
Order of Finish: 1, 5, 3, 4

Doubles
#1: Sabina Brichackova/Prerna Vicare (EM) def. Zeynep Erman/Rozalia Gruszczynska, 6-2
#2: Morgan Pyrz/Sakurako Watanabe (UC) def. Daniella Shved/Marta Komar (EM), 6-4
#3: Iva Daneva/Viki Hazmukova (EM) def. Callie Flanagan/Gabrielle Guenther, 6-2
Order of Finish: 3, 2, 1
Records: Eastern Michigan (2-1), Cincinnati (2-1)

Next Event

Team Stats

Players Mentioned

Sabina Brichackova

Iva Daneva

Lara Diaz Zayas

Viki Hazmukova

Marta Komar

Daniella Shved

Prerna Vichare