Eagles Battle to the End in 4-3 Loss at WMU

KALAMAZOO, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) -- The Eastern Michigan University tennis team battled to the very end but was unable to secure the team victory over rival Western Michigan University Friday afternoon, March 21, as four singles matches went to three sets at West Hills Athletic Club in Kalamazoo, Mich., as the Eagles fell, 4-3. The Eagles (7-8, 0-2 Mid-American Conference) lost the first set before eventually forcing a deciding third set in all four matches before the Broncos (10-7, 1-1 MAC) escaped with the win.

"It was a really tough match today," Head Coach Ryan Kucera said. "I'm very proud of the team. They faced every bit of adversity and nobody gave up. We were resilient and kept pushing ourselves. It was really high-level tennis on all sides. Moving forward, we just need to stay positive and keep believing because we have a great opportunity to respond together on Sunday."

The Broncos took a 1-0 lead by securing the doubles point with wins a No. 3 and No. 2 before the host's lead grew to 2-0 following an EMU loss at No. 6 singles. Despite the deficit, the Eagles clawed their way back and tied the match at 2-2 with back-to-back wins. First Prerna Vichare (Mumbai, India/Narsee Monjee College of Commerce and Economics) won her match at No. 3, 6-4, 6-3, before Marta Komar (Inowroclaw, Poland/Sopocka (Sopot) Tennis Academy/Wayne State) bounced back from dropping the first set to win in three, 1-6, 6-4, 6-2.

Western Michigan reclaimed the lead with a three-set win at No. 4, but the Eagles came right back to knot things up at 3-3 as Viki Hazmukova (Skvorec, Czechia/Skoly Brezova) battled her way to a three-set victory, 2-6, 7-5, 7-5, at the No. 1 spot. With the team result in the balance, Daniella Shved (Holon, Israel/Ort Holon) played a marathon match and battled to the very end but was unable to secure the win as she fell, 7-6(3), 6-7(3), 7-6(6) at No. 2.

Match Notes
» The Eagles have now played in 207 one-point matches, holding a 109-98 all-time record in those contests and a 61-53 record when the match is played on the road.
» In one-point decisions, the Eagles are now 42-45 all-time against MAC foes and 23-22 when the match is played on the road.

Up Next
The Eagles return to action Sunday, March 23, when they play host to the Ball State University in a 1 p.m. match at the Chippewa Club in Ypsilanti, Mich.

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Stay up to date with EMU tennis by following the team on its social media channels. The team can be found on Instagram (@emu_tennis), X (@EMUEaglesTennis), and Facebook (EMUTennis).

Western Michigan def. Eastern Michigan, 4-3
Singles
#1: Viki Hazmukova (EM) def. Lola Glantz, 2-6, 7-5, 7-5
#2: Christine Gouws (WM) def. Daniella Shved, 7-6(3), 6-7(3), 7-6(6)
#3: Prerna Vichare (EM) def. Frida Weijerman, 6-4, 6-3
#4: Marielou Baudouin (WM) def. Kseniia Saenko, 6-3, 5-7, 6-2
#5: Marta Komar (EM) def. Audrey Smitek, 1-6, 6-4, 6-2
#6: Julia Frazier (WM) def. Lara Diaz Zayas, 6-1, 6-4
Order of Finish: 6, 3, 5, 4, 1, 2

Doubles
#1: Sabina Brichackova / P. Vichare (EM) vs. L. Glantz / A. Smitek (WM), 5-5, unfinished
#2: M. Baudouin / C. Gouws (WM) def. V. Hazmukova / M. Komar, 6-4
#3: Polina Khotko / F. Weijerman (WM) def. L. Diaz Zayas / D. Shved, 6-2
Order of Finish: 3, 2

Next Event

Team Stats

Players Mentioned

Sabina Brichackova

Lara Diaz Zayas

Viki Hazmukova

Marta Komar

Kseniia Saenko

Daniella Shved

Prerna Vichare