Tennis Welcomes Chicago State to Town Saturday

Spring Dual #12 - vs. CHICAGO STATE
Date	Saturday, March 8, 2025 \| 1 p.m.
Venue	Chippewa Club \| Ypsilanti
Preview Info	EMU Notes (pdf)
Live	n/a
Social Media	X: @EMUEaglesTennis \| Instagram: @EMU_Tennis

YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) -- The Eastern Michigan University tennis team is back in action at home this weekend as the Eagles will play host to Chicago State University in a 1 p.m. match inside the Chippewa Club in Ypsilanti, Saturday, March. 8. The Eagles (5-6) will play their penultimate non-conference match when the Cougars (0-4) come to town with Mid-American Conference play slated to begin March 16.

FIRST SERVES
» Eastern dropped both of its matches on its California road trip with the Eagles falling at UC San Diego, 5-2 (Feb. 26), and at UC Riverside, 4-3 (Feb. 27).
» Sabina Brichackova won both of her singles matches in California to bring her career total to 54, leaving her three away from tying Victoria Domina (2003-05) for 20th on the program's all-time singles wins list with 57.
» Both Sabina Brichackova (55) and Prerna Vichare (53) are closing in on the program's all-time top 20 for doubles victories as the duo needs one and three wins, respectively, to tie Miriam Westerink (2008-12) and Avi Gogvadze (2014-18) for 19th on the ledger with 56 wins.
» The Eagles are 6-for-11 in claiming the doubles point this season. EMU claimed 13-of-23 last year, one season removed from earning the point just four times. All told, the Eagles have won 55.9 percent (19-of-34) doubles points under Ryan Kucera.
» Despite not winning the doubles point in either match, Lara Diaz Zayas was a perfect 2-0 in doubles play in California as she combined with Danielle Shved to win at No. 3 against UC San Diego before joining forces with Regina Mendez to take down UC Riverside at No. 3.
» The 2025 MAC Preseason Coaches Poll was released Jan. 7 with the Eagles voted to finish third with 35 points while Miami (48) and Toledo (38) were ranked ahead of EMU. Eastern was voted to finish fourth one year ago and did so to earn its first MAC Tournament appearance since 2018.
» The Eagles' 2024-25 roster features 10 players, including six returnees and four newcomers. In total, nine different nations are represented on the roster, including the U.S., Argentina, Czechia, India, Israel, Mexico, North Macedonia, Poland, and Russia.
» Ryan Kucera returns for his second season as the team's head coach and will look to guide the team to the MAC Tournament for the second year in a row, which would mark the first time it has happened since the 2014 and 2015 tournaments.
» Players are not the only addition to the roster this year as the coaching staff has added both Masha Polishchuk and Andrew Dobbs. Polishchuk, a MAC champion during her playing career at Ball State, will serve as a graduate assistant coach while Dobbs will serve as an undergraduate assistant.

CHANGING IT UP
The Eagles were originally set to play UIC this weekend, but a scheduling conflict forced the swap of one Chicago team for another.

KNOW THE FOE: CHICAGO STATE
The Cougars enter the week with a 0-4 record and have been swept in all four matches ahead of their 10:30 a.m. visit to St. Louis (Thursday, March 6). CSU opened with a 6-0 loss at Indiana before falling twice in a home doubleheader by scores of 4-0 to Illinois and 4-0 to Western Michigan. The Cougars' most recent match was a 7-0 loss to visiting Western Illinois, March 2.

IN THE SERIES: CHICAGO STATE
The all-time series between the Eagles and Cougars is tied at 2-2 with Chicago State's 4-3 win, Feb. 10, 2023, in Chicago evening the series. The two teams played for the first time Oct. 26, 1990, with the Eagles taking a 9-0 home win before traveling to Chicago and dropping a 6-2 score, Octo. 4, 1991. The series resumed in Ypsilanti, March 11, 2017, with EMU taking a 6-1 win before falling in the most recent meeting.

THE LAST TIME VS. CHICAGO STATE
The two teams last met Feb. 10, 2023, in Chicago with the Cougars taking a 4-3 win. CSU took the doubles point for a 1-0 lead before Sabina Brichackova won her match at No. 4 singles to tie things at 1-1. Prerna Vichare followed with a win at No. 2 before the hosts tied the score (2-2) with a win at No. 1. Wendy Zhang claimed a win at No. 3 to put EMU ahead, 3-2, but the Cougars would take the team victory with three-set wins at both No. 6 and No. 5.

LOOKING BACK: CALIFORNIA TRIP
Eastern dropped a pair of matches - their first on outdoor courts this season- on their road trip to southern California last week, falling, 5-2, at UC San Diego (Feb. 26) before dropping a 4-3 decision at UC Riverside (Feb. 27). In the first dual, Sabina Brichackova (No. 4) and Marta Komar (No. 5) claimed singles wins while Lara Diaz Zayas and Daniella Shved combined to win at No. 3 doubles. Against the Highlanders, Diaz Zayas and Regina Mendez combined to win at No. 3 doubles before Prerna Vichare (No. 2), Brichackova (No. 3), and Mendez (No. 6) each claimed wins in the 4-3 loss.

MAKING THE CLIMB
Sabina Brichackova has continued to pile up wins for the Eagles as the senior has 109 combined victories to her credit, including 54 in singles and 55 in doubles. Her singles total leaves her three away from tying Victoria Domina (2003-05) for 20th on the program's career list while her doubles total is one away from equaling the 56 wins put by both Miriam Westerink (2008-12) and Avi Gogvadze (2014-18).

IN A CLINCH
Viki Hazmukova has been the closer for the Eagles this season as she has won the clinching point for the team twice in three wins with both coming at the No. 2 singles position. Additionally, of the six doubles points won, Hazmukova has been part of four winning teams, pairing with Marta Komar twice and once each with Sabina Brichackova and Iva Daneva.

POINTING IT OUT
During the 2022-23 season, the Eagles won the doubles point just four times in 15 duals (26.7 percent). With Ryan Kucera taking over last year, the 2023-24 squad won 13 doubles points in 23 duals (56.5 percent). Of those 13 wins, five each were secured at the No. 1 and No. 3 positions with the remaining three secured at No. 2. Through the dual at Michigan State (Feb. 2), the Eagles are 6-of-11 in doubles points with four coming at the No. 2 spot and one each at No. 1 and No. 3.

ENDING A DROUGHT?
The goal every year is to win the MAC Tournament and earn a berth into the NCAA Tournament. The last time the Eagles were able to do so came in 2001 when they swept through the MAC Tournament hosted by Marshall with wins over Ball State (4-1), Western Michigan (4-2), and the host Thundering Herd (4-3). EMU advanced to the NCAA First Round where they fell at No. 8 Notre Dame, 0-4.

PRESEASON PROGNOSTICATIONS
The 2025 MAC Preseason Coaches Poll was released Jan. 7 with the Eagles earning 35 points to rank third on the list behind Miami (48 points) and Toledo (38). The remaining rankings, which are based upon votes from the league's coaches, were Northern Illinois (30) in fourth, Ball State (35) fifth, Buffalo (23) sixth, Western Michigan (14) seventh, and Bowling Green (seven) eighth. Additionally, the coaches cast votes on who would win the MAC Tournament, which is slated for April 24-25 in Toledo, Ohio, with Miami earning five votes while EMU, Buffalo, and Toledo each earned one. In Ryan Kucera's first season with the Eagles (2023-24), Eastern was voted tied for fourth in the preseason before finishing fourth and earning a berth in the MAC Tournament for the first time since 2018. EMU dropped a 4-3 decision to host Toledo in the semifinals.

LOOKING TO REPEAT
Last year, the Eagles finished fourth in the conference standings to earn the fourth and final position in the MAC Tournament, the team's first appearance in the conference event since the 2018 championships. Should Eastern return to the tournament this year, it would mark the first time the Eagles have qualified for the MAC Tournament in back-to-back seasons since earning berths in the 2014 and 2015 events. Eastern lost to Miami, 4-2, in the final of the 2014 event before falling to the RedHawks, 4-1, in the semifinals one year later.

HITTING THE CENTURY MARK
Sabina Brichackova captured two wins at the MAC Fall Individuals in Hamilton, Ohio, Oct. 24-27, to record the 99th and 100th combined wins of her career. The senior is the first to reach 100 wins in a career since the 2017-18 season when both Ani Gogvadze (117) and Andrea Matrinovska (111) capped their careers in Ypsilanti.

UP THE LADDER
Sabina Brichackova and doubles partner Prerna Vichare have continued to do well in doubles play as each player has accrued 52 career wins with Vichare securing hers against Oakland (Feb. 1). Currently, Miriam Westerink (2008-12) and Avi Gogvadze (2014-18) are tied for 19th with 56 wins, meaning Brichackova and Vichare are four wins from joining the all-time top 20.

ON THE HORIZON
Eastern Michigan will play a pair of matches next weekend as the Eagles both close out their non-conference schedule and open their Mid-American Conference slate. The Eagles will first play host to Saginaw Valley State University, March 14, in a 1 p.m. dual at the Chippewa Club before traveling to DeKalb, Ill., March 16, for a 2 p.m. ET MAC opener with Northern Illinois University.

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.

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Sabina Brichackova

Iva Daneva

Lara Diaz Zayas

Viki Hazmukova

Marta Komar

Regina Mendez Carreño

Daniella Shved

Prerna Vichare

Wendy Zhang

Eastern Michigan Athletics