Eastern Michigan Athletics
Tennis Places Four on Academic All-MAC List
5/16/2025 11:07:00 AM | Tennis
Brichackova & Vichare each earned their third academic accolade from the MAC
CLEVELAND, Ohio (EMUEagles.com) -- The Mid-American Conference announced its annual Academic All-MAC team for tennis with Eastern Michigan University placing four student-athletes on the list, including Sabina Brichackova, Regina Mendez, Kseniia Saenko, and Prerna Vichare, the league announced, May 16. A total of 27 student-athletes from around the conference were honored by maintaining at least a 3.2 grade-point average and competing in at least 50 percent of the team's competitions with players in their first year at an institution (freshmen and transfers) being ineligible for the award.
With the honors earned, Brichackova (Cheb, Czechia/Gymnázium Jana Blahoslava) and Vichare (Mumbai, India/Narsee Monjee College of Commerce and Economics) became the third and fourth Eagles, respectively, to earn three academic awards from the league, joining Andrea Martinovska (2016-18) and Klara Supejova (2014-16) as the only Eagles to garner a trio of accolades. Mendez (Los Cabos, Mexico/Picacho McGregor) and Saenko (Voronezh, Russia/Gymnasium 2) earned their first academic honor from the MAC to become the 34th and 35th different players, respectively, to do so. All told, the program has collected 54 Academic All-MAC honors since 1987.
Brichackova capped her collegiate career by posting an 11-11 mark in singles play and an 18-9 record in doubles action that included a runner-up finish at the 2024 MAC Individual Championships as she and partner Vichare took second in doubles. Playing primarily at No. 1 doubles, Brichackova was 11-3 in that position, including a 6-1 record against MAC foes, to bring her career total to 62 victories, the 16th-most in program history. With her 11 wins in singles play, she brought her career total to 57 and tied Victoria Domina (2003-05) for 20th on the all-time wins list in program history. All told, Brichackova, who had a hand in winning the clinching doubles point in 5-of-14 duals, closed her time at Eastern with 119 career wins, the 19th-highest total in program history.
Vichare, an All-MAC Second Team selection for the second time in her career after being selected for the honor as a freshman in 2022, put together another solid season for the Eagles on the courts. In her senior season, Vichare tallied a 12-5 record in singles play, including an 11-4 mark in duals and 6-2 in MAC matches, as she played at Nos. 1-4 during the season with most of her matches coming at No. 3, where she was 6-3. She also was one of the top doubles players on the team as she accumulated a 17-7 record, including 13-4 in duals and 6-1 in the MAC, and helped clinch a team-high four doubles points. Playing primarily at No. 1 doubles, Vichare posted an 11-3 record to bring her career total to 60 wins, the 19th-most in program history. Along with 40 career singles wins, Vichare capped her collegiate career with 100 combined wins.
Mendez made the most of her time on the court as she led the team with 12 victories, posting a 12-8 record that included an 8-3 mark in dual competition. She posted a 3-1 mark at No. 5 singles and a 4-2 record at No. 6 while clinching a team win from the No. 5 position once. Mendez also won four times in doubles, including perfect 1-0 marks at both No. 1 and No. 3 in dual play, to bring her season combined wins total to 16, which doubled her previous best of eight from the 2023-24 season.
Saenko was called upon to play several different positions in both singles and doubles and combined for 13 wins on the year, including seven in singles play and six in doubles. The sophomore played at least one singles match at No. 2-No. 6 and at least one doubles match at all three positions as she helped the Eagles to back-to-back 12-win seasons for the first time since 2001-02 and 2002-03. All told, she has captured 51 career wins at Eastern, including 29 in singles play.
The 2025 season has come to an end for the Eagles. Fans are encouraged to check EMUEagles.com and the team's social media handles on X (@EMUEaglesTennis) and Instagram (@EMU_Tennis) for periodic updates from the team.
2025 Women's Tennis Academic All-MAC Team
Eastern Michigan (4)
Sabina Brichackova, Senior, Sport Management, 3.72
Regina Mendez, Junior, Exercise Science, 3.46
Kseniia Saenko, Sophomore, Finance, 3.49
Prerna Vichare, Senior, International Business Management, 3.71
Ball State (3)
Ella Hazelbaker, Business Administration, 3.726
Sarah Shahbaz, International Business, 3.750
Isabel Tanjuatco, Professional Selling, 3.977
Bowling Green (3)
Leticia Fonseca, Sophomore, Exercise Science, 4.00
Hannah Neuman, Senior, Visual Communication Technology, 4.00
Lucy Furness, Senior, Economica, 4.00
Buffalo (4)
Esmee Andresen, Senior, Business Administration, 3.681
Deanne Choo, Junior, Exercise Science and Kinesiology, 3.473
Jagmeet Kaur, Graduate Student, Educational Psychology and Quantitative Methods, 4.0
Julia Laspro, Sophomore, Biomedical Science, 3.708
Northern Illinois (4)
Jenna Horne, Junior, Finance, 3.317
Nataly Ninova, Junior, Manufacturing Engineering Tech, 3.258
Isabella Righi, Junior, Biomedical Engineering, 3.865
Reagan Welch, Senior, Psychology, 4.0
Miami (5)
Catherine Denysiewicz-Slowek, Senior, Marketing, 3.82
Sarah Dev, Senior, Organizational Leadership, 3.62
Lauren Joyce, Sophomore, Marketing, 3.48
Nishitha Saravanan, Senior, Public Health/Premedical Studies, 3.25
Emilia Valentinsson, Senior, Finance, 3.54
Toledo (2)
Jone Ibanez, Sophomore, Bioengineering, 3.583
Gaby Rondon, Sophomore, Pre-Business, 3.667
Western Michigan (2)
Julia Frazier, Sophomore, Sport Management, 3.60
Audrey Smitek, Junior, Accountancy, 3.88
With the honors earned, Brichackova (Cheb, Czechia/Gymnázium Jana Blahoslava) and Vichare (Mumbai, India/Narsee Monjee College of Commerce and Economics) became the third and fourth Eagles, respectively, to earn three academic awards from the league, joining Andrea Martinovska (2016-18) and Klara Supejova (2014-16) as the only Eagles to garner a trio of accolades. Mendez (Los Cabos, Mexico/Picacho McGregor) and Saenko (Voronezh, Russia/Gymnasium 2) earned their first academic honor from the MAC to become the 34th and 35th different players, respectively, to do so. All told, the program has collected 54 Academic All-MAC honors since 1987.
Brichackova capped her collegiate career by posting an 11-11 mark in singles play and an 18-9 record in doubles action that included a runner-up finish at the 2024 MAC Individual Championships as she and partner Vichare took second in doubles. Playing primarily at No. 1 doubles, Brichackova was 11-3 in that position, including a 6-1 record against MAC foes, to bring her career total to 62 victories, the 16th-most in program history. With her 11 wins in singles play, she brought her career total to 57 and tied Victoria Domina (2003-05) for 20th on the all-time wins list in program history. All told, Brichackova, who had a hand in winning the clinching doubles point in 5-of-14 duals, closed her time at Eastern with 119 career wins, the 19th-highest total in program history.
Vichare, an All-MAC Second Team selection for the second time in her career after being selected for the honor as a freshman in 2022, put together another solid season for the Eagles on the courts. In her senior season, Vichare tallied a 12-5 record in singles play, including an 11-4 mark in duals and 6-2 in MAC matches, as she played at Nos. 1-4 during the season with most of her matches coming at No. 3, where she was 6-3. She also was one of the top doubles players on the team as she accumulated a 17-7 record, including 13-4 in duals and 6-1 in the MAC, and helped clinch a team-high four doubles points. Playing primarily at No. 1 doubles, Vichare posted an 11-3 record to bring her career total to 60 wins, the 19th-most in program history. Along with 40 career singles wins, Vichare capped her collegiate career with 100 combined wins.
Mendez made the most of her time on the court as she led the team with 12 victories, posting a 12-8 record that included an 8-3 mark in dual competition. She posted a 3-1 mark at No. 5 singles and a 4-2 record at No. 6 while clinching a team win from the No. 5 position once. Mendez also won four times in doubles, including perfect 1-0 marks at both No. 1 and No. 3 in dual play, to bring her season combined wins total to 16, which doubled her previous best of eight from the 2023-24 season.
Saenko was called upon to play several different positions in both singles and doubles and combined for 13 wins on the year, including seven in singles play and six in doubles. The sophomore played at least one singles match at No. 2-No. 6 and at least one doubles match at all three positions as she helped the Eagles to back-to-back 12-win seasons for the first time since 2001-02 and 2002-03. All told, she has captured 51 career wins at Eastern, including 29 in singles play.
The 2025 season has come to an end for the Eagles. Fans are encouraged to check EMUEagles.com and the team's social media handles on X (@EMUEaglesTennis) and Instagram (@EMU_Tennis) for periodic updates from the team.
2025 Women's Tennis Academic All-MAC Team
Eastern Michigan (4)
Sabina Brichackova, Senior, Sport Management, 3.72
Regina Mendez, Junior, Exercise Science, 3.46
Kseniia Saenko, Sophomore, Finance, 3.49
Prerna Vichare, Senior, International Business Management, 3.71
Ball State (3)
Ella Hazelbaker, Business Administration, 3.726
Sarah Shahbaz, International Business, 3.750
Isabel Tanjuatco, Professional Selling, 3.977
Bowling Green (3)
Leticia Fonseca, Sophomore, Exercise Science, 4.00
Hannah Neuman, Senior, Visual Communication Technology, 4.00
Lucy Furness, Senior, Economica, 4.00
Buffalo (4)
Esmee Andresen, Senior, Business Administration, 3.681
Deanne Choo, Junior, Exercise Science and Kinesiology, 3.473
Jagmeet Kaur, Graduate Student, Educational Psychology and Quantitative Methods, 4.0
Julia Laspro, Sophomore, Biomedical Science, 3.708
Northern Illinois (4)
Jenna Horne, Junior, Finance, 3.317
Nataly Ninova, Junior, Manufacturing Engineering Tech, 3.258
Isabella Righi, Junior, Biomedical Engineering, 3.865
Reagan Welch, Senior, Psychology, 4.0
Miami (5)
Catherine Denysiewicz-Slowek, Senior, Marketing, 3.82
Sarah Dev, Senior, Organizational Leadership, 3.62
Lauren Joyce, Sophomore, Marketing, 3.48
Nishitha Saravanan, Senior, Public Health/Premedical Studies, 3.25
Emilia Valentinsson, Senior, Finance, 3.54
Toledo (2)
Jone Ibanez, Sophomore, Bioengineering, 3.583
Gaby Rondon, Sophomore, Pre-Business, 3.667
Western Michigan (2)
Julia Frazier, Sophomore, Sport Management, 3.60
Audrey Smitek, Junior, Accountancy, 3.88
Players Mentioned
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