Eastern Michigan Athletics
Friday, January 23
Youngstown, OH
11 a.m.
Eastern Michigan University
4
at
3
Youngstown State
Photo by: Steve King/KingStudios
Eagles Grab Tough 4-3 Road Win at YSU to Improve to 4-0
1/23/2026 4:03:00 PM | Tennis
Eastern jumped out to a 3-0 lead on its way to staying perfect on the year
YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio (EMUEagles.com) -- The Eastern Michigan University tennis team captured the doubles point and built a 3-0 lead on its way to capturing a 4-3 victory Friday, Jan. 23, over Youngstown State University inside the YSU Indoor Tennis Center in Youngstown, Ohio. With the win, the Eagles improved to 4-0 on the year while the Penguins fell to 0-2.
"[I am] really proud of this team," Head Coach Ryan Kucera said following the victory. "This is a super tough place to play. They run a great program and are consistently in the NCAA tournament for a reason. We played our best doubles point of the year so far. I'm really proud of how the girls committed to the things that we emphasized and executed at a high level. From there, we really had to hang on and be tough because they certainly didn't go anywhere. I'm especially proud of the girls who lost their first sets for fighting back and trying to keep points off the board for as long as possible. Pehal had to be incredibly tough late in the third set to get us over the hump. We know we need to get better at these moments and that's why we play these matches. I am super excited to keep growing with this group."
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Eagles jumped out an early 1-0 lead as they captured the doubles point as they captured the doubles point for the fourth time in four matches this season. The No. 3 duo of Iva Daneva (Kavadarci, North Macedonia/DSU Sportska Akademija) and Regina Mendez Carreño (Los Cabos, Mexico/Picacho McGregor) joined forces for a 6-0 win to get things started before the No. 1 squad of Lara Diaz Zayas (Mar de Ajo, Argentina/SEADEA) and Cylova Zuleyka Hukmasabiyya (Serang, Indonesia/SMAN 2 Kota Serang) captured the point with their 6-2 win. The team of Matilde Parreira (Leiria, Portugal/Escola Secundária Afonso Lopes) and Sabrina Tolstova (Odesa, Ukraine/Tennisquick Los Cristianos) saw their No. 2 match go unfinished with the Eagles trailing, 4-3.
Eastern increased its lead to 3-0 quickly as Zuleyka Hukmasabiyya scored a 6-0, 6-2 win at No. 2 before Parreira added a 6-1, 6-3 win at No. 6. After the Penguins notched their first point of the match with a win at No. 1, the Eagles secured the victory as Pehal () won at No. 4, 4-6, 6-1, 7-5, to make it 4-1. Kharadkar, who captured her third consecutive match in which she secured the team-win-clinching point, came back from one set down to secure the win. With the team win in hand, the Penguins took wins in the final two matches to close the match with the Eagles on top, 4-3.
NOTING SINGLES PLAY
» Pehal Kharadkar secured the team victory with her win at No. 4 singles. It marked the third time this season and the third consecutive match in which the freshman scored the winning point for the team.
» Cylova Zuleyka Hukmasabiyya won her match at No. 2, 6-0, 6-2, dropping just two games in the victory. The freshman is 3-0 in singles play this spring and has conceded only seven total games as she added wins of 6-2, 6-1 and 6-2, 6-0 in the first matches of the season.
» Matilde Parreira moved to 3-0 in spring action as she and Zuleyka Hukmasabiyya are tied with 3-0 records this year behind Kharadkar's 4-0 mark in spring singles.
NOTING DOUBLES PLAY
» The Eagles captured the doubles point for the fourth time in four matches this year.
» The team of Lara Diaz Zayas and Cylova Zuleyka Hukmasabiyya combined to win their match at No. 1, 6-2, to secure the doubles point for Eastern. The team has won three consecutive matches since dropping its first dual of the season.
» Iva Daneva and Regina Mendez Carreño combined to capture a 6-0 victory at No. 3 to get the match started.
NOTING THE TEAM
» With the win, the Eagles improved to 4-0 while the Penguins fell to 0-2 on the year.
» Eastern moved to 6-2 all-time against Youngstown State and leveled its record to 2-2 when playing in Youngstown, Ohio.
» The Eagles are off to a 4-0 start for just the fifth time in program history and for first time since starting 6-0 in the 2002-03 season.
» The win extended the Eagles' current winning streak to seven consecutive matches that includes the final three contests of the 2025 season coupled with the first four this year. It is the longest win streak for the team since the 2017-18 campaign when EMU secured nine consecutive victories.
» Eastern is now 3-0 on the road this year, marking the seventh time in program history the Eagles have opened a campaign with at least three consecutive wins away from home. It also is the first time since the 2002-03 season the feat has been accomplished as the Eagles started 6-0 on the road that season.
» The Eagles' win improved the program's all-time record to 549-467, leaving the team one win away from its 550th victory.
Up Next
Eastern returns to action tomorrow, Saturday, Jan. 24, in a noon contest with St. Francis University. The Eagles and Red Flashes will meet inside the Edensburg Tennis Center in Edensburg, Pa.
Follow Us
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).
Eastern Michigan def. Youngstown State, 4-3
Singles
#1: Hanna Telzynska (YS) def. Lara Diaz Zayas, 6-2, 6-2
#2: Cylova Zuleyka Hukmasabiyya (EM) def. Yeseniia Ovcharova, 6-0, 6-2
#3: Lorena Cedeno (YS) def. Sabrina Tolstova, 6-2, 1-6, 6-4
#4: Pehal Kharadkar (EM) def. Yoana Dudova, 4-6, 6-1, 7-5
#5: Line Greyling (YS) def. Regina Mendez Carreño, 5-7, 7-6(4), 7-6(2)
#6: Matilde Parreira (EM) def. Lydia Foster, 6-1, 6-3
Order of Finish: 2, 6, 1, 4, 3, 5
Doubles
#1: Lara Diaz Zayaz/Cylova Zuleyka Hukmasabiyya (EM) def. Line Greyling/Yeseniia Ovcharova, 6-2
#2: Matilde Parreira/Sabrina Tolstova (EM) trailed Yoana Dudova/Hanna Telzynska (YS), 4-3 abandoned
#3: Iva Daneva/Regina Mendez Carreño (EM) def. Lorena Cedeno/Lydia Foster, 6-0
Order of Finish: 3, 1
"[I am] really proud of this team," Head Coach Ryan Kucera said following the victory. "This is a super tough place to play. They run a great program and are consistently in the NCAA tournament for a reason. We played our best doubles point of the year so far. I'm really proud of how the girls committed to the things that we emphasized and executed at a high level. From there, we really had to hang on and be tough because they certainly didn't go anywhere. I'm especially proud of the girls who lost their first sets for fighting back and trying to keep points off the board for as long as possible. Pehal had to be incredibly tough late in the third set to get us over the hump. We know we need to get better at these moments and that's why we play these matches. I am super excited to keep growing with this group."
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Eagles jumped out an early 1-0 lead as they captured the doubles point as they captured the doubles point for the fourth time in four matches this season. The No. 3 duo of Iva Daneva (Kavadarci, North Macedonia/DSU Sportska Akademija) and Regina Mendez Carreño (Los Cabos, Mexico/Picacho McGregor) joined forces for a 6-0 win to get things started before the No. 1 squad of Lara Diaz Zayas (Mar de Ajo, Argentina/SEADEA) and Cylova Zuleyka Hukmasabiyya (Serang, Indonesia/SMAN 2 Kota Serang) captured the point with their 6-2 win. The team of Matilde Parreira (Leiria, Portugal/Escola Secundária Afonso Lopes) and Sabrina Tolstova (Odesa, Ukraine/Tennisquick Los Cristianos) saw their No. 2 match go unfinished with the Eagles trailing, 4-3.
Eastern increased its lead to 3-0 quickly as Zuleyka Hukmasabiyya scored a 6-0, 6-2 win at No. 2 before Parreira added a 6-1, 6-3 win at No. 6. After the Penguins notched their first point of the match with a win at No. 1, the Eagles secured the victory as Pehal () won at No. 4, 4-6, 6-1, 7-5, to make it 4-1. Kharadkar, who captured her third consecutive match in which she secured the team-win-clinching point, came back from one set down to secure the win. With the team win in hand, the Penguins took wins in the final two matches to close the match with the Eagles on top, 4-3.
NOTING SINGLES PLAY
» Pehal Kharadkar secured the team victory with her win at No. 4 singles. It marked the third time this season and the third consecutive match in which the freshman scored the winning point for the team.
» Cylova Zuleyka Hukmasabiyya won her match at No. 2, 6-0, 6-2, dropping just two games in the victory. The freshman is 3-0 in singles play this spring and has conceded only seven total games as she added wins of 6-2, 6-1 and 6-2, 6-0 in the first matches of the season.
» Matilde Parreira moved to 3-0 in spring action as she and Zuleyka Hukmasabiyya are tied with 3-0 records this year behind Kharadkar's 4-0 mark in spring singles.
NOTING DOUBLES PLAY
» The Eagles captured the doubles point for the fourth time in four matches this year.
» The team of Lara Diaz Zayas and Cylova Zuleyka Hukmasabiyya combined to win their match at No. 1, 6-2, to secure the doubles point for Eastern. The team has won three consecutive matches since dropping its first dual of the season.
» Iva Daneva and Regina Mendez Carreño combined to capture a 6-0 victory at No. 3 to get the match started.
NOTING THE TEAM
» With the win, the Eagles improved to 4-0 while the Penguins fell to 0-2 on the year.
» Eastern moved to 6-2 all-time against Youngstown State and leveled its record to 2-2 when playing in Youngstown, Ohio.
» The Eagles are off to a 4-0 start for just the fifth time in program history and for first time since starting 6-0 in the 2002-03 season.
» The win extended the Eagles' current winning streak to seven consecutive matches that includes the final three contests of the 2025 season coupled with the first four this year. It is the longest win streak for the team since the 2017-18 campaign when EMU secured nine consecutive victories.
» Eastern is now 3-0 on the road this year, marking the seventh time in program history the Eagles have opened a campaign with at least three consecutive wins away from home. It also is the first time since the 2002-03 season the feat has been accomplished as the Eagles started 6-0 on the road that season.
» The Eagles' win improved the program's all-time record to 549-467, leaving the team one win away from its 550th victory.
Up Next
Eastern returns to action tomorrow, Saturday, Jan. 24, in a noon contest with St. Francis University. The Eagles and Red Flashes will meet inside the Edensburg Tennis Center in Edensburg, Pa.
Follow Us
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).
Eastern Michigan def. Youngstown State, 4-3
Singles
#1: Hanna Telzynska (YS) def. Lara Diaz Zayas, 6-2, 6-2
#2: Cylova Zuleyka Hukmasabiyya (EM) def. Yeseniia Ovcharova, 6-0, 6-2
#3: Lorena Cedeno (YS) def. Sabrina Tolstova, 6-2, 1-6, 6-4
#4: Pehal Kharadkar (EM) def. Yoana Dudova, 4-6, 6-1, 7-5
#5: Line Greyling (YS) def. Regina Mendez Carreño, 5-7, 7-6(4), 7-6(2)
#6: Matilde Parreira (EM) def. Lydia Foster, 6-1, 6-3
Order of Finish: 2, 6, 1, 4, 3, 5
Doubles
#1: Lara Diaz Zayaz/Cylova Zuleyka Hukmasabiyya (EM) def. Line Greyling/Yeseniia Ovcharova, 6-2
#2: Matilde Parreira/Sabrina Tolstova (EM) trailed Yoana Dudova/Hanna Telzynska (YS), 4-3 abandoned
#3: Iva Daneva/Regina Mendez Carreño (EM) def. Lorena Cedeno/Lydia Foster, 6-0
Order of Finish: 3, 1
Team Stats
#1 Doubles Match
#2 Doubles Match
#3 Doubles Match
Order of Finish:
3,1
#1 Singles Match
12
22
Telzynska, Hanna / 0 [YSU]
66
#2 Singles Match
12
66
Ovcharova, Yeseniia / 0 [YSU]
02
#3 Singles Match
123
264
Cedeno, Lorena / 0 [YSU]
616
#4 Singles Match
123
467
Dudova, Yoana / 0 [YSU]
615
#5 Singles Match
123
766
Greyling, Line / 0 [YSU]
577
#6 Singles Match
12
66
Foster, Lydia / 0 [YSU]
13
Order of Finish:
2,6,1,4,3,5
Players Mentioned
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