Tennis Heads to Illinois for ITA Midwest Event

2026 FALL TOURNAMENT #3 - ITA MIDWEST REGION
Date	Thursday-Monday, Oct. 8-12, 2026 \| 9 a.m. CT daily
Venue	Atkins Tennis Center \| Urbana, Ill.
Preview Info	EMU Notes (pdf)
Live	Draws & Results (ITA) \| Live Scoring (Illinois)
Social Media	X: @EMUEaglesTennis \| Instagram: @EMU_Tennis

URBANA, Ill. (EMUEagles.com) -- The Eastern Michigan University tennis team will travel to Urbana, Ill., and the Atkins Tennis Center this week to compete in the 2026 ITA Midwest Regional Championships, hosted by the University of Illinois, Oct. 8-12. The annual event, which is one of 13 regional competitions held throughout the United States, will crown one singles and one doubles champion that will advance to the NCAA Championships.

FIRST SERVES
» Eastern is set to play its third tournament of the fall season when it competes at the ITA Midwest Regional Championships this week. Matilde Parreira and Valentina Salek have both won a team-leading four matches this fall with Salek coming off a runner-up showing at the Spartan Invitational (Oct. 4).
» Along with the play of Matilde Parreira and Valentina Salek, two other Eagles posted a pair of wins at the Spartan Invitational with Lara Diaz Zayas (Flight D) and Kseniia Saenko (Flight E) both posting 2-1 records.
» Eastern players have been tough outs already this fall as 16-of-43 singles matches have gone to a deciding third set with the Eagles holding an 8-8 record, including a 7-5 mark in matches played at the Spartan Invitational. At the MSU event, all eight Eagles played at least one three-set match with Kseniia Saenko playing to a third set in all three of her matches as she went 2-1 on the weekend.
» Two players made their Eastern Michigan debuts in the EMU Hidden Duals (Sept. 25-26) as Maria Batinic and Valentina Salek both competed in singles and doubles action over the weekend. Batinic posted a 2-2 record as she was 1-1 in singles and 1-1 in doubles while Salek was 3-3 overall with a 2-1 record in singles and a 1-2 mark in doubles. Additionally, the event marked the first for Jeff Westmeyer as head coach of the Eagles and the first for his two assistants, Casey Smith and Elina Ivanova.
» Several first victories were recorded at the EMU Hidden Duals by Eastern players. Maria Batinic and Valentina Salek, who played at NCAA Division II Findlay last year, secured their first wins in singles and doubles with the team and as members of an NCAA Division I program while Pehal Kharadkar captured the first two doubles wins of her career in her second collegiate season with the Eagles.
» Matilde Parreira and Valentina Salek led the way in singles action at the EMU Hidden Duals as both recorded a pair of victories to open their seasons. Parreira won both of her matches in straight sets while Salek battled to a three-set victory in her debut (6-4, 1-6, 1-0(6)) before winning her second in straight sets.
» The 2026-27 season marks the 50th in the program's varsity history as Eastern has fielded a team every year since 1976-77 except for the 2017-18 campaign. The Eagles are 555-479 all-time and have captured two Mid-American Conference titles (1998 and 2001). The 4-2 win at St. Francis (Pa.), Jan. 24, 2026, stands as the 550th victory in program history.
» Jeff Westmeyer was hired over the summer as the program's 12th head coach and brings a wealth of success to town after leading both the women's and men's programs at Findlay, an NCAA Division II program in Ohio. During his time in Findlay, his women earn berths in the NCAA Midwest Region tournament all five years and won the regional title in 2026 before reaching the NCAA Elite 8. He also guided the team to five G-MAC titles while the men's program reached the NCAA Tournament in 2026 as well.

EVENT INFORMATION • ITA MIDWEST
The 2026 ITA Midwest Regional will be played on the outdoor courts of the Atkins Tennis Center on the Illinois campus in Urbana, Ill., Oct. 8-12. The tournament will feature players for 19 schools with two brackets of singles play and one doubles with the winner of the main draw in both singles and doubles earning a spot in the NCAA Championships. In singles play, some athletes will have to win two matches in the qualifying draw to advance to the main draw where six wins are needed to be crowned the regional champion. In doubles, on the main draw is used with six wins punching a ticket to nationals for the winning duo.

EVENT INFORMATION • SCHEDULE
Three brackets will be drawn in the regional competition including the qualifier and main draws in singles and the main draw for doubles. Here is the schedule of competition (all times Central):
» Thursday, Oct. 8 - 9 a.m. • Qualifying Singles (Rounds of 64 and 32)
» Friday, Oct. 9 - 9 a.m. • Doubles (Rounds of 64 and 32), Main Draw Singles (Round of 64)
» Saturday, Oct. 10 - 9 a.m. • Doubles (Round of 16), Main Draw Singles (Rounds of 32 and 16)
» Sunday, Oct. 11 - 9 a.m. • Doubles (Quarterfinals and Semifinals), Main Draw Singles (Quarters)
» Monday, Oct. 12 - 9 a.m. • Doubles (Final), Main Draw Singles (Semifinals and Final)

EVENT INFORMATION • THE DRAWS
The draws for the qualifying rounds of singles and the main draw of doubles will be released later on Oct. 7.

TEAMS ON THE COURT • ITA MIDWEST
The ITA Midwest Regional Championships will feature representatives from 19 schools throughout Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, and Wisconsin. The teams slated to compete this week include Bowling Green, Bradley, Chicago State, DePaul, Eastern Michigan, Illinois, Illinois State, Marquette, Michigan, Michigan State, Northern Illinois, Northwestern, Notre Dame, Ohio State, SIU-Edwardsville, UIC, Valparaiso, Western Michigan, and Wisconsin.

IN THE RANKINGS • NATIONAL
According to the ITA Tennis National Rankings released Aug. 25, the Midwest region is well represented in both the singles top 125 and the doubles top 90. In the singles rankings, Ohio State leads the way with five ranked individuals, including No. 3 Luciana Perry and No. 4 Teah Chavez, while Michigan has four ranked, including No. 6 Piper Charney. Additionally, Wisconsin and Notre Dame have one ranked each in No. 36 Ekaterina Ivanova and No. 46 Bianca Molnar, respectively. The doubles list features 11 ranked tandems, including four from Ohio State, led by No. 3 Perry and Flora Johnson, while both Wisconsin and Northwestern have two and Michigan, Notre Dame, and host Illinois have one each.

QUICK RECAP • SPARTAN INVITATIONAL
Eastern Michigan posted an 11-11 singles record at the Spartan Invitational, held Oct. 2-4 in East Lansing, Mich., with Valentina Salek leading the way as her 2-1 record earned her a runner-up finish in the Flight B singles competition. Along with Salek, three other Eagles finished with 2-1 singles records, including Lara Diaz Zayas, who took third place in Flight D, Matilde Parreira, who finished fifth in Flight D, and Kseniia Saenko, who went 2-1 in Flight E. In doubles, the Eagles went 3-6.

DEBUTS MADE
Two players saw their first action for the Eagles at the EMU Hidden Duals (Sept. 25-26) as transfers Maria Batinic and Valentina Salek both competed in singles and doubles action over the weekend. Batinic, who played the 2025-26 season at Findlay, posted a 2-2 record as she was 1-1 in singles and 1-1 in doubles while Salek, a three-year player at UF for Jeff Westmeyer, was 3-3 overall with a 2-1 record in singles and a 1-2 mark in doubles.

THAT'S A FIRST...
Three players earned the first victories with the Eagles at the EMU Hidden Duals (Sept. 25-26) including two transfers playing in their first matches for EMU and one returning player on the doubles courts. Transfers Maria Batinic and Valentina Salek, who played at NCAA Division II Findlay last year, secured their first wins in singles and doubles with the team and as members of an NCAA Division I program while Pehal Kharadkar captured the first two doubles wins of her career in her second season with the Eagles.

MULTIPLE WINS
At the season-opening EMU Hidden Duals (Sept. 25-26), two Eagles led the charge with a pair of wins in singles play as Matilde Parreira and Valentina Salek each went 2-1 on the weekend. Parreira won both of her matches in straight sets while Salek battled to a three-set victory in her debut (6-4, 1-6, 1-0(6)) before winning her second in straight sets.

MIXING IT UP
Jeff Westmeyer, in his first event leading the program, sent his Eagles to compete in 11 doubles matches over two days at the EMU Hidden Duals (Sept. 25-26) with head coach sending out eight different combinations to compete. The only teams that competed together multiple times were Lara Diaz Zayas and Kseniia Saenko, who went 2-0 together, and the team of Valentina Salek and Sabrina Tolstova, who were 1-2. Diaz Zayas and Saenko not only went 2-0 in doubles on the weekend, but they also only surrendered just five games total to their opponents. The duo won its opener with Bowling Green, 6-2, before downing its foes from Ferris State, 6-3, in the finale.

WELCOME BACK!
The 2026-27 roster features eight players with six returning from last year, including Iva Daneva, Lara Diaz Zayas, Pehal Kharadkar, Matilde Parreira, Kseniia Saenko, and Sabrina Tolstova. Saenko is entering her fourth year with the program and has combined to grab 52 career combined wins during her time with the Eagles while both Daneva and Diaz Zayas are back for their third years. The remaining three Eagles - Kharadkar, Parreira, and Tolstova - are back for their second seasons and combined to win 53-percent of the singles wins recorded last year while adding 45-percent of the doubles victories.

HELLO! MY NAME IS...
Eastern added a pair of players to its roster over the summer with both Maria Batinic and Valentina Salek transferring into the program after competing for Jeff Westmeyer at Findlay.
» Batinic enters her second collegiate season after a highly successful rookie campaign in 2025-26 with the Oilers. A native of nearby Rochester Hills, she captured 36 combined wins as she was 20-4 in singles play and 16-5 in doubles action. In singles play, the then-rookie went 16-3 in dual action, including 6-0 in G-MAC play, as she stood 4-2 at No. 1 singles and 12-1 at No. 2.
» Salek was a three-year member of the Findlay team under Westmeyer and combined to collect over 100 wins for the Oilers as she built a 53-17 mark in singles play and a 56-13 record in doubles. In singles, she played primarily at the No. 3 spot (25-4) and was also 10-2 at No. 4 and 7-5 at No. 2. She went 23-4 at the No. 2 doubles position in her three years as well.

NEW ELIGIBILITY MODEL
The 2026-27 academic year will feature the first seasons under the NCAA's new age-based eligibility model, which has been commonly referred to as the 'five-in-five' model. Under the new legislation, student-athletes will have five years to play five seasons with redshirts, medical hardships, and other waivers seeking additional years of competition being eliminated. Eastern Michigan student-athletes across all sports will be listed with a 'Y' number to indicate the year of eligibility they are currently competing. For example, Kseniia Saenko is listed as a Y-4, meaning she is in her fourth year and has two seasons (2026-27 and 2027-28) to compete while transfer Maria Batinic is a Y-2, meaning she is in her second year and has four seasons to compete (2026-27, 2027-28, 2028-29, and 2029-30).

TAKING THE HELM
Jeff Westmeyer was named the 12th head coach in program history over the summer and will look to take the Eagles to the heights his teams at Findlay reached over the past five years. While with the Oilers, Westmeyer's teams captured five G-MAC titles and advanced to the NCAA Midwest Region Tournament each season. Last year, his team went 22-2 and captured both the regular season and tournament titles in the G-MAC before winning the regional crown and advancing to the NCAA Division II Tournament where Findlay won in the first round before falling in the Elite Eight. In addition to his work with the women, Westmeyer was named the men's head coach last season as well and guided the team to the NCAA regional competition as well. Westmeyer enters the 2026-27 season with a career record of 100-35 as a women's collegiate head coach, including a 37-6 home record.

NO STRANGER TO THE MAC
During his time with Findlay, Jeff Westmeyer's Oilers played eight matches against NCAA Division I teams, including three members of the MAC in Bowling Green, Eastern Michigan, and Toledo. Westmeyer, who played for and earned his degree from BGSU and added another degree from Toledo (Master's), went 1-1 against the Falcons, 0-2 against the Eagles, and 0-1 against the Rockets. His teams were 3-0 against two other NCAA DI programs, including a 1-0 mark against Army and 2-0 against Bucknell. In addition to his time with BGSU and Toledo (assistant), he also served as an assistant coach at both Michigan State and Virginia.

HAPPY TO HELP
The coaching staff is rounded out by two newcomers this year in Casey Smith (assistant coach) and Elina Ivanova (graduate assistant). Smith played her collegiate tennis at Lewis University and recently served as a graduate assistant coach at Henderson State before coming to Ypsilanti. Ivanova is no stranger to Jeff Westmeyer as she competed for him at Findlay for four years before serving as a graduate assistant last year at Illinois-Springfield.

NIFTY 50
The 2026-27 season will mark the 50th varsity campaign for Eastern Michigan Tennis, which first competed as a varsity program in 1976-77 and has competed every year since then apart from the 2018-19 academic year when Eastern Michigan did not field a team. In the previous 49 years of play, EMU won 555 duals and secured two Mid-American Conference titles (1998 and 2001), finished as the MAC runner-up five times, and competed in the 2001 NCAA Tournament.

SCHEDULE SET • FALL
The first year of play under Jeff Westmeyer gets started this week as the Eagles will compete in five fall events, starting with the EMU Hidden Duals (Sept. 25-26). The remaining fall slate sees Eastern compete in the Michigan State Classic (Oct. 2-4), the ITA Midwest Regional Championships in Champaign, Ill. (Oct. 8-11), the MAC Individual Championships in Kalamazoo (Oct. 23-25), and the Spartan Invitational (Nov. 6-8) in East Lansing.

SCHEDULE SET • SPRING
Eastern is scheduled to play 21 duals in its spring season with nine coming on its home courts at the Chippewa Club. The Eagles will welcome Eastern Kentucky (Jan. 22), Ferris State (Jan. 24), Youngstown State (Feb. 20), Bowling Green (March 12), Oakland (March 14), Valparaiso (March 20), UMass (April 2), Ball State (April 9), and Miami (April 16) this year while playing on the road 12 times. Some of the road matches include intrastate foes Michigan State (Feb. 6) and Western Michigan (March 26) along with 'Power 4' opponents Purdue (Jan. 31) and Northwestern (Feb. 13). The dual season starts Jan. 16 with a road trip to Cleveland State.

MITTEN MATCHES
The 2027 spring schedule will see Eastern face four fellow Michigan schools with two each at home and on the road. The Eagles, who went 3-2 against the Mitten State last year, will play host to Ferris State (Jan. 24) and Oakland (Feb. 6) while playing on the road against both Michigan State (Feb. 6) and Western Michigan (March 26). Heading into the season, Eastern holds a record of 106-116 against intrastate opponents with a 39-24 record in sweeps and a 19-22 mark in matches decided by one point.

SEEING THE MIDWEST... AND BEYOND
Throughout the 2026-27 season, including fall tournaments and spring duals, Eastern will compete in matches in seven states with the possibility of more to be added in the postseason. In the fall, the Eagles will compete in Michigan four times, including once each in Ypsilanti and Kalamazoo and twice in East Lansing, and once in Illinois (Champaign). The spring will see Eastern play matches in Michigan, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, New York, Ohio, and Tennessee with Massachusetts to be added to the list should the Eagles qualify for the MAC Championships in Amherst, Mass.

HIGH REGARD
In the spring, the Eagles will meet several teams that held rankings in the final 2025-26 ITA National and Regional rankings. On a national scale, Northwestern finished the year at No. 60 while Michigan State was No. 66 in the final ITA Top 75. Regionally, EMU will face three teams that appeared in the final ITA Midwest Top 10, including No. 6 Northwestern, No. 7 Michigan State, and No. 9 Toledo while also facing off with teams from the ITA New England Top 10 in No. 6 UMass and No. 10 Buffalo and the ITA Ohio Valley Top 10 in No. 5 Xavier, No. 8 Purdue, and No. 10 Austin Peay. Of those matches, only the match with UMass will be played at home in Ypsilanti.

HOME TOUGH HOME
Over the past three seasons, the Chippewa Club has been a tough venue for visiting teams as the Eagles went 25-5, including a 2023-24 campaign that finished with an 11-0 record at home. In the previous six seasons prior (2016-17 through 2022-23), Eastern was 21-30 on its home courts. The Eagles will be home nine times in 2027 and will look to add to it strong home defense numbers.

ON THE HORIZON
Mid-American Conference titles will be on the line when the Eagles return to the courts as Eastern Michigan will travel across the state to Kalamazoo, Mich., to compete in the 2026 MAC Fall Individual Championships, Oct. 23-25. The three-day event, which will be used to crown the conference's singles and doubles champions, will be hosted by Western Michigan.

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.

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Players Mentioned

Maria Batinic

Iva Daneva

Lara Diaz Zayas

Pehal Kharadkar

Matilde Parreira

Kseniia Saenko

Valentina Salek

Sabrina Tolstova

Eastern Michigan Athletics