Eastern Michigan Athletics
Friday, March 13
Ypsilanti, Mich.
1 p.m.
Eastern Michigan University
vs
Northern Illinois
Photo by: Walt Middleton Photography
Tennis Opens MAC Play at Home Friday with NIU
3/11/2026 4:15:00 PM | Tennis
Eastern also will travel to face newcomer UMass Sunday morning
| Spring Dual #15 | vs. NORTHERN ILLINOIS | |
| Date | Friday, March 13 | 1 p.m. |
| Venue | Chippewa Club | Ypsilanti |
| Preview Info | EMU Notes | Media Guide |
| Live | Live Results |
| @EMUEaglesTennis | @EMUAthletics | |
| Spring Dual #16 | at UMASS | |
| Date | Sunday, March 415 | 11 a.m. |
| Venue | Bay Road Indoor Tennis Center | Amherst, Mass. |
| Preview Info | EMU Notes | Media Guide |
| Live | Watch |
| EMU_Tennis | EMUAthletics | |
YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) -- With its non-conference slate complete, the Eastern Michigan University tennis team is set to begin Mid-American Conference play this weekend as the Eagles will play host to Northern Illinois University before traveling to face the University of Massachusetts. The Eagles (9-5) and Huskies (14-3) will meet inside the Chippewa Club in Ypsilanti, Mich., Friday, March 13, in a 1 p.m. contest before the Eagles travel to take on the Minutewomen (8-3) inside the Bay Road Indoor Tennis Center in Amherst, Mass., Sunday, March 15.
COMING AND GOING
The first weekend of MAC play will see the Eagles face the one team that is departing the league at the end of the season and the one team that is new to the conference this year. Eastern will first take on the Northern Illinois Huskies, who are in their final season in the MAC before departing for the Horizon League this summer. The second half of the weekend will see the Eagles take on the Minutewomen of UMass, who are in their first season as full members of the MAC.
FIRST SERVES
» The Eagles are 9-5 and are coming off a pair of losses on the road in Florida last week as part of the team's Spring Break trip. Eastern opened with a 7-0 loss at Stetson (March 2) before falling at No. 55 North Florida (March 4), 6-1.
» Eastern is 24-19 in its first MAC match of the year but has lost its last five lid lifters. Additionally, the Eagles are 27-16 in their MAC home opener (won two consecutive) and 24-19 in its MAC road opener (lost nine consecutive).
» The Eagles, who are opening their league schedule at home for the first time in four years (March 20, 2022), are 2-2 all-time against NIU when the Huskies are the Eagles' first MAC foe of the season with the previous four matches all being played in DeKalb, Ill.
» Eastern is in its 49th varsity season in 2026 and, following its weekend split, is now 554-472 all-time. The 4-2 win at St. Francis (Pa.), Jan. 24, stands as the 550th victory in program history.
» Under Ryan Kucera, the Eagles have posted a 24-2 record at home, including an 11-0 mark in his debut season (2024), a 10-2 mark last year, and a 3-0 start in 2026. In the six seasons played ahead of Kucera's arrival, the Eagles were 21-30 at home.
» Eastern has been strong in doubles play under Ryan Kucera as they have won 58.3 percent (35-of-60) of the doubles points since the start of the 2024 season. The Eagles were 13-of-23 in 2024 before improving to 14-of-22 last year and have won 8-of-14 this year.
» In the three seasons Ryan Kucera has led the program, Eastern holds a record of 28-7 when it wins the doubles point and has won 10 consecutive matches when securing the point. Conversely, EMU is 5-20 when it does not win the point, including its 4-3 win at home over Bradley, Feb. 20.
» The 2025-26 Eastern Michigan roster features eight players from eight countries and four continents. Included on the roster are four returning Eagles in Iva Daneva, Lara Diaz Zayas, Regina Mendez Carreño, and Kseniia Saenko, and four newcomers in Pehal Kharadkar, Matilde Parreira, Sabrina Tolstova, and Cylova Zuleyka Hukmasabiyya.
» With the four freshmen included, the EMU roster boasts players from eight countries, including Argentina, India, Indonesia, Mexico, North Macedonia, Portugal, Russia, and Ukraine. All told, the Eagles are represented on four continents, including North America, South America, Europe, and Asia.
» Ryan Kucera returns for his third season as the head coach and will look to guide the team to the MAC Tournament for the second time. He has guided the team to back-to-back 12-win seasons for the first time since the 2002-03 and 2003-04 seasons when Tim Gray led the team to consecutive 16-win campaigns.
» Ryan Kucera ranks sixth all-time in wins by a head coach in program history with 33. The wins at DePaul (No. 31) and Butler (No. 32) pushed him ahead of Allison Tookes, who had 31 from 1991-95.
LAST TIME OUT: SPRING BREAK
The Eagles dropped a pair of matches on their Spring Break trip to Florida last week as Eastern fell at Stetson (March 2), 7-0, and at No. 55 North Florida (March 4), 6-1. Regina Mendez Carreño secured the lone point of the trip as she captured a straight-sets victory at No. 6 singles against the Ospreys. The doubles tandem of Matilde Parreira and Sabrina Tolstova nearly won two matches as they captured a win at No. 2 against the Hatters and were leading, 5-4, against UNF when the bout was abandoned.
OPENING MACTION
Eastern is 24-19 in its opening match of MAC play and has lost its last five openers, including a 5-2 setback at Northern Illinois (March 16, 2025). The Eagles have opened MAC play on the road in each of the past three years with their last lid lifter coming on their home courts resulting in a 5-2 loss to visiting Toledo, March 20, 2022. The last time Eastern won a MAC opener was March 23, 2018, in a 4-3 defeat of visiting Akron.
FIRST AT HOME
The match with the Huskies will mark just the 19th time Eastern has opened MAC play at home with the Eagles holding a 9-9 record with two consecutive losses, including a 5-2 loss to Toledo (March 20, 2022) and a 6-1 setback to Ball State (March 12, 2021). The meeting with NIU will mark the first time the Eagles have opened their MAC slate at home against NIU.
HOME COOKING
The Eagles are 27-16 in their MAC home opener and have won two consecutive matches, including a 4-3 decision over Ball State (March 23) last year and a 6-1 decision over the Cardinals in 2024 (March 22). A win over NIU would mark the program's longest winning streak in its MAC home opener (three) since the 1996-04 squads captured nine consecutive victories. Additionally, the match with NIU will mark the fifth time the Huskies have been the Eagles' first home MAC foe with Eastern sporting a 4-0 record, including a 7-0 decision in the most recent instances, April 1, 2011.
STOPPING A STREAK?
The Eagles are 24-19 all-time in their first MAC road contest and have dropped nine consecutive matches, including a 4-3 defeat at Western Michigan (March 21, 2025) last year. The last time EMU won its first MAC road match of the season was March 20, 2015, in a 4-3 victory at Akron.
COLLECTING WINS?
Eastern will play eight MAC contests this season and will look to match or improve upon its 6-4 record posted in each of the past two seasons. With six wins this season, the team would record at least six MAC victories in three consecutive seasons for the first time since 2001-02 through 2004-05 when the team posted MAC victory totals of nine (2001-02), eight (2002-03), seven (2003-04), and seven (2004-05).
HOME PROTECTION
Since taking over the program ahead of the 2023-24 season, the Eagles hold a 24-2 record at home under Ryan Kucera, a mark that included the Eagles going a perfect 11-0 at home in 2024, 10-2 last year, and 3-0 in 2026 following their 4-3 defeat of Bradley (Feb. 20). In the previous six seasons played ahead of Kucera's arrival, the Eagles were 21-30, including a 3-4 mark in the 2022-23 season. The win totals also rank as the highest (11) and second-highest (10) in single-season history for the program.
STRAIGHT TO THE (DOUBLES) POINT
Eastern has captured the doubles point in 8-of-14 matches (57.1 percent) played this season and has secured the point in 58.3 percent of matches played under Ryan Kucera (35-of-60) since the start of the 2024 season. Ahead of his arrival, the Eagles captured the point just four times (26.7 percent) in the 2022-23 season before winning the point 56.5 percent in 2024 (13-of-23) and 60.9 percent last year (14-of-23).
DOUBLES TALES
Since Ryan Kucera took over ahead of the 2023-24 season, doubles have been a key component to the team's success. In the 60 matches played, the Eagles have won the doubles point 35 times (58.3 percent) which has translated into a 28-7 record in the team match and wins in 10 consecutive team matches when winning the doubles point. Conversely, the Eagles are 5-20 when they don't win the doubles point, including the 4-3 win over Bradley at home, Feb. 20.
WHEN TWO IS ONE
Through the match at Butler (Feb. 14), the Eagles have captured the doubles point 8-of-14 times this year with the team of Matilde Parreira and Sabrina Tolstova adding the point-clinching win five times. The freshmen duo has clinched the point four times from the No. 2 position, including both matches over the weekend, while adding one at the No. 1 spot.
BRINGING IN THE CLOSER?
Following her clinching point at No. 5 singles against Bradley (Feb. 20), Matilde Parreira has been a closer of late for the Eagles as she clinched the deciding point in back-to-back matches, including the 5-2 victory at Butler (Feb. 14). Parreira and Pehal Kharadkar are tied for the team lead with three match-clinching points this year, but Parreira has a big lead when including doubles clinches as she holds eight combined wins in 2026 with doubles partner Sabrina Tolstova next in line with six.
ROOKIES ROCKING
The four freshmen added to the roster this year have made immediate impacts for the Eagles as they lead the team in singles wins and combined wins through the match played at No. 55 North Florida (March 4). Matilde Parreira leads the team in singles wins (13) and combined wins (25) while sitting tied for the lead in doubles victories with playing partner Sabrina Tolstova (12). Tolstova has also reached 21 combined wins in her rookie season as she has added nine singles wins. Cylova Zuleyka Hukmasabiyya and Pehel Kharadkar each have secured 11 singles wins as well with Zuleyka Hukmasabiyya closing in on 20 combined wins as she has tallied 19 total this year following her win at No. 1 doubles against the Braves. All told, the freshmen have tallied 44-of-59 wins in singles play this year.
KNOW THE FOE: NORTHERN ILLINOIS
The Huskies lead the MAC in wins with a 14-3 record and have won four consecutive matches, including a 7-0 decision over visiting Wisconsin Whitewater. NIU, who is 3-1 on the road this year, opened the season with a 7-0 loss to Wisconsin before downing Missouri, 4-3, for a win over a 'Power 4' team on opening weekend. The Eagles and Huskies share two common opponents in 2026 with the Eagles defeating Bradley (4-3) at home and Butler (5-2) on the road while the Huskies fell at Bradley (4-3) and defeated the Bulldogs at home (5-2).
IN THE SERIES: NORTHERN ILLINOIS
The Eagles are 35-13 all-time against the Huskies and hold a mark of 18-4 when hosting the match in Ypsilanti, including two consecutive home wins by 5-2 scores. NIU has held the advantage in the series since 2021 as the Huskies are 7-3 in the last 10 meetings. The series began in 1982 with Eastern winning its first of eight matches and added a 14-match winning streak (1998-09) to build its lead in the series.
THE LAST TIME VS. HUSKIES
Eastern swept the doubles matches for a 1-0 lead before winning matches at Nos. 1-4 singles to claim a 5-2 home win over Northern Illinois, April 11, 2025, at the Chippewa Club to halt a two-match slide against the Huskies, who entered the match 20-3 overall and 6-0 in MAC play. The Eagles captured three of the singles wins in straight sets with the fourth coming in three sets.
KNOW THE FOE: UMASS
The Minutewomen are 8-3 on the year and 4-1 in home matches with three consecutive wins, including a 4-0 sweep of visiting New Haven over the weekend. UMass, who hasn't played outside of New England with matches in Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, and Rhode Island, is entering its first weekend of MAC play (hosts Bowling Green, March 13) after 30 years in the Atlantic 10 that produced three conference championships and three appearances in the NCAA Tournament.
IN THE SERIES: UMASS
Eastern and UMass are meeting for the first time.
ROAD WINS
The loss at Michigan State (Feb. 1) also was the first of the year on the road for EMU, which halted their four-match winning streak away from home. The 4-0 start tied for the third-best road showing in program history with only the 2002-03 and 1983-84 teams starting better as both opened at 6-0. Eastern has rebounded since then with two wins for a 6-2 road record in 2025-26.
ON THE HORIZON
Eastern is back in action next week with a pair of matches against its two closest MAC foes as the Eagles will travel to Perrysburg, Ohio, to face Bowling Green State University at 1 p.m., March 20, before welcoming the University of Toledo to the Chippewa Club for a 1 p.m. match, March 22.
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.
COMING AND GOING
The first weekend of MAC play will see the Eagles face the one team that is departing the league at the end of the season and the one team that is new to the conference this year. Eastern will first take on the Northern Illinois Huskies, who are in their final season in the MAC before departing for the Horizon League this summer. The second half of the weekend will see the Eagles take on the Minutewomen of UMass, who are in their first season as full members of the MAC.
FIRST SERVES
» The Eagles are 9-5 and are coming off a pair of losses on the road in Florida last week as part of the team's Spring Break trip. Eastern opened with a 7-0 loss at Stetson (March 2) before falling at No. 55 North Florida (March 4), 6-1.
» Eastern is 24-19 in its first MAC match of the year but has lost its last five lid lifters. Additionally, the Eagles are 27-16 in their MAC home opener (won two consecutive) and 24-19 in its MAC road opener (lost nine consecutive).
» The Eagles, who are opening their league schedule at home for the first time in four years (March 20, 2022), are 2-2 all-time against NIU when the Huskies are the Eagles' first MAC foe of the season with the previous four matches all being played in DeKalb, Ill.
» Eastern is in its 49th varsity season in 2026 and, following its weekend split, is now 554-472 all-time. The 4-2 win at St. Francis (Pa.), Jan. 24, stands as the 550th victory in program history.
» Under Ryan Kucera, the Eagles have posted a 24-2 record at home, including an 11-0 mark in his debut season (2024), a 10-2 mark last year, and a 3-0 start in 2026. In the six seasons played ahead of Kucera's arrival, the Eagles were 21-30 at home.
» Eastern has been strong in doubles play under Ryan Kucera as they have won 58.3 percent (35-of-60) of the doubles points since the start of the 2024 season. The Eagles were 13-of-23 in 2024 before improving to 14-of-22 last year and have won 8-of-14 this year.
» In the three seasons Ryan Kucera has led the program, Eastern holds a record of 28-7 when it wins the doubles point and has won 10 consecutive matches when securing the point. Conversely, EMU is 5-20 when it does not win the point, including its 4-3 win at home over Bradley, Feb. 20.
» The 2025-26 Eastern Michigan roster features eight players from eight countries and four continents. Included on the roster are four returning Eagles in Iva Daneva, Lara Diaz Zayas, Regina Mendez Carreño, and Kseniia Saenko, and four newcomers in Pehal Kharadkar, Matilde Parreira, Sabrina Tolstova, and Cylova Zuleyka Hukmasabiyya.
» With the four freshmen included, the EMU roster boasts players from eight countries, including Argentina, India, Indonesia, Mexico, North Macedonia, Portugal, Russia, and Ukraine. All told, the Eagles are represented on four continents, including North America, South America, Europe, and Asia.
» Ryan Kucera returns for his third season as the head coach and will look to guide the team to the MAC Tournament for the second time. He has guided the team to back-to-back 12-win seasons for the first time since the 2002-03 and 2003-04 seasons when Tim Gray led the team to consecutive 16-win campaigns.
» Ryan Kucera ranks sixth all-time in wins by a head coach in program history with 33. The wins at DePaul (No. 31) and Butler (No. 32) pushed him ahead of Allison Tookes, who had 31 from 1991-95.
LAST TIME OUT: SPRING BREAK
The Eagles dropped a pair of matches on their Spring Break trip to Florida last week as Eastern fell at Stetson (March 2), 7-0, and at No. 55 North Florida (March 4), 6-1. Regina Mendez Carreño secured the lone point of the trip as she captured a straight-sets victory at No. 6 singles against the Ospreys. The doubles tandem of Matilde Parreira and Sabrina Tolstova nearly won two matches as they captured a win at No. 2 against the Hatters and were leading, 5-4, against UNF when the bout was abandoned.
OPENING MACTION
Eastern is 24-19 in its opening match of MAC play and has lost its last five openers, including a 5-2 setback at Northern Illinois (March 16, 2025). The Eagles have opened MAC play on the road in each of the past three years with their last lid lifter coming on their home courts resulting in a 5-2 loss to visiting Toledo, March 20, 2022. The last time Eastern won a MAC opener was March 23, 2018, in a 4-3 defeat of visiting Akron.
FIRST AT HOME
The match with the Huskies will mark just the 19th time Eastern has opened MAC play at home with the Eagles holding a 9-9 record with two consecutive losses, including a 5-2 loss to Toledo (March 20, 2022) and a 6-1 setback to Ball State (March 12, 2021). The meeting with NIU will mark the first time the Eagles have opened their MAC slate at home against NIU.
HOME COOKING
The Eagles are 27-16 in their MAC home opener and have won two consecutive matches, including a 4-3 decision over Ball State (March 23) last year and a 6-1 decision over the Cardinals in 2024 (March 22). A win over NIU would mark the program's longest winning streak in its MAC home opener (three) since the 1996-04 squads captured nine consecutive victories. Additionally, the match with NIU will mark the fifth time the Huskies have been the Eagles' first home MAC foe with Eastern sporting a 4-0 record, including a 7-0 decision in the most recent instances, April 1, 2011.
STOPPING A STREAK?
The Eagles are 24-19 all-time in their first MAC road contest and have dropped nine consecutive matches, including a 4-3 defeat at Western Michigan (March 21, 2025) last year. The last time EMU won its first MAC road match of the season was March 20, 2015, in a 4-3 victory at Akron.
COLLECTING WINS?
Eastern will play eight MAC contests this season and will look to match or improve upon its 6-4 record posted in each of the past two seasons. With six wins this season, the team would record at least six MAC victories in three consecutive seasons for the first time since 2001-02 through 2004-05 when the team posted MAC victory totals of nine (2001-02), eight (2002-03), seven (2003-04), and seven (2004-05).
HOME PROTECTION
Since taking over the program ahead of the 2023-24 season, the Eagles hold a 24-2 record at home under Ryan Kucera, a mark that included the Eagles going a perfect 11-0 at home in 2024, 10-2 last year, and 3-0 in 2026 following their 4-3 defeat of Bradley (Feb. 20). In the previous six seasons played ahead of Kucera's arrival, the Eagles were 21-30, including a 3-4 mark in the 2022-23 season. The win totals also rank as the highest (11) and second-highest (10) in single-season history for the program.
STRAIGHT TO THE (DOUBLES) POINT
Eastern has captured the doubles point in 8-of-14 matches (57.1 percent) played this season and has secured the point in 58.3 percent of matches played under Ryan Kucera (35-of-60) since the start of the 2024 season. Ahead of his arrival, the Eagles captured the point just four times (26.7 percent) in the 2022-23 season before winning the point 56.5 percent in 2024 (13-of-23) and 60.9 percent last year (14-of-23).
DOUBLES TALES
Since Ryan Kucera took over ahead of the 2023-24 season, doubles have been a key component to the team's success. In the 60 matches played, the Eagles have won the doubles point 35 times (58.3 percent) which has translated into a 28-7 record in the team match and wins in 10 consecutive team matches when winning the doubles point. Conversely, the Eagles are 5-20 when they don't win the doubles point, including the 4-3 win over Bradley at home, Feb. 20.
WHEN TWO IS ONE
Through the match at Butler (Feb. 14), the Eagles have captured the doubles point 8-of-14 times this year with the team of Matilde Parreira and Sabrina Tolstova adding the point-clinching win five times. The freshmen duo has clinched the point four times from the No. 2 position, including both matches over the weekend, while adding one at the No. 1 spot.
BRINGING IN THE CLOSER?
Following her clinching point at No. 5 singles against Bradley (Feb. 20), Matilde Parreira has been a closer of late for the Eagles as she clinched the deciding point in back-to-back matches, including the 5-2 victory at Butler (Feb. 14). Parreira and Pehal Kharadkar are tied for the team lead with three match-clinching points this year, but Parreira has a big lead when including doubles clinches as she holds eight combined wins in 2026 with doubles partner Sabrina Tolstova next in line with six.
ROOKIES ROCKING
The four freshmen added to the roster this year have made immediate impacts for the Eagles as they lead the team in singles wins and combined wins through the match played at No. 55 North Florida (March 4). Matilde Parreira leads the team in singles wins (13) and combined wins (25) while sitting tied for the lead in doubles victories with playing partner Sabrina Tolstova (12). Tolstova has also reached 21 combined wins in her rookie season as she has added nine singles wins. Cylova Zuleyka Hukmasabiyya and Pehel Kharadkar each have secured 11 singles wins as well with Zuleyka Hukmasabiyya closing in on 20 combined wins as she has tallied 19 total this year following her win at No. 1 doubles against the Braves. All told, the freshmen have tallied 44-of-59 wins in singles play this year.
KNOW THE FOE: NORTHERN ILLINOIS
The Huskies lead the MAC in wins with a 14-3 record and have won four consecutive matches, including a 7-0 decision over visiting Wisconsin Whitewater. NIU, who is 3-1 on the road this year, opened the season with a 7-0 loss to Wisconsin before downing Missouri, 4-3, for a win over a 'Power 4' team on opening weekend. The Eagles and Huskies share two common opponents in 2026 with the Eagles defeating Bradley (4-3) at home and Butler (5-2) on the road while the Huskies fell at Bradley (4-3) and defeated the Bulldogs at home (5-2).
IN THE SERIES: NORTHERN ILLINOIS
The Eagles are 35-13 all-time against the Huskies and hold a mark of 18-4 when hosting the match in Ypsilanti, including two consecutive home wins by 5-2 scores. NIU has held the advantage in the series since 2021 as the Huskies are 7-3 in the last 10 meetings. The series began in 1982 with Eastern winning its first of eight matches and added a 14-match winning streak (1998-09) to build its lead in the series.
THE LAST TIME VS. HUSKIES
Eastern swept the doubles matches for a 1-0 lead before winning matches at Nos. 1-4 singles to claim a 5-2 home win over Northern Illinois, April 11, 2025, at the Chippewa Club to halt a two-match slide against the Huskies, who entered the match 20-3 overall and 6-0 in MAC play. The Eagles captured three of the singles wins in straight sets with the fourth coming in three sets.
KNOW THE FOE: UMASS
The Minutewomen are 8-3 on the year and 4-1 in home matches with three consecutive wins, including a 4-0 sweep of visiting New Haven over the weekend. UMass, who hasn't played outside of New England with matches in Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, and Rhode Island, is entering its first weekend of MAC play (hosts Bowling Green, March 13) after 30 years in the Atlantic 10 that produced three conference championships and three appearances in the NCAA Tournament.
IN THE SERIES: UMASS
Eastern and UMass are meeting for the first time.
ROAD WINS
The loss at Michigan State (Feb. 1) also was the first of the year on the road for EMU, which halted their four-match winning streak away from home. The 4-0 start tied for the third-best road showing in program history with only the 2002-03 and 1983-84 teams starting better as both opened at 6-0. Eastern has rebounded since then with two wins for a 6-2 road record in 2025-26.
ON THE HORIZON
Eastern is back in action next week with a pair of matches against its two closest MAC foes as the Eagles will travel to Perrysburg, Ohio, to face Bowling Green State University at 1 p.m., March 20, before welcoming the University of Toledo to the Chippewa Club for a 1 p.m. match, March 22.
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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