Eastern Michigan Athletics
Friday, March 13
Ypsilanti, Mich.
1 p.m.
Eastern Michigan University
3
vs
4
Northern Illinois
Photo by: Walt Middleton Photography
Tennis Drops MAC Opener to Visiting NIU, 4-3
3/13/2026 5:52:00 PM | Tennis
Freshmen delivered two wins in singles play in the first league action of the season
Highlights
YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) -- Regina Mendez Carreño captured wins in both singles and doubles play and two freshmen added wins in singles action, but it was not enough as the Eastern Michigan University tennis team dropped a tough 4-3 decision in its Mid-American Conference opener to visiting Northern Illinois University Friday, March 13, inside the Chippewa Club in Ypsilanti. The Eagles (9-6, 0-1 MAC) tied the match, 2-2, but were held to just one more win in singles action as the Huskies (15-3, 1-0 MAC) captured the win on the opening day of competition in the league.
HOW IT HAPPENED
After seeing the Eagles fall at No. 1 doubles, the No. 3 squad of Mendez Carreño (Los Cabos, Mexico/Picacho McGregor) and Iva Daneva (Kavadarci, North Macedonia/DSU Sportska Akademija) combined for a 6-2 win. The Huskies, however, won the match at No. 2 doubles to secure the point and a 1-0 lead.
In singles play, the visitors built a 2-0 lead with a win at No. 2 before Cylova Zuleyka Hukmasabiyya (Serang, Indonesia/SMAN 2 Kota Serang) ground out a 7-5, 6-4 win at No. 1 and Mendez Carreño added a 6-3, 6-2 decision at No. 6 to tie the team score. The Huskies, however, secured wins at No. 5 and No. 4 to clinch the team victory before Sabrina Tolstova (Odesa, Ukraine/Tennisquick Los Cristianos) finished off a three-set victory at No. 3, 6-3, 2-6, 6-3, for the final point of the contest and a 4-3 decision.
NOTING THE TEAM
» With the loss, the Eagles fell to 9-6 overall and 0-1 in MAC play while the Huskies improved to 15-3 overall and 1-0 in the MAC.
» The Eagles are now 35-14 in the series with the Huskies after playing their final regular season MAC contest before NIU departs for the Horizon League next year. Eastern is 18-5 when playing host to NIU as well.
» Eastern lost at home for the first time in 2025-26, slipping to 3-1 on the year. The Eagles are 24-3 at the Chippewa Club under Head Coach Ryan Kucera.
» The Eagles fell to 24-20 all-time in their MAC opener and lost six consecutive conference lid lifters. EMU also fell to 9-10 when opening MAC play at home.
» Eastern dropped to 27-17 in its MAC home opener and saw its two-match winning streak end. Additionally, it marked the second consecutive year the home opener in league play finished 4-3 with the Eagles defeating Ball State last year.
Up Next
Eastern will play its first MAC road match of the season Sunday, March 15, when it travels to the Bay Road Indoor Tennis Center in Amherst, Mass., for an 11 a.m. meeting with MAC newcomer, the University of Massachusetts.
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).
Northern Illinois def. Eastern Michigan, 4-3
Singles
#1: Cylova Zuleyka Hukmasabiyya (EM) def. Irmak Budak, 7-5, 6-4
#2: Theodora Kousiou (NI) def. Pehal Kharadkar, 6-3, 6-0
#3: Sabrina Tolstova (EM) def. Lucia Yecora, 6-3, 2-6, 6-3
#4: Nataly Ninova (NI) def. Matilde Parreira, 6-4, 6-4
#5: Rebeca Miralles (NI) def. Kseniia Saenko, 6-4, 6-3
#6: Regina Mendez Carreño (EM) def. Isabella Righi, 6-3, 6-2
Order of Finish: 2,1,6,5,4,3
Doubles
#1: Malika Kabdesh/Nataly Ninova (NI) def. Kseniia Saenko/Cylova Zuleyka Hukmasabiyya, 6-3
#2: Isabella Righi/Lucia Yecora (NI) def. Matilde Parreira/Sabrina Tolstova, 6-4
#3: Iva Daneva/Regina Mendez Carreño (EM) def. Irmak Budak/Jenna Horne, 6-2
Order of Finish: 1,3,2
YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) -- Regina Mendez Carreño captured wins in both singles and doubles play and two freshmen added wins in singles action, but it was not enough as the Eastern Michigan University tennis team dropped a tough 4-3 decision in its Mid-American Conference opener to visiting Northern Illinois University Friday, March 13, inside the Chippewa Club in Ypsilanti. The Eagles (9-6, 0-1 MAC) tied the match, 2-2, but were held to just one more win in singles action as the Huskies (15-3, 1-0 MAC) captured the win on the opening day of competition in the league.
HOW IT HAPPENED
After seeing the Eagles fall at No. 1 doubles, the No. 3 squad of Mendez Carreño (Los Cabos, Mexico/Picacho McGregor) and Iva Daneva (Kavadarci, North Macedonia/DSU Sportska Akademija) combined for a 6-2 win. The Huskies, however, won the match at No. 2 doubles to secure the point and a 1-0 lead.
In singles play, the visitors built a 2-0 lead with a win at No. 2 before Cylova Zuleyka Hukmasabiyya (Serang, Indonesia/SMAN 2 Kota Serang) ground out a 7-5, 6-4 win at No. 1 and Mendez Carreño added a 6-3, 6-2 decision at No. 6 to tie the team score. The Huskies, however, secured wins at No. 5 and No. 4 to clinch the team victory before Sabrina Tolstova (Odesa, Ukraine/Tennisquick Los Cristianos) finished off a three-set victory at No. 3, 6-3, 2-6, 6-3, for the final point of the contest and a 4-3 decision.
NOTING THE TEAM
» With the loss, the Eagles fell to 9-6 overall and 0-1 in MAC play while the Huskies improved to 15-3 overall and 1-0 in the MAC.
» The Eagles are now 35-14 in the series with the Huskies after playing their final regular season MAC contest before NIU departs for the Horizon League next year. Eastern is 18-5 when playing host to NIU as well.
» Eastern lost at home for the first time in 2025-26, slipping to 3-1 on the year. The Eagles are 24-3 at the Chippewa Club under Head Coach Ryan Kucera.
» The Eagles fell to 24-20 all-time in their MAC opener and lost six consecutive conference lid lifters. EMU also fell to 9-10 when opening MAC play at home.
» Eastern dropped to 27-17 in its MAC home opener and saw its two-match winning streak end. Additionally, it marked the second consecutive year the home opener in league play finished 4-3 with the Eagles defeating Ball State last year.
Up Next
Eastern will play its first MAC road match of the season Sunday, March 15, when it travels to the Bay Road Indoor Tennis Center in Amherst, Mass., for an 11 a.m. meeting with MAC newcomer, the University of Massachusetts.
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).
Northern Illinois def. Eastern Michigan, 4-3
Singles
#1: Cylova Zuleyka Hukmasabiyya (EM) def. Irmak Budak, 7-5, 6-4
#2: Theodora Kousiou (NI) def. Pehal Kharadkar, 6-3, 6-0
#3: Sabrina Tolstova (EM) def. Lucia Yecora, 6-3, 2-6, 6-3
#4: Nataly Ninova (NI) def. Matilde Parreira, 6-4, 6-4
#5: Rebeca Miralles (NI) def. Kseniia Saenko, 6-4, 6-3
#6: Regina Mendez Carreño (EM) def. Isabella Righi, 6-3, 6-2
Order of Finish: 2,1,6,5,4,3
Doubles
#1: Malika Kabdesh/Nataly Ninova (NI) def. Kseniia Saenko/Cylova Zuleyka Hukmasabiyya, 6-3
#2: Isabella Righi/Lucia Yecora (NI) def. Matilde Parreira/Sabrina Tolstova, 6-4
#3: Iva Daneva/Regina Mendez Carreño (EM) def. Irmak Budak/Jenna Horne, 6-2
Order of Finish: 1,3,2
Team Stats
#1 Doubles Match
#2 Doubles Match
#3 Doubles Match
Order of Finish:
3,1,2
#1 Singles Match
12
Irmak Budak / 0 [NIU]
54
76
#2 Singles Match
12
Theodora Kousiou / 0 [NIU]
66
30
#3 Singles Match
123
Lucia Yecora / 0 [NIU]
363
626
#4 Singles Match
12
Nataly Ninova / 0 [NIU]
66
44
#5 Singles Match
12
Rebeca Miralles / 0 [NIU]
66
43
#6 Singles Match
12
Isabella Righi / 0 [NIU]
32
66
Order of Finish:
2,1,6,5,4,3
Players Mentioned
/ Tennis
/ Tennis
/ Tennis
/ Tennis
/ Tennis
/ Tennis
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