Eagles Edged by Bowling Green, 4-3

PERRYSBURG, Ohio (EMUEagles.com) -- The Eastern Michigan University tennis team dropped a tightly contested Mid-American Conference match on the road at Bowling Green State University, March 20, falling 4-3 inside the Perrysburg Tennis Center in Perrysburg, Ohio. The Eagles fell to 9-8 overall and 0-3 in MAC play while the Falcons improved to 7-8 and 1-1 in league play.

HOW IT HAPPENED
Doubles play proved decisive as the Eagles were unable to secure the opening point as the Falcons took a 1-0 lead with wins at the No. 2 and No. 3 positions. Cylova Zuleyka Hukmasabiyya (Serang, Indonesia/SMAN 2 Kota Serang) responded for Eastern at No. 1 singles, delivering a strong 6-4, 6-1 victory over Tia Clemens, while Sabrina Tolstova (Odesa, Ukraine/Tennisquick Los Cristianos) added a straight-set win on court four against Libby Blair, 6-2, 7-5. Matilde Parreira (Leiria, Portugal/Escola Secundária Afonso Lopes) fought through three sets to secure a 7-6(2), 3-6, 6-2 win at No. 5, keeping EMU within striking distance. However, the Falcons claimed the team win as they secured wins at No. 2, No. 3, and No. 6 to give them a 4-3 win.

NOTES
» The loss dropped Eastern to 9-8 overall and 0-3 in MAC play while Bowling Green improved to 7-8 overall and 1-1 in the MAC.
» The Eagles are 38-18 against the Falcons and saw their four-match winning streak in the series snapped.
» The match marked the 17th time the score was decided by one point with EMU slipping to 11-6 in those matches.
» Cylova Zuleyka Hukmasabiyya won at No. 1 singles to mark back-to-back victories at the top spot for the freshman. She is now 2-1 in league play in her rookie season.
» Sabrina Tolstova won a three-set battle at No. 5 and moved to 3-0 in league play this season. She had lost her previous four matches before jumping into MAC play and won both her matches last week at the No. 3 position.
» Matilde Parreira snapped a four-match losing streak with her first win in MAC play. The freshman secured her team-leading 14th singles win with the victory at Bowling Green.

Up Next
The Eagles return to action at home Sunday, March 22, when they play host to the University of Toledo Rockets at the Chippewa Club in Ypsilanti at 1 p.m.

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).

Bowling Green def. Eastern Michigan, 4-3
Singles
#1: Cylova Zuleyka Hukmasabiyya (EMU) def. Tia Clemens, 6-4, 6-1
#2: Qianyu Liu (BGSU) def. Pehal Kharadkar, 6-0, 6-1
#3: Kiera Taylor (BGSU) def. Lara Diaz Zayas, 7-5, 6-3
#4: Sabrina Tolstova (EMU) def. Libby Blair, 6-2, 7-5
#5: Matilde Parreira (EMU) def. Konstantina Adamopoulou, 7-6(2), 3-6, 6-2
#6: Leticia Fonseca (BGSU) def. Regina Mendez Carreño, 2-6, 7-6, 6-3
Order of Finish: 1,2,3,4,6,5

Doubles
#1: Cylova Zuleyka Hukmasabiyya/Kseniia Saenko (EMU) vs. Tia Clemens/Qianyu Liu (BGSU), 6-6, unfinished
#2: Kiera Taylor/Libby Blair (BGSU) def. Matilde Parreira/Sabrina Tolstova, 6-4
#3: Konstantina Adamopoulou/Leticia Fonseca (BGSU) def. Iva Daneva/Regina Mendez Carreño, 7-5
Order of Finish: 2,3

Next Event

Team Stats

Players Mentioned

Iva Daneva

Lara Diaz Zayas

Pehal Kharadkar

Matilde Parreira

Kseniia Saenko

Sabrina Tolstova

Cylova Zuleyka Hukmasabiyya