Eastern Michigan Athletics
Sunday, March 22
Ypsilanti, Mich.
1 p.m.
Eastern Michigan University
6
vs
1
Toledo
Photo by: Walt Middleton Photography
Tennis Captures Home MAC Victory, 6-1, Over Toledo
3/22/2026 5:55:00 PM | Tennis
Four freshmen secured wins to help Eastern to its first conference win of the season
YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) -- The Eastern Michigan University tennis team rolled to a commanding 6-1 victory against visiting University of Toledo in a pivotal Mid-American Conference showdown at the Chippewa Club on Sunday, March 22. The Eagles, now 10-8 overall and 1-3 in MAC play, secured their first conference win of the season and improved to 25-3 at home under Head Coach Ryan Kucera while the Rockets fell to 7-7 and 2-1 in the league.
"[I am] beyond proud of the effort from the team today," Kucera said following the win. "Despite the challenges we've had early in MAC play, I knew we were not far off. We just needed to make some small changes and the team bought in. Our mentality in the doubles point was awesome. We made the team commitment to stay aggressive through the end of the point, and we had great commitment to that.
"In singles, I was really happy about how we did not let our energy or focus drop," Kucera continued. "Toledo has an excellent program, and we knew we would have to earn everything. We had to make a ton of balls, be disciplined with our tactics, and maintain our composure no matter the situation. It was a full team effort, the girls believed in what we do, and fought relentlessly for each other. We look forward to building off this momentum!"
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Eagles opened with a 1-0 lead after securing the doubles points as the team swept the final two matches after dropping the bout at No. 1. Matilde Parreira (Leiria, Portugal/Escola Secundária Afonso Lopes Vieria) and Sabrina Tolstova (Odesa, Ukraine/Tennisquick Los Cristianos) prevailed 6-4 at No. 2 before the duo of Iva Daneva (Kavadarci, North Macedonia/DSU Sportska Akademija) and Regina Mendez Carreño (Los Cabos, Mexico/Picacho McGregor) clinched the opening point with a 6-3 win at No. 3 doubles.
Singles play saw Eastern Michigan dominate across the lineup, winning five of six matches to capture the team victory. Tolstova continued her standout rookie campaign with a commanding 6-2, 6-3 performance at No. 3 to up the lead to 2-0 as she won her four consecutive MAC singles match to open league play. Cylova Zuleyka Hukmasabiyya (Serang, Indonesia / SMAN 2 Kota Serang) followed with her win at No. 1, battling for a 6-3, 7-5 triumph with Parreira securing her first career MAC singles win with a 6-4, 6-3 decision at No. 5. After Toledo won at No. 6 for its lone point, Pehal Kharadkar (Indore, India / Daly College Indore) fought through a three-set marathon to win 6-4, 0-6, 6-2 at No. 2 to snap a four-match losing streak while collecting her first MAC win as well. The final match of the day saw Lara Diaz Zayas (Mar de Ajo, Argentina / SEADEA) bounce back from a first-set tiebreak loss to take a 6-7(4), 6-2, 1-0(7) victory at No. 4, a win that halted a nine-match losing streak.
NOTES
» Eastern improved to 10-8 overall and 1-3 in the MAC while Toledo fell to 7-7 overall and 2-1 in league action.
» The Eagles have now posted back-to-back home wins over Toledo for the first time since 2004 and lead the all-time series 34-17.
» Eastern has now won 11 consecutive matches when claiming the doubles point under Head Coach Ryan Kucera, improving to 29-7 in such scenarios during his tenure.
» The Eagles improved to 25-3 in home matches under Ryan Kucera and 10-2 against MAC opponents at the Chippewa Club.
» Sabrina Tolstova secured her 12th singles win of the season, the best among EMU freshmen and fourth overall on the team. She moved to a perfect 4-0 in MAC singles play this season.
» Matilde Parreira earned her first MAC singles victory and went undefeated on the day, also winning in doubles alongside Sabrina Tolstova.
» Cylova Zuleyka Hukmasabiyya picked up her 13th career singles victory, continuing her strong run at the No. 1 position.
Up Next
Eastern is slated for one match next week as the Eagles will play host to the Bulls of the University at Buffalo, March 27, at the Chippewa Club in Ypsilanti. The Mid-American Conference contest is slated to start 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).
Eastern Michigan def. Toledo, 6-1
Singles
#1: Cylova Zuleyka Hukmasabiyya (EM) def. JJ Scholten, 6-3, 7-5
#2: Pehal Kharadkar (EM) def. Isabella Barretto, 6-4, 0-6, 6-2
#3: Sabrina Tolstova (EM) def. Jone Ibanez, 6-2, 6-3
#4: Lara Diaz Zayas (EM) def. Neha Guru, 6-7(4), 6-2, 1-0(7)
#5: Matilde Parreira (EM) def. Anastasia Akuginova, 6-4, 6-3
#6: Annika Munson (T) def. Regina Mendez Carreño, 7-6(3), 6-2
Order of Finish: 3,1,5,6,2,4
Doubles
#1: Isabella Barretto/Neha Guru (T) def. Lara Diaz Zayas/Cylova Zuleyka Hukmasabiyya, 6-3
#2: Matilde Parreira/Sabrina Tolstova (EM) def. Anastasia Akuginova/Gaby Rondon, 6-4
#3: Iva Daneva/Regina Mendez Carreño (EM) def. Jone Ibanez/Annika Munson, 6-3
Order of Finish: 1,3,2
"[I am] beyond proud of the effort from the team today," Kucera said following the win. "Despite the challenges we've had early in MAC play, I knew we were not far off. We just needed to make some small changes and the team bought in. Our mentality in the doubles point was awesome. We made the team commitment to stay aggressive through the end of the point, and we had great commitment to that.
"In singles, I was really happy about how we did not let our energy or focus drop," Kucera continued. "Toledo has an excellent program, and we knew we would have to earn everything. We had to make a ton of balls, be disciplined with our tactics, and maintain our composure no matter the situation. It was a full team effort, the girls believed in what we do, and fought relentlessly for each other. We look forward to building off this momentum!"
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Eagles opened with a 1-0 lead after securing the doubles points as the team swept the final two matches after dropping the bout at No. 1. Matilde Parreira (Leiria, Portugal/Escola Secundária Afonso Lopes Vieria) and Sabrina Tolstova (Odesa, Ukraine/Tennisquick Los Cristianos) prevailed 6-4 at No. 2 before the duo of Iva Daneva (Kavadarci, North Macedonia/DSU Sportska Akademija) and Regina Mendez Carreño (Los Cabos, Mexico/Picacho McGregor) clinched the opening point with a 6-3 win at No. 3 doubles.
Singles play saw Eastern Michigan dominate across the lineup, winning five of six matches to capture the team victory. Tolstova continued her standout rookie campaign with a commanding 6-2, 6-3 performance at No. 3 to up the lead to 2-0 as she won her four consecutive MAC singles match to open league play. Cylova Zuleyka Hukmasabiyya (Serang, Indonesia / SMAN 2 Kota Serang) followed with her win at No. 1, battling for a 6-3, 7-5 triumph with Parreira securing her first career MAC singles win with a 6-4, 6-3 decision at No. 5. After Toledo won at No. 6 for its lone point, Pehal Kharadkar (Indore, India / Daly College Indore) fought through a three-set marathon to win 6-4, 0-6, 6-2 at No. 2 to snap a four-match losing streak while collecting her first MAC win as well. The final match of the day saw Lara Diaz Zayas (Mar de Ajo, Argentina / SEADEA) bounce back from a first-set tiebreak loss to take a 6-7(4), 6-2, 1-0(7) victory at No. 4, a win that halted a nine-match losing streak.
NOTES
» Eastern improved to 10-8 overall and 1-3 in the MAC while Toledo fell to 7-7 overall and 2-1 in league action.
» The Eagles have now posted back-to-back home wins over Toledo for the first time since 2004 and lead the all-time series 34-17.
» Eastern has now won 11 consecutive matches when claiming the doubles point under Head Coach Ryan Kucera, improving to 29-7 in such scenarios during his tenure.
» The Eagles improved to 25-3 in home matches under Ryan Kucera and 10-2 against MAC opponents at the Chippewa Club.
» Sabrina Tolstova secured her 12th singles win of the season, the best among EMU freshmen and fourth overall on the team. She moved to a perfect 4-0 in MAC singles play this season.
» Matilde Parreira earned her first MAC singles victory and went undefeated on the day, also winning in doubles alongside Sabrina Tolstova.
» Cylova Zuleyka Hukmasabiyya picked up her 13th career singles victory, continuing her strong run at the No. 1 position.
Up Next
Eastern is slated for one match next week as the Eagles will play host to the Bulls of the University at Buffalo, March 27, at the Chippewa Club in Ypsilanti. The Mid-American Conference contest is slated to start 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).
Eastern Michigan def. Toledo, 6-1
Singles
#1: Cylova Zuleyka Hukmasabiyya (EM) def. JJ Scholten, 6-3, 7-5
#2: Pehal Kharadkar (EM) def. Isabella Barretto, 6-4, 0-6, 6-2
#3: Sabrina Tolstova (EM) def. Jone Ibanez, 6-2, 6-3
#4: Lara Diaz Zayas (EM) def. Neha Guru, 6-7(4), 6-2, 1-0(7)
#5: Matilde Parreira (EM) def. Anastasia Akuginova, 6-4, 6-3
#6: Annika Munson (T) def. Regina Mendez Carreño, 7-6(3), 6-2
Order of Finish: 3,1,5,6,2,4
Doubles
#1: Isabella Barretto/Neha Guru (T) def. Lara Diaz Zayas/Cylova Zuleyka Hukmasabiyya, 6-3
#2: Matilde Parreira/Sabrina Tolstova (EM) def. Anastasia Akuginova/Gaby Rondon, 6-4
#3: Iva Daneva/Regina Mendez Carreño (EM) def. Jone Ibanez/Annika Munson, 6-3
Order of Finish: 1,3,2
Team Stats
#1 Doubles Match
#2 Doubles Match
#3 Doubles Match
Order of Finish:
1,3,2
#1 Singles Match
12
Scholten, JJ / 0 [TOL]
35
67
#2 Singles Match
123
Barretto, Isabella / 0 [TOL]
462
606
#3 Singles Match
12
Ibanez, Jone / 0 [TOL]
23
66
#4 Singles Match
123
Guru, Neha / 0 [TOL]
720
661
#5 Singles Match
12
Akuginova, Anastasia / 0 [TOL]
43
66
#6 Singles Match
12
Munson, Annika / 0 [TOL]
76
62
Order of Finish:
3,1,5,6,2,4
Players Mentioned
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