Eastern Michigan Athletics
Photo by: Walt Middleton Photography
Zuleyka Hukmasabiyya Earns MAC Freshman of the Year
4/22/2026 3:01:00 PM | Tennis
Th rookie, who led the team in singles wins, also was named First Team All-MAC
CLEVELAND, Ohio (EMUEagles.com) -- The Mid-American Conference announced its annual specialty awards and list of all-conference selections today, April 22, with Eastern Michigan University's Cylova Zuleyka Hukmasabiyya voted the 2026 MAC Freshman of the Year while earning placement on the All-MAC First Team. The 23rd different player in program history to earn All-MAC First Team honors (47th award), Zuleyka Hukmasabiyya became the first Eastern Michigan player in 13 years to earn either player or freshman of the year in a vote of the MAC head coaches.
"I am beyond proud of Cylova for her effort and competitive spirit this year," Head Coach Ryan Kucera said. "Not only is she a fantastic player, but she gave great effort every day, on and off the court, for her team. I am so glad those efforts could show up in the results, and I am so excited for her future."
Zuleyka Hukmasabiyya (Serang, Indonesia/SMAN 2 Kota Serang) posted a 17-9 record in singles action and 9-13 in doubles as she combined for 26 wins in her first collegiate season. In singles play, she posted a mark of 6-2 in MAC duels at the No. 1 position and scored a pair of wins over members of the 2025 All-MAC First Team, including Esmee Andresen of the University at Buffalo (3-6, 7-6(6), 6-1) and JJ Scholten of the University of Toledo (6-3, 7-5), who was the 2025 MAC Freshman of the Year. She also added wins over Irmak Budak of Northern Illinois University (7-5, 6-4), who was named to the second team this year, and Tia Clemens of Bowling Green State University (6-4, 6-1), who also earned second-team honors, while seeing one of her two losses come to Ella Faessler of the University of Massachusetts (4-6, 6-4, 2-6), who was named the 2026 MAC Player of the Year.
Zuleyka Hukmasabiyya opened the year with a 4-0 record before falling in the second round of the ITA Midwest Regional qualifier tournament. She then opened the spring schedule with three consecutive wins while dropping just seven games in six sets to start her career at 7-1. Following two more matches at No. 2 singles, she was elevated to the No. 1 spot where she posted a 9-7 record at the top spot and was 5-0 when playing at home in those contests. Her first five MAC opponents would end the season on the All-MAC ledgers as she defeated Budak of NIU and fell to Faessler of UMass in the opening weekend before defeating Clemens and Scholten the following week to earn MAC Singles Player of the Week honors for the first time as she helped the Eagles defeat Toledo at home in back-to-back meetings for the first time in 22 years (2004). She followed that success with her win over Andresen.
The MAC Freshman of the Year award earned by Zuleyka Hukmasabiyya is the fourth for the program with Eastern players previously earning the MAC Newcomer of the Year award in 1998 (Simone Duhme) and 2000 (Rebecca Hawkins) before Klara Supejova was named the MAC Freshman of the Year and the MAC Player of the Year in 2013. This year's honor stands as the 11th earned by the program with seven MAC Player of the Year awards included in the total.
Along with her major award, Zuleyka Hukmasabiyya also was named First Team All-MAC to become the 23rd different member of the program to earn first-team honors while collecting the 47th overall award. It marked the fourth consecutive year Eastern has had at least one player named to the first team with Daniella Shved earning the honor in 2023, 2024, and 2025. The four-year streak is the third-longest in program history behind a 12-year run from 1981-92 and a nine-year streak from 1997-05.
"I am beyond proud of Cylova for her effort and competitive spirit this year," Head Coach Ryan Kucera said. "Not only is she a fantastic player, but she gave great effort every day, on and off the court, for her team. I am so glad those efforts could show up in the results, and I am so excited for her future."
Zuleyka Hukmasabiyya (Serang, Indonesia/SMAN 2 Kota Serang) posted a 17-9 record in singles action and 9-13 in doubles as she combined for 26 wins in her first collegiate season. In singles play, she posted a mark of 6-2 in MAC duels at the No. 1 position and scored a pair of wins over members of the 2025 All-MAC First Team, including Esmee Andresen of the University at Buffalo (3-6, 7-6(6), 6-1) and JJ Scholten of the University of Toledo (6-3, 7-5), who was the 2025 MAC Freshman of the Year. She also added wins over Irmak Budak of Northern Illinois University (7-5, 6-4), who was named to the second team this year, and Tia Clemens of Bowling Green State University (6-4, 6-1), who also earned second-team honors, while seeing one of her two losses come to Ella Faessler of the University of Massachusetts (4-6, 6-4, 2-6), who was named the 2026 MAC Player of the Year.
Zuleyka Hukmasabiyya opened the year with a 4-0 record before falling in the second round of the ITA Midwest Regional qualifier tournament. She then opened the spring schedule with three consecutive wins while dropping just seven games in six sets to start her career at 7-1. Following two more matches at No. 2 singles, she was elevated to the No. 1 spot where she posted a 9-7 record at the top spot and was 5-0 when playing at home in those contests. Her first five MAC opponents would end the season on the All-MAC ledgers as she defeated Budak of NIU and fell to Faessler of UMass in the opening weekend before defeating Clemens and Scholten the following week to earn MAC Singles Player of the Week honors for the first time as she helped the Eagles defeat Toledo at home in back-to-back meetings for the first time in 22 years (2004). She followed that success with her win over Andresen.
The MAC Freshman of the Year award earned by Zuleyka Hukmasabiyya is the fourth for the program with Eastern players previously earning the MAC Newcomer of the Year award in 1998 (Simone Duhme) and 2000 (Rebecca Hawkins) before Klara Supejova was named the MAC Freshman of the Year and the MAC Player of the Year in 2013. This year's honor stands as the 11th earned by the program with seven MAC Player of the Year awards included in the total.
Along with her major award, Zuleyka Hukmasabiyya also was named First Team All-MAC to become the 23rd different member of the program to earn first-team honors while collecting the 47th overall award. It marked the fourth consecutive year Eastern has had at least one player named to the first team with Daniella Shved earning the honor in 2023, 2024, and 2025. The four-year streak is the third-longest in program history behind a 12-year run from 1981-92 and a nine-year streak from 1997-05.
2026 MAC WOMEN'S TENNIS SPECIALTY AWARDS
Coach of the Year: Juancarlos Nunez, Massachusetts
Freshman of the Year: Cylova Zuleyka Hukmasabiyya, Eastern Michigan
Player of the Year: Ella Faessler, Massachusetts
Leann Grimes Davidge Sportsmanship Award: Audrey Smitek, Western Michigan
2026 ALL-MAC SELECTIONS
First-Team All-MAC
Esme Andresen (Buffalo)
Cylova Zuleyka Hukmasabiyya (Eastern Michigan)
Ella Faessler (Massachusetts)
Allie Faulkner (Miami)
Isabella Barretto (Toledo)
JJ Scholten (Toledo)
Second-Team All-MAC
Tia Clemens (Bowling Green)
Maria Głowacka (Buffalo)
Amelia Tye (Massachusetts)
Irmak Budak (Northern Illinois)
Nataly Ninova (Northern Illinois)
Audrey Smitek (Western Michigan)
Eastern Michigan Specialty Award History
MAC Freshman/Newcomer of the Year Awards
1998 • Simone Duhme ^
2000 • Rebecca Hawkins ^
2013 • Klara Supejova
2026 • Cylova Zuleyka Hukmasabiyya
^ earned the Newcomer award
Players Mentioned
/ Tennis
/ Tennis
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