CLEVELAND, Ohio – The Mid-American Conference women’s tennis programs begin the 2025 season this weekend, as Eastern Michigan and Northern Illinois are the first to take the court on Friday. The six remaining MAC teams will start their respective schedules in the following weeks.
The MAC held its inaugural Women’s Tennis Fall Individual Championships and crowned three Miami RedHawks as champions. Emilia Valentinssonn and Sara Zalukar secured the Doubles title, while Catherine Denysiewicz claimed the Singles Championship.
The Broncos will begin their first year under head coach Joelle Kissell against Marquette on Friday, Jan. 17
The 2025 MAC Women’s Tennis Championship will be hosted by last year’s MAC Champion Toledo on April 24-25 in Toledo, Ohio. The two-day tournament will be held outdoors at the UT Varsity Tennis Courts but could be moved to Twos Athletic Club in case of inclement weather.
Upcoming Women’s Tennis Schedule
Friday, Jan. 10
Eastern Michigan at Michigan Invitational
Northern Illinois at Northeastern Invitational
Saturday, Jan. 11
Eastern Michigan at Michigan Invitational
Northern Illinois at Northeastern Invitational
Sunday, Jan. 12
Eastern Michigan at Michigan Invitational
Northern Illinois at Northeastern Invitational
For more MAC Wrestling news throughout the season, visit GetSomeMaction.com and follow @MACSports on X, Instagram, and Facebook.
Team previews courtesy of the Athletic Communications Departments.
Below are team-by-team season previews for MAC Women’s Tennis.
Eastern Michigan Tennis Opening 2025 at Michigan Invitational
ANN ARBOR, Mich. – The Eastern Michigan University tennis program is set to open its 2025 spring slate this weekend as four members of the team will take part in the 2025 Michigan Invitational, Jan. 10-12, inside the Varsity Tennis Center in Ann Arbor, Mich. The four Eagles will play three singles and three doubles matches against competitors from the University of Michigan, Ohio State University, and Texas Tech University.
The Michigan Invitational will see full teams from Michigan, Ohio State, and Texas Tech with individuals from both Eastern and Michigan State rounding out the fourth "team" in the hidden dual event. Each group will play one singles and one doubles match each of the three days with all action starting at 10 a.m.
The Eagles will be represented at the Michigan Invitational by four players, including
Iva Daneva,
Viki Hazmukova,
Marta Komar, and
Daniella Shved.
The Michigan Invitational will feature two teams appearing in the Jan. 6 release of the ITA National Rankings, including No. 8 Michigan and No. 15 Ohio State. According to the Dec. 3 individual rankings, six singles players and seven doubles teams could compete in the event as well. The players ranked in singles include Michigan's No. 5 Julia Fliegner, No. 18 Piper Charney, and No. 4 Lily Jones, and Ohio State's No. 8 Luciana Perry, No. 46 Audrey Spencer, and No. 84 Sydni Ratliff. The ranked doubles pairings include four from Texas Tech, including No. 15 Mariia Hlahola/Avelina Sayfetdinova, No. 33 Andreea Lila/Jermine Sherif, No. 57 Mariia Hlahola/Hailey Murphy, and No. 68 Yekaterina Dmitrichenko/Andreea Lila while Michigan features the duos of No. 18 Jessica Bernales/Lily Jones, No. 49 Julia Fliegner/Reese Miller, and No. 61 Piper Charney/Emily Sartz-Lunde.
FIRST SERVES
» The 2025 MAC Preseason Coaches Poll was released Jan. 7 with the Eagles voted to finish third with 35 points while Miami (48) and Toledo (38) were ranked ahead of EMU. Eastern was voted to finish fourth one year ago and did so to earn its first MAC Tournament appearance since 2018.
» The 2025 spring season will feature 23 duals with 12 coming at home at the Chippewa Club. Eastern was a perfect 11-0 at home in 2024.
» The Eagles' 2024-25 roster features 10 players, including six returnees and four newcomers. In total, nine different nations are represented on the roster, including the U.S., Argentina, Czechia, India, Israel, Mexico, North Macedonia, Poland, and Russia.
»
Ryan Kucera returns for his second season as the team's head coach and will look to guide the team to the MAC Tournament for the second year in a row, which would mark the first time it has happened since the 2014 and 2015 tournaments.
» Players are not the only addition to the roster this year as the coaching staff has added both
Masha Polishchuk and
Andrew Dobbs. Polishchuk, a MAC champion during her playing career at Ball State, will serve as a graduate assistant coach while Dobbs will serve as an undergraduate assistant.
The 2025 MAC Preseason Coaches Poll was released on Jan. 7 with the Eagles earning 35 points to rank third on the list behind Miami (48 points) and Toledo (38). The remaining rankings, which are based upon votes from the league's coaches, were Northern Illinois (30) in fourth, Ball State (35) fifth, Buffalo (23) sixth, Western Michigan (14) seventh, and Bowling Green (seven) eighth. Additionally, the coaches cast votes on who would win the MAC Tournament, which is slated for April 24-25 in Toledo, Ohio, with Miami earning five votes while EMU, Buffalo, and Toledo each earned one. In
Ryan Kucera's first season with the Eagles (2023-24), Eastern was voted tied for fourth in the preseason before finishing fourth and earning a berth in the MAC Tournament for the first time since 2018. EMU dropped a 4-3 decision to host Toledo in the semifinals.
Last year, the Eagles finished fourth in the conference standings to earn the fourth and final position in the MAC Tournament, the team's first appearance in the conference event since the 2018 championships. Should Eastern return to the tournament this year, it would mark the first time the Eagles have qualified for the MAC Tournament in back-to-back seasons since earning berths in the 2014 and 2015 events. Eastern lost to Miami, 4-2, in the final of the 2014 event before falling to the RedHawks, 4-1, in the semifinals one year later.
The goal every year is to win the MAC Tournament and earn a berth into the NCAA Tournament. The last time the Eagles were able to do so came in 2001 when they swept through the MAC Tournament hosted by Marshall with wins over Ball State (4-1), Western Michigan (4-2), and the host Thundering Herd (4-3). EMU advanced to the NCAA First Round where they fell at No. 8 Notre Dame, 0-4.
Eastern will play six matches in 2025 against fellow Michigan schools with four being played at home and two on the road. The Eagles, who enter the season with 98 wins all-time against fellow Michiganders, will open the year with a doubleheader against Ferris State, who EMU is 5-0 against. The Eagles will also play Oakland (17-2 all-time) at home, on Feb. 1, before traveling to Michigan State (6-41), on Feb. 2. The final two matches are MAC matches with Western Michigan (15-43), including the road, March 21, and at home, March 28.
Sabina Brichackova captured two wins at the MAC Fall Individuals in Hamilton, Ohio, Oct. 24-27, to record the 99th and 100th combined wins of her career. The senior is the first to reach 100 wins in a career since the 2017-18 season when both
Ani Gogvadze (117) and
Andrea Matrinovska (111) capped their careers in Ypsilanti.
Sabina Brichackova and doubles partner
Prerna Vichare reached the finals at the MAC Fall Individuals, Oct. 24-27, and finished as the runners-up in the inaugural event. With the two wins they collected, each moved closer to the all-time top 20 in doubles wins as they have 49 and 48, respectively. Currently,
Miriam Westerink (2008-12) and
Avi Gogvadze (2014-18) are tied for 19th with 56 wins, meaning Brichackova and Vichare are seven and eight wins, respectively, from joining the all-time top 20.
ON THE HORIZON
Eastern will open its 2025 dual schedule with a home doubleheader, on Jan. 18, inside the Chippewa Club against Ferris State University. The Eagles and Bulldogs will play their first of two matches at 3:30 p.m. with the second to follow at approximately 7 p.m.
Northern Illinois Huskies Open Spring Campaign at Northwestern Invitational
DeKALB, Ill. – The Northern Illinois University women's tennis team opens its 2025 spring season this weekend (January 10-12) at the Northwestern Invitational where the Huskies will compete against Colorado, Notre Dame, and Northwestern at the Combe Tennis Center in Evanston.
The tournament features a hidden dual format with individual results only and no team scores. The Huskies will match up against Colorado on Friday, January 10 at 11 a.m., take on Notre Dame on Saturday, January 11 at 3:30 p.m., and play Northwestern on Sunday, January 12 at 1:30 p.m.
"There are not a lot of teams like us that can go and play three Top 50 teams in a weekend," said NIU head coach
Eric Burns, who is in his sixth season at the helm of the Huskie program in 2024-25. "With no team scores in this tournament, this is a great opportunity to get some great experience and have an opportunity to compete at a high level. We could stay in DeKalb and practice, or we could test ourselves, play well, build some confidence, and get ready for the dual match season."
NIU earned a No. 4 ranking in the Mid-American Conference Preseason Poll after finishing fifth in the league, just one spot short of qualifying for the four-team MAC Tournament, a year ago.
Miami took the top spot in the poll of MAC women's tennis coaches with 48 points, followed by Toledo (38), Eastern Michigan (35) and NIU (30).
"We're excited to be picked in the top four as that hasn't happened in a while," Burns said. "But it doesn't mean anything because you must still do the work and get the results. The MAC is so competitive. The seventh-place team is good enough to beat the top team. We have been working hard to get that respect for a while here, so that was nice to see, but the work still has to be done."
NIU posted a 16-10 record last spring, including a 10-3 mark at home in the Nelson Tennis Center at Chick Evans Field House in head coach
Eric Burns' fifth season at the helm of the program.
Senior
Reagan Welch and junior
Nataly Ninova have been named team captains, while senior
Erika Dimitriev, who has played at the No. 1 and No. 2 singles spots throughout her career, already ranks in NIU's career Top 10 for singles and doubles wins with 56 and 60, respectively. Welch is just behind Dimitriev and on the verge of the Top 10 in singles wins with 55.
University of Houston transfer
Maria Dzemeshkevich leads the newcomers as she played three seasons in the top two singles positions for the Cougars.
The Northwestern Invitational is the final tournament before the Huskies open their 2025 dual-match season on Friday, January 17 versus Lindenwood in O'Fallon, Illinois. The first home dual is set for Saturday, January 25th with matches against Northern Iowa and Eastern Illinois.
