Friday Tennis results
Western Michigan 4, Eastern Michigan 3
Toledo 4, Buffalo 3
Ball State 5, Northern Illinois 2
Miami 6, Bowling Green 1
Recaps courtesy of Athletic Communications Departments
Western Michigan 4, Eastern Michigan 3
KALAMAZOO, Mich. -- The Western Michigan women's tennis team picked up its first Mid-American Conference win after beating rival Eastern Michigan in a 4-3 thriller at West Hills Athletic Club on Friday afternoon.
Match point came down to the battle between WMU's
Christine Gouws and EMU's Daniella Shved at No. 3 singles. The each set in the match had to be settled via a tie-breaker. Gouws took the first set 7-6 (7-3), but Svhed battled back to win the second set 7-6 (7-3). Gouws jumped out to an early lead in the final set but Shved overcame the lead and went up 6-5. Gouws battled back to tie it up at 6-6 to force the final tie-breaker. Shved held the early advantage and went up 4-2, but Gouws was able to tie it up. The two then split points until it was 6-6, with Gouws winning the final two to seal the match victory for the Broncos (10-7, 1-1 MAC).
Western Michigan started off strong by earning the doubles point. Senior
Polina Khotko and freshman
Frida Weijerman gave the Broncos the early advantage with a 6-2 win over Shved and Lara Diaz Zayas at No. 3. Gouws and freshman Marlielou Baudouin wrapped up the point with a 6-4 win over Marta Komar and Viki Hazmukova at No. 2.
After doubles, junior
Julia Frazier gave Western Michigan a 2-0 lead after a 6-1, 6-4 win at No. 6 over Diaz Zayas. EMU's Prerna Vichare cut the lead in half after a 6-4, 6-3 win over Weijerman at No. 3. The Eagles tied up the match at 2-2 when Komar defeated
Audrey Smitek 1-6, 6-4, 6-2 at No. 5. The Broncos took a 3-2 lead on a win by Baudouin over Kseniia Saenko 6-3, 5-7, 6-2 at No. 4 before Eastern Michigan's Hazmukova defeated
Lola Glantz at No. 1 2-6, 7-5, 7-5 to tie it up at 3-3.
Western Michigan is back at it on Sunday, hosting Northern Illinois at 12 p.m. at West Hills Athletic Club. Admission is free.
Toledo 4, Buffalo 3
BUFFALO, N.Y. – Toledo freshman
Catherine Rhegness recorded a three-set win to clinch match point and give the Rockets their first Mid-American Conference win of the season over Buffalo, 4-3, on Friday in Buffalo, N.Y.
Buffalo (14-3, 1-1 MAC) grabbed wins on all three doubles courts to take a 1-0 lead into singles play.
Freshman
Jacklynka Scholten, now 10-0 in singles play on the season, tied the match with a straight set win on the No. 2 singles court.
Audrey Moutama followed with a three-set victory, 2-6, 6-2, 6-3, on the No. 1 singles court to put Toledo (8-4, 1-1 MAC) in front, 2-1.
Gaby Rondon and
Neha Guru fell on the No. 3 and No. 4 singles courts, respectively, as Buffalo regained the lead, 3-2.
Jone Ibanez evened the match, 3-3, after a 3-6, 6-0, 6-4 win on the No. 4 court.
The match came down to the No. 6 singles court where Rhegness won the first set 6-2, but dropped the second set in a tiebreaker 6-7 (2-7). In the decisive third set, the Ottawa Hills, Ohio native earned a 6-4 victory to clinch match point and give Toledo its first MAC win of the season. Rhegness is now 6-0 overall in singles play.
UP NEXT
Toledo hosts rival Bowling Green in the Battle of I-75 at TWOs Athletic Club on Sunday, March 23. First serve is set for 1:00 p.m. with streaming on BCSN and ESPN+.
Ball State 5, Northern Illinois 2
MUNCIE, Ind. — Ball State women's tennis entered its Friday-afternoon showdown against Northern Illinois on a seven-match home winning streak against the Huskies, a spurt dating back to 2012. The Cardinals once again defended their home courts against the Mid-American Conference rival, defeating the visitors 5-2 inside the Ball State Tennis Facility.
The red and white (8-4) not only extended its streak of success against Northern Illinois (14-4, 1-1 MAC) with the win, but they also moved their conference record to an unblemished 2-0 mark on the young campaign. Ball State has now won its first two MAC matches in four of the last five seasons.
The conference affair opened with dramatic doubles action. After Ball State's No. 2 pairing of Isabel Tanjuatco and Sara Shabaz quickly got off the court with a 6-1 victory, the Huskies and Cardinals battled on the remaining two courts deep into tiebreakers. The red and white's No. 1 doubles duo of Chloe Brown and Alana Bristow were the first pairing to find the winning end of their tiebreaker, directing the doubles point to the Cardinals.
Leading 1-0 after doubles action, Ball State cruised to a strong start to singles play by winning five first sets. Elena Malykh earned the squad its first singles point by registering a swift straight-set win on the top court. Tanjuatco quickly followed behind in the fifth slot by picking up a 6-3, 6-2 win, which put the Cardinals just one point away from the team victory.
Shabaz, coming off a fine outing in doubles, posted a valiant effort to secure the decisive point for Ball State—winning in straight frames. The Minnesota native displayed resilience in her opening set, as she battled back from a 2-5 hole in the set tiebreaker.
Ball State tacked on another point at the No. 2 spot, where Jemima Williams-Phillips earned a three-set win. Northern Illinois' pair of scores came at No. 6 singles, where Reagan Welch defeated Bristow in straight-sets and at No. 4 singles, where Lucia Yecora earned a three-set victory against Brown.
Ball State will conclude its weekend of action Sunday, when they are set to take on Eastern Michigan in a road MAC matchup. First serve between the Cardinals and Eagles is slated for 1 p.m. inside The Chippewa Club in Ypsilanti, Mich.
Miami 6, Bowling Green 1
HAMILTON, Ohio – The Miami University tennis team defeated Bowling Green University, 6-1. The Falcons started the day strong taking the doubles point and avoiding a shutout. The RedHawks then dominated singles play, winning all six matches.
Up Next: The RedHawks will be back in action this Sunday, March 23 at 12 p.m. in Oxford, Ohio to take on University at Buffalo.
