Mid-American Conference

MAC Women's Tennis Scoreboard

Saturday, Jan. 17
Miami at FGCU Invitational
Tulane 4, Akron 3
Notre Dame 6, Western Michigan 1
Western Michigan 7, Valparaiso 0

Sunday, Jan. 18
Ball State 5, Detroit 2
Michigan State 5, Eastern Michigan 2
Miami at FGCU Invitational


Akron:

Women's Tennis Falls To Tulane, 4-3

AKRON, Ohio— The University of Akron women's tennis team opened the spring portion of its schedule with a 4-3 loss to Tulane on Saturday at the LaTuchie Tennis Center.

"Tough loss today, but I am extremely proud of the effort displayed," head coach Brandon Padgett said. "It came down to two freshmen to close it out, but it was not to be. Today was great for development, and we needed a tough match like this to get the season started."

In singles action, sophomore Karolina Maksimava (Mogliev, Belarus) beat Nicky Stracar, 6-2, 6-1, at first singles. At No. 4 singles, senior Olga Shkundina (Ufa, Russia) returned to action with a 6-4, 6-0, win over Vanessa Nommensen. Sophomore Shannon Newnes (Romford, London) claimed a win over Sade Atkinson. With Akron ahead in the third set, Atkinson left the match with an injury.

In the final singles match to finish and a shot at the dual match victory, freshman Ariadna Blinova (Riga, Latvia) fought hard, but lost to Naz Karagoz, 4-6, 7-6 (5), 6-3.

Akron (0-1) was swept in doubles action.  Akron travels to Indianapolis, Ind., on Jan. 24 to face Valparaiso and host Butler.

TULANE 4, AKRON 3

Doubles:
1. Nicky Stracar/Vanessa Nommensen (TU) def. Karolina Maksimava/Martina Zerbola, 6-3
2. Madison Cohen/Ariadna Blinova (UA) vs. Sade Atkinson/Naz Karagoz, DNF (UA led 6-5)
3. Ipek Birol/Jacqui Katz def. Shannon Newnes/Sophia Geier, 6-1

Singles:
1. Karolina Maksimava (UA) def. Nicky Stracar, 6-2, 6-1
2. Ipek Birol (TU) def. Martina Zerbola, 6-0, 6-4
3. Naz Karagoz (TU) def. Ariadna Blinova, 4-6, 7-6 (5), 6-3
4. Olga Shkundina (UA) def. Vanessa Nommensen, 6-4, 6-0
5. Jacqui Katz (TU) def. Sophia Geier, 3-6, 6-2, 7-5
6. Shannon Newnes (UA) def. Sade Atkinson, 6-4, 4-6, def. inj.

Order of finish:
Doubles– 3, 1
Singles– 1, 2, 4, 6, 5, 3


Ball State:

Earnest Clinches Match Over Detroit Mercy

MUNCIE, Ind. - The Ball State women's tennis team (1-0) defeated Detroit Mercy (0-2) by a score of 5-2 in its 2015 opener at the Muncie YMCA Tennis Center Sunday afternoon.  Head women's tennis coach Max Norris is now 2-0 for his career in season openers.

"That was a great match today for Ball State," said Norris.  "We have been competing hard against each other in practice and I think the players were excited to play another team. As our first time out we set a great tone of what this 2015 team will be about. We are excited to get back to work."

Ball State started the match off down 1-0 against Detroit.  The only twosome to take a doubles match from the Titans were Courtney Earnest and Olivia Large who defeated Valeryia Kulikovskaya and Sasha Nionova 6-2 at the No. 2 slot.

Despite falling behind early on in the match the Cardinals fought back in singles action winning five of the six matches.  Courtney Wild won in straight sets at the No. 1 position after posting a 6-1, 6-2 victory over Nionova.  Ashlyn Rang and Rosalinda Calderon each earned straight set victories over their competition in their respective positions. At No. 2 singles, Earnest captured a three set thriller over Irina Slizovskaya to clinch the match for the Cardinals.  Large also earned a point for Ball state after beating Nynke Van Der Good, 2-6, 6-0, 6-4.

The Ball State women's tennis team continues non-conference action when it hosts Wright State (Jan. 24) and Youngstown State (Feb. 1) at the Muncie YMCA Tennis Center.


Eastern Michigan:

Eastern Drops Season Opener at Michigan State

EAST LANSING, Mich. - Eastern Michigan University's women's tennis team opened up it spring season Sunday, Jan. 18, at Michigan State University. The Eagles (0-1) dropped a 5-2 decision to the Spartans at the MSU Indoor Tennis Facility.

EMU opened up doubles play a pair of losses as MSU's Allie Baer and Aslina Chua knocked off Ani Gogvadze and Maria Paula RIbero, 6-4, while Daphne Friedrichs and Alejandra Barcelo Almoyna fell at the hands of Emily Meyers and Lexi Baylis, 6-3, at No. 3 doubles.

Friedrichs and Gogvadze were the only Eagles to come away with wins in singles play. Friedrichs took away a 4-6, 6-2, 4-1 win as Catherine Parenteau retired in the third set. Gogvadze defeated Chua handily, 6-3, 6-2 at the No. 2 singles spot. Each of the other four singles matches saw EMU fall in straight sets.

"We are a young team and it showed at times today," remarked Head Coach Ryan Ray. "With experience later on, we can play better in matches of this level. We got a bit soft on some key points, and that will get better with experience."

The Eagles return to the court Saturday, Jan. 24, when they host Detroit at 1 p.m. at the Chippewa Racquet Club.

Doubles
1. Faulkner/Trouillot (MSU) vs. Supejova/Martinovska. 5-5. Suspended
2. Baer/Chua (MSU) def. Gogvadze/Ribero 6-4
3. Meyers/Baylis (MSU) def. 6-3

Singles
1. Erin Faulkner (MSU) def. Klara Supejova 6-1,6-4
2. Ani Gogvadze def. Aslina Chua (MSU) 6-3,6-3
3. Lexi Baylis (MSU) def. Andrea Martinovska 6-1,7-6(2)
4. Daphne Friedrichs def. Catherine Parenteau (MSU) 4-6,6-3,4-1, Retired
5. Athena Trouillot (MSU) def. Renu Sharma 6-0,6-3
6. Emily Meyers (MSU) def. Anna Veleva 6-2,6-1


Miami:

Tennis Goes Out on Top at FGCU

FORT MYERS, Fla. – On their final day of competition at the FGCU Invitational, Miami University’s women’s tennis team closed out play in impressive fashion with a doubles title, the clinching of a bracket, and two placements in singles championships. In all, the RedHawks came away with nine singles victories on the day and filled five spots in the singles semifinals.

In the doubles B bracket, freshman Nelli Ponomareva and junior Ana Rajkovic continued their strong play with a 6-1 victory in the final over Andersen and Galvis of Iowa State. Ponomareva completed her unbeaten Miami debut with singles wins over Kitchen of Southern Miss (6-3, 6-2) and FGCU’s Sterkel (7-6, 9-7, 6-2), advancing her to the final of the draw.

Success in singles play continued with sophomore Andreea Badileanu moving on to the bracket A final with victorious results over Northwestern State’s Kollarova (6-2, 6-3) and Arkansas State’s Larina (6-2, 6-4). But the most impressive feat of the day was three RedHawks advancing to the semifinals of bracket C. Rajkovic defeated Southern Miss’ Waidner in a 6-3, 6-2 result while senior Ramona Costea fought back to take the match, 6-2, 0-6, 7-5, over Iowa State’s Gasparovic. Freshman Erin Rodriguez finished a strong tournament with victories over Iowa State’s Andersen (6-5, 6-1) and Northwestern State’s Ladutska (6-2, 6-3).

Due to returning home on Monday, Miami was named the champions of bracket C as a team. Also, Badileanu and Ponomareva will not play the finals in their respective draws.

The conclusion of the FGCU Invitational marks the end of the exhibition portion of Miami’s season. The RedHawks will now turn their focus to the regular season, which begins with a match Saturday Jan. 24 at 11:00 a.m. against the Indiana Hoosiers in Bloomington, Ind. They will make their home debut the following day at 10 a.m. against Eastern Kentucky at the Riverside Athletic Club in Hamilton, Ohio. Check MURedHawks.com next weekend for recaps of both matches and live stats from the EKU match on Sunday.


Tennis Makes Impressive Entrance at FGCU

FORT MYERS, Fla. – Miami University’s women’s tennis team had a strong opening Saturday at the FGCU Invitational at Florida Gulf Coast University, led by outstanding doubles play and an impressive debut by freshman Nelli Ponomareva.

The RedHawks’ newest player defeated Florida Atlantic’s Catalina Ene, 5-7, 6-0, 6-3, and earned two doubles victories teamed with senior Christine Guerrazzi. The pair defeated duos from Arkansas State (6-2) and Iowa State (6-3) before advancing to Sunday’s bracket A final with a 7-6 (2) win over a pair from FGCU.  They will face Ladutska and Larina of Northwestern State Sunday at 9:00 a.m. for the bracket championship.

In the doubles B bracket, the pair of junior Ana Rajkovic and freshman Erin Rodriguez also came away with three victories on the day and advanced to their championship. The wins were against pairs from Iowa State (6-2), Arkansas State (6-1), and the home-standing Florida Gulf Coast Eagles (6-3). The pair will face Iowa State’s pair of Andersen and Galvis also at 9:00 a.m. Sunday in the bracket final.

The RedHawks also had a successful first day in the singles portion of the tournament. Sophomore Andreea Badileanu advanced to the quarterfinal round of the A bracket with a 7-5, 6-2 victory over Carolin Drescher of Southern Miss. The aforementioned Ponomareva will be joined in the quarterfinals of bracket B by Guerrazzi who overcame a first-set loss to defeat FGCU’s Elizabeth Means, 6-7, 7-6, 6-4. Finally in bracket C, all three Miami players, Rajkovic, Rodriguez, and senior Ramona Costea, moved on to the quarterfinals with straight set victories.

Following tomorrow’s doubles finals, the six remaining Miami singles players will take the court at 10:00 a.m. with semifinal action beginning later in the afternoon. Check MURedHawks.com for full recaps of tournament action throughout the weekend.


Western Michigan:

Women's Tennis Picks Up Split to Open 2015

SOUTH BEND, Ind. / KALAMAZOO, Mich. – The Western Michigan women’s tennis team split their season-opening doubleheader on Saturday, competing ferociously but falling 6-1 against #20 Notre Dame on the road before shutting down the Valparaiso Crusaders 7-0 at West Hills Athletic Club.

The Broncos began the day with the match against the Fighting Irish, with WMU picking up some impressive wins in the process. In fact, Meika Ashby and Caroline Aleck recorded one of the most impressive doubles victories in Bronco history in defeating the 16th-ranked doubles pairing in the nation of Quinn Gleason and Monica Robinson. Ashby and Aleck won the sprint to six games against Gleason and Robinson, winning the match 6-3 to tie the doubles session at 1-1, but the Fighting Irish finished it off with a win at No. 3 doubles.

The Fighting Irish clinched the match victory with three straight wins to open singles play, but freshman Labina Petrovska proved to be a bright spot with a come-from-behind win at the No. 6 singles position. Petrovska dropped her first set 6-3 to Katherine White but rebounded with a big win in the second set, winning 6-2. Petrovska outlasted White in the third set super-tiebreaker, winning the set 10-7 to take the match for the first dual match victory of her career.

The match against the Crusaders proved to be much more fruitful for the Broncos, who opened things up by making quick work of the doubles session. The team of Tracy Kuhle and Ella Perinovic started things off with a shutout, defeating Cary Milanes and Morgan Paras 6-0 in the No. 3 doubles match. Barbare Eristavi and Yuriko Ono followed shortly thereafter, beating Megan Barthels and Michele Fredlake 6-0 in the No. 2 match to secure the doubles point for WMU. Ashby and Olivia Myers finished things off at No. 1, beating Paige Heuer and Kaitlyn Hamel 6-2.

The newest member of the Broncos Anastasya Reshetnikova earned her first win in the Brown and Gold at the No. 6 singles spot, easily besting Paras 6-1, 6-0 for her first career victory. Petrovska earned her second win of the day with by downing Fredlake at the No. 5 singles spot, winning 6-1, 6-2, and Ashby clinched the match victory with a 6-1, 6-1 win over Hamel at the No. 1 spot. Eristavi cruised past Heuer at the No. 3 singles spot, Kuhle downed Barthels 6-3, 6-1 at No. 4, and Myers finished off the match with a 6-2, 6-3 win over Milanes at No. 2.

#20 Notre Dame 6, Western Michigan University 1

Singles competition
1. Quinn Gleason (ND) def. Meika Ashby (WMU) 6-3, 6-3
2. Monica Robinson (ND) def. Olivia Myers (WMU) 6-1, 6-2
3. Julie Vrabel (ND) def. Barbare Eristavi (WMU) 6-1, 6-4
4. Allison Miller (ND) def. Tracy Kuhle (WMU) 6-1, 6-3
5. Jane Fennelly (ND) def. Ella Perinovic (WMU) 6-1, 6-1
6. Labina Petrovska (WMU) def. Katherine White (ND) 3-6, 6-2, 10-7

Doubles competition
1. Meika Ashby/Caroline Aleck (WMU) def. #16 Quinn Gleason/Monica Robinson (ND) 6-3
2. Jane Fennelly/Allison Miller (ND) def. Olivia Myers/Tracy Kuhle (WMU) 6-2
3. Molly O'Koniewski/Katherine White (ND) def. Barbare Eristavi/Ella Perinovic (WMU) 6-4

Order of finish: Doubles (2,1,3); Singles (2,4,5,6,3,1)
T-2:11 A-200

Western Michigan University 7, Valparaiso 0

Singles competition
1. Meika Ashby (WMU) def. Kaitlyn Hamel (VALPO) 6-1, 6-1
2. Olivia Myers (WMU) def. Cary Milanes (VALPO) 6-2, 6-3
3. Barbare Eristavi (WMU) def. Paige Heuer (VALPO) 6-2, 6-1
4. Tracy Kuhle (WMU) def. Megan Barthels (VALPO) 6-3, 6-1
5. Labina Petrovska (WMU) def. Michele Fredlake (VALPO) 6-1, 6-2
6. Ana. Reshetnikova (WMU) def. Morgan Paras (VALPO) 6-1, 6-0

Doubles competition
1. Meika Ashby/Olivia Myers (WMU) def. Paige Heuer/Kaitlyn Hamel (VALPO) 6-2
2. Barbare Eristavi/Yuriko Ono (WMU) def. Megan Barthels/Michele Fredlake (VALPO) 6-0
3. Tracy Kuhle/Ella Perinovic (WMU) def. Cary Milanes/Morgan Paras (VALPO) 6-0

Match Notes:
Order of finish: Doubles (3,2,1); Singles (6,5,1,3,4,2)