MAC WOMEN'S TENNIS CHAMPIONSHIP
2017 MAC Women's Tennis Championship Scoreboard: April 28-30 at Ball State University
Friday, April 28
10:00 am ET No. 4 Miami 4, No. 5 Northern Illinois 1 Final
2:00 pm ET No. 3 Buffalo 4, No. 6 Western Michigan 0 Final
Saturday, April 29
10:00 am ET No. 4 Miami 4, No. 1 Ball State 2 Final
2:00 pm ET No. 3 Buffalo 4, No. 2 Akron 2 Final
Sunday, April 30
Noon ET Championship Match -- No. 3 Buffalo 4, No. 4 Miami 2 Final
No. 3 Buffalo defeats No. 4 Miami, 4-2
Buffalo Wins 2017 MAC Women's Tennis Tournament Championship
Box Score
MUNCIE, IN – The University at Buffalo women’s tennis team claimed the 2017 Mid-American Conference Tournament Championship on Sunday afternoon as the third-seeded Bulls defeated No. 4 Miami, 4-2. With the win, the Bulls have earned the MAC’s automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament.
The Bulls got off to a strong start in doubles as victories and one and two gave UB the early lead. Buffalo got the first win at two as Anna Savchenko and Chantal Martinez Blanco won 6-2. They clinched the point at one as senior Margarita Kotok and junior Tanja Stojanovska won 6-4.
Buffalo continued in singles by winning the first set in four of the six matches. Freshman Emel Abibula got the first victory with a 6-3, 6-0 win at three to put the Bulls up 2-0. Miami then won at five to get on the board, but sophomore Sanjana Sudhir answered right back with a 6-4, 6-1 win at six to give Buffalo a 3-1 lead, needing just one more win to clinch the match.
The RedHawks won at four to pull within 3-2 and both matches at one and two went into a third set. Stojanovska won her first set 6-2 at one before she fell in a second-set tiebreaker, but the first-team All-MAC performer answered right back and won the third set easily, 6-2, clinching UB’s first MAC title since 2008.
The victory for the Bulls was their eighth straight as they improved to 14-8 on the season. The women’s tennis team becomes the first women’s program at UB to advance to a second NCAA Tournament.
The Bulls will find out their destination for the NCAA Tournament on Tuesday at 5:30 pm during the NCAA Selection Show. It will air directly after the men’s selection show concludes. Details for the men’s and women’s tennis selection show party will be forthcoming in the next day. First round games will be played on either Friday, May 12 or Saturday, May 13.
Doubles:
1.Tanja Stojanovska/Margarita Kotok (BUFFALO) def. Nelli Ponomareva/A. Shapovalova (MIAMI) 6-4
2.Anna Savchenko/Chantal Martinez Blanco (BUFFALO) def. Hannah Shteyn/A. Vasiukhina (MIAMI) 6-2
3.Laura Holterbosch/Mercedes Losada Rubio (BUFFALO) vs. Andreea Badileanu/Emily Struble (MIAMI) 5-4, unfinished
Singles:
1.Tanja Stojanovska (BUFFALO) def. Nelli Ponomareva (MIAMI) 6-2, 6-7 (4-7), 6-2
2.Chantal Martinez Blanco (BUFFALO) vs. A. Shapovalova (MIAMI) 6-4, 4-6, 3-0, unfinished
3.Emel Abibula (BUFFALO) def. Andreea Badileanu (MIAMI) 6-3, 6-0
4.Emily Struble (MIAMI) def. Mercedes Losada Rubio (BUFFALO) 7-6 (7-4), 6-2
5.Hannah Shteyn (MIAMI) def. Anna Savchenko (BUFFALO) 6-2, 6-3
6.Sanjana Sudhir (BUFFALO) def. A. Vasiukhina (MIAMI) 6-4, 6-1
