East Michigan News

Three members of the Eastern Michigan University (EMU) tennis team are set to compete in the 2024 Mid-American Conference (MAC) Women's Fall Individual Championships. The event will take place from October 24-27 at the Riverside Athletic Club in Hamilton, Ohio. Hosted by Miami University, the tournament will feature two singles entrants and one doubles team from each of the eight MAC schools that sponsor women's tennis.

The competition begins on Thursday with first-round singles matches scheduled for 10 a.m. and 12 p.m. On Friday, quarterfinals for doubles start at 9 a.m., followed by consolation singles at 11 a.m., and singles quarterfinals at 2 p.m. Saturday's events include doubles semifinals at 1 p.m. and singles semifinals at 4 p.m. The championships conclude on Sunday with the doubles final at 10 a.m. and the singles final around 12:30 p.m.

Representing EMU are Sabina Brichackova in both singles and doubles, Iva Daneva in singles, and Prerna Vichare in doubles. Brichackova is nearing her milestone of 100 career wins, currently holding 98 victories split between singles and doubles matches.

Brichackova will face Elena Malykh from Ball State in her opening match on Thursday morning, while Daneva will play against Sara Zalukar from Miami later that day. In doubles, Brichackova teams up with Vichare to compete against Sarah Shahbaz and Isabelle Tanjuatco from Ball State on Friday morning.

Head coach Ryan Kucera returns for his second season with hopes of leading EMU to consecutive MAC Tournament appearances for the first time since 2014-2015.

In recent competitions, Daniella Shved reached the Round of 32 during the ITA Midwest Regional Championships held earlier this month in Columbus, Ohio. Meanwhile, Brichackova and Daneva participated but fell short of advancing past qualifiers.

The Eagles' next challenge after this tournament is scheduled for November when they travel to East Lansing for the Spartan Invitational hosted by Michigan State University.

For updates on EMU Tennis activities, fans can follow their social media accounts @EMUEaglesTennis on X (formerly Twitter) and @EMU_Tennis on Instagram.