East Michigan News

The Eastern Michigan University tennis team faced a setback against the University of Cincinnati, falling 4-1 in a dual match held at the Western Athletic Club in Cincinnati, Ohio. Despite securing the doubles point for the third consecutive time this season, EMU was unable to clinch any singles victories.

Head Coach Ryan Kucera expressed his thoughts on the outcome: "It was a frustrating result, but a lot of positives can come from today's match. Our doubles play was excellent. We came out firing and really played with the right tactics and the right mentality. It's a long match, though, and we need to learn to keep our discipline and our composure up the entire time. We lost that in some of the moments. There was a lot of high-level tennis being played, but we pressed too much, and they did a great job to maintain their level and not panic. I'm excited for the opportunity to learn from this and get back at it tomorrow against a great Dayton team."

In doubles action, Iva Daneva from North Macedonia paired with Viki Hazmukova from Czechia to win 6-2 at No. 3 doubles. Meanwhile, Sabina Brichackova from Czechia teamed up with Prerna Vichare from India to secure another victory at No. 1 doubles with an identical scoreline.

However, Cincinnati swept through four singles matches to earn their victory. Daniella Shved competed at No. 1 singles while Hazmukova took part at No. 3 singles for EMU; both were unable to secure wins.

Notably, Sabina Brichackova and Prerna Vichare have maintained an unbeaten record in No. 1 doubles this year and are nearing entry into EMU's top 20 all-time list for career doubles wins.

The loss marks Eastern Michigan's first defeat against Cincinnati since March 2000, breaking an eight-match winning streak against them.

Eastern Michigan will conclude its road trip by facing off against the University of Dayton on January 26th at the South Regency Tennis Center in Miamisburg.