CLEVELAND, Ohio (EMUEagles.com) – The Eastern Michigan University tennis team competed at the Viking Invitational over the weekend with the Eagles collecting 19 total victories, including an 8-4 record in doubles play, at the event hosted by Cleveland State University, Oct. 20-22, in Cleveland, Ohio. Eastern took part in the event along with the host Vikings, the Dukes of Duquesne University, and the Penguins of Youngstown State University.
 
Noting The Event
›› Eastern posted a record of 19-14 on the weekend, including an 11-10 mark in singles and an 8-4 record in doubles play.
›› Three players finished the weekend with 6-1 overall records (including singles and doubles), including Andrea Quiroz (Lima, Peru/La Molina 1278/Alcorn State), Ksyusha Saenko (Voronezh, Russia/Gymnasium 2), and Wendy Zhang (Beijing, China/Crnjanski Gimnzija (Serbia)), who saw her first action of the season.
›› Sabina Brichackova (Cheb, Czech Republic/Gymnázium Jana Blahoslava) and Saenko both posted perfect 4-0 records in doubles play, including a 3-0 mark when paired together. With those results, the duo was named the Viking Invitational Doubles Champions.
›› Brichackova was 4-2 on the weekend while Linda Eloundou (Yaounde, Cameroon/Augustine Meyou/New Mexico Military Institute) went 3-4 overall, including 2-1 in singles. Regina Mendez (Los Cabos, Mexico/Picacho McGregor) was 2-4 to round out the Eagles with victories.
›› In singles action, the Eagles were 4-4 against Youngstown State, 2-5 against Cleveland State, and 5-1 against Duquesne.
›› Eastern went 1-2 in doubles against CSU, 5-1 (in two sessions) against Duquesne, and 2-1 against Youngstown State.
 
Quoting Kucera
“Our doubles were impressive,” Head Coach Ryan Kucera said. “It’s something we’ve been working hard on and I’m proud of the progress we’ve made. We are more aggressive, our decision making has improved immensely, and our energy was great. We’re having a lot more fun out there and it’s translating to our execution. I could highlight everyone, but Sabina and Ksyusha stand out; they were playing doubles the way it’s meant to be played, they had great chemistry, they were flying all over the court, and they had incredible net play. It was just outstanding doubles.
 
“Our singles had great moments, coupled with great learning opportunities,” Kucera continued. “Andrea was an incredible competitor. She had great focus, a great attitude, and her execution got better with each match. It was fun to see her play with such poise and confidence. I was pleased with the way we competed, especially Sunday. In the tough moments, we are not beating ourselves, which shows discipline. I am immensely proud of Regina for finishing the weekend with a gusty win. She was fearless in the tiebreak.
 
“We always have areas we need to improve,” Kucera finished. “We need a better efficiency rate for finishing points. Cleveland taught a great lesson on Saturday that once you get an opponent where you want them, you can’t let them out of jail. Overall, it was a great weekend against three quality opponents. I am excited to keep working and build off the great foundation we’ve set so far.”
 
Day One Recap
Eastern played one round of singles and two doubles rounds to open action in Cleveland. The day began with the Eagles playing eight singles matches against Youngstown State with both teams winning four matches. Eastern was victorious as Saenko (No. 2), Eloundou (No. 4), Quiroz (No. 5), and Zhang (No. 8) each won matches, all of which came via sweeps.
 
The Eagles moved on to doubles play, first facing the host Vikings, who took 2-of-3 matches. Eastern was victorious at No. 1 as Brichackova and Saenko won their first of three matches together on the weekend. The added another win in the final action of the day with a win over Duquesne while Quiroz and Zhang combined to win at No. 2 to give EMU wins in 2-of-3 over the Dukes.
 
Day Two Recap
The second day of action was similar to the first with the Eagles playing one round of singles and two doubles. The day opened with CSU winning five of the seven singles matches as Quiroz (No. 3) and Zhang (No. 7) were the lone victories for the Eagles.
 
EMU opened doubles with a rematch against Duquesne, but this time, the Eagles won all three matches. Saenko and Zhang took the win at No. 1, Brichackova and Quiroz won at No. 2, and Eloundou and Mendez combined to complete the sweep with the win at No. 3. Doubles ended as EMU won 2-of-3 over the Penguins, including Brichackova and Saenko winning at No. 1 and Quiroz and Zhang taking the victory at No. 2.
 
Day Three Recap
Eastern and Duquesne squared off in singles to close out the weekend as the two played six singles matches with the Eagles nearly sweeping the Dukes, winning 5-of-6 matches. Saenko (No. 1), Quiroz (No. 2), Eloundou (No. 3), Mendez (No. 4), and Zhang (No. 6) each won their matches. Vidisha Reddy (Hyderabad, India/Villa Marie/Edinboro) nearly pulled off the come-from-behind win, falling 6-3, 3-6, 13-11.
 
Up Next
The Eagles return to action Nov. 10-12 at the Bronco Super Challenge, hosted by Western Michigan University in Kalamazoo, Mich. The three-day event will be the final fall competition for Eastern with the spring season set to get underway after the new year.
 
Follow Along
For all things EMU Tennis, be sure to check out the team’s social media accounts, including EMUEaglesTennis on Twitter and EMU_Tennis on Instagram.
 
2023 VIKING INVITATIONAL
Oct. 20-22 • Cleveland, Ohio
OCT. 20 • DAY ONE
SINGLES vs. Youngstown State
#1 – Eliska Masarikova (Y) def. Prerna Vichare, 6-2, 3-6, 10-5
#2 – Ksyusha Saenko (E) def. Lorena Cedeno, 6-2, 6-3
#3 – Julia Marko (Y) def. Sabina Brichackova, 6-2, 6-2
#4 – Linda Eloundou (E) def. Yeseniia Ovcharova, 6-0, 6-2
#5 – Andrea Quiroz (E) def. Lili Minich, 7-6(2), 6-2
#6 – Line Greyling (Y) def. Regina Mendez, 6-3, 3-6, 12-10
#7 – Elinor Beazley (Y) def. Vidisha Reddy, 6-3, 6-4
#8 – Wendy Zhang (E) def. Maria Olvieira, 8-7(2)
 
DOUBLES vs. Cleveland State
#1 – Sabina Brichackova/Ksyusha Saenko (E) def. Bethany Yauch/Sima Heren, 6-4
#2 – Selma Tounsi/Filippa Frogner (C) def. Linda Eloundou/Andrea Quiroz, 6-2
#3 – Tereze Vevere/Ella Franz (C) def. Vidisha Reddy/Wendy Zhang, 6-0
 
DOUBLES vs. Duquesne
#1 – Sabina Brichackova/Ksyusha Saenko (E) def. Daniela Latoni/Jasa Roka, 7-5
#2 – Andrea Quiroz/Wendy Zhang (E) def. Mila Badics/Sofia Serrano, 7-6(4)
#3 – Ellen Shanahan/Taisai Yakunina (D) def. Linda Eloundou/Regina Mendez, 6-0
 
OCT. 21 • DAY TWO
SINGLES vs. Cleveland State
#1 – Oihane Vicario (C) def. Ksyusha Saenko, 6-4, 6-2
#2 – Bethany Yauch (C) def. Linda Eloundou, 6-3, 6-2
#3 – Andrea Quiroz (E) def. Sima Heren, 6-2, 4-6, 10-8
#4 – Tereze Vevere (C) def. Sabina Brichackova, 3-6, 7-5, 10-5
#5 – Ella Franz (C) def. Vidisha Reddy, 7-5, 7-6(3)
#6 – Filippa Frogner (C) def. Regina Mendez, 6-4, 6-1
#7 – Wendy Zhang (E) def. Mikaela Konstantinova, 8-3
 
DOUBLES vs. Duquesne
#1 – Ksyusha Saenko/Wendy Zhang (E) def. Daniela Latoni/Jasa Roka, 6-2
#2 – Sabina Brichackova/Andrea Quiroz (E) def. Ellen Shanahan/Taisia Yakunina, 6-2
#3 – Linda Eloundou/Regina Mendez (E) def. Mila Badics/Sofia Serrano, 6-4
 
DOUBLES vs. Youngstown State
#1 – Sabina Brichackova/Ksyusha Saenko (E) def. Elinor Beazley/Julia Marko, 6-2
#2 – Andrea Quiroz/Wendy Zhang (E) def. Line Grayling/Yeseniia Ovcharova, 6-2
#3 – Eliska Masarikova/Lili Minich (Y) def. Linda Eloundou/Regina Mendez, 6-4
 
OCT. 22 • DAY THREE
SINGLES vs. Duquesne
#1 – Ksyusha Saenko (E) def. Daniela Latoni, 7-6(6), 6-4
#2 – Andrea Quiroz (E) def. Jasa Roka, 6-1, 7-6(1)
#3 – Linda Eloundou (E) def. Mila Badics, 6-2, 6-4
#4 – Regina Mendez (E) def. Taisia Yakunina, 3-6, 6-4, 11-9
#5 – Ellen Shanahan (D) def. Vidisha Reddy, 6-3, 3-6, 13-11
#6 – Wendy Zhang (E) def. Sofia Serrano, 6-1, 6-4