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YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) — The Eastern Michigan University tennis team will play its first home matches of the 2024 campaign this weekend as the Eagles are set for three duals inside the Chippewa Club in Ypsilanti. The weekend opens with the Eagles (0-1) playing host to the Hillsdale College Chargers (0-0) in a 1 p.m. dual Saturday, Jan. 27, before welcoming the Bulldogs of Ferris State University (1-1) for a doubleheader Sunday, Jan. 28, with duals slated to start at 2 p.m. and 5 p.m. Admission for all three duals ais free.
FIRST SERVES
» Eastern enters the weekend with an 0-1 record after dropping a 7-0 decision at Northwestern in the season-opener, Jan. 20, in Evanston, Ill.
» After opening the season on the road, the Eagles are set to play their next five duals at home before embarking on a five-match road trip through Michigan, Indiana, and South Carolina.
» The Eagles are 28-17 all-time in their first home dual of the year and have won two in a row.
» Eastern is 94-109 all-time against teams from the state of Michigan, including 2-0 against Hillsdale and 3-0 against Ferris State.
» Ryan Kucera was named the head coach of the Eagles Aug. 9, 2023, and enters his first spring dual season at the helm of the program.
LIFTING LIDS • HOME OPENER
The Eagles hold an all-time record of 28-17 in their first home dual of the season and have won two in a row, including a 5-2 defeat of Youngstown State, Feb. 18, 2023. Prior to that, the Eagles handed Lawrence Tech a 7-0 setback to open the 2022 season (Feb. 2, 2022), a win that snapped a two-match losing streak. Additionally, Eastern is 12-7 when its home opener comes against a fellow Michigan school. Eastern has won two of the last three home openers against Michigan schools and 10 of the last 13.
MITTEN MEETINGS
The home duals this weekend will mark the first three of seven against fellow Michigan schools during the 2024 campaign. Along with the single dual with Hillsdale Saturday, Jan. 27, and the doubleheader with Ferris State Sunday, Jan. 28, the Eagles have duals slated with Oakland (Feb. 10) and Western Michigan (April 19) at home, and on the road with Michigan State (Feb. 11) and WMU (April 12). Overall, the Eagles hold a record of 94-109 all-time against Michigan schools heading into the matches with the Chargers and Bulldogs.
SCOUTING: HILLSDALE
The Chargers, under Head Coach Liam Fraboulet, are set for their first matches of the 2024 season this weekend with the dual against the Eagles serving as their season opener. Last year, Hillsdale posted a 10-9 overall record and reached the semifinals for the Great Midwest Athletic Conference Tournament as the No. 3 seed in the NCAA Division II event.
IN THE SERIES: EAGLES vs. CHARGERS
Eastern is 2-0 all-time against Hillsdale, although the teams have not met since 1977. The series opened Oct. 8, 1976, with the Eagles claiming 9-0 win at Hillsdale before winning by the same score Oct. 7, 1977, at home.
SCOUTING: FERRIS STATE
Under the direction of Head Coach Mark Doren, the Bulldogs enter the weekend with a 1-1 record on the year with a 5-2 win over Bucknell and a 7-0 loss to Western Michigan to their credit. The Bulldogs, playing in NCAA Division II and the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, are coming off a season in which they posted an 8-11 overall record and were 2-5 in the GLIAC.
IN THE SERIES: EAGLES vs. BULLDOGS
Eastern holds a 3-0 all-time record against Ferris State with all three victories coming in Ypsilanti. The last time the two teams met came March 21, 1998, a 9-0 victory for the host Eagles. The series began Oct. 3, 1976, with a 9-0 EMU win and was followed by an 8-1 win Feb. 17, 1996.
LOOKING BACK: NORTHWESTERN
Eastern opened its 2024 slate on the road, Jan. 20, in a 7-0 loss at Northwestern. The dual opened with the Wildcats taking the doubles points with wins at both No. 1 and No. 2. The No. 3 match between EMU’s Daniella Shved and Andrea Quiroz and NU’s Britany Lau and Maria Shusharina was tied at 4-4, but was unfinished as the Wildcats’ wins at the remaining two position secured the doubles point.
In singles, the Eagles were unable to secure a set as the hosts took all six matches to claim the win. The Eagles featured five players that returned from last year’s team in Shved at No. 1, Prerna Vichare at No. 2, Quiroz at No. 3, Linda Eloundou at No. 5, and Sabina Brichackova at No. 6 with freshman Ksyusha Saenko playing at No. 4 for Eastern
WELCOME ABOARD
Eastern Michigan is guided by Ryan Kucera, who took the reigns as the program’s head coach Aug. 9. The 11th head coach in EMU history, Kucera came to Ypsilanti after one season leading Milwaukee, in which the Panthers advanced to the semifinals of the 2023 Horizon League Tournament. Prior to that, he spent two seasons at Minnesota State-Mankato where his second season saw the team reach the second round of the conference tournament. Kucera is a graduate of Grand View (Iowa) where he was a student-athlete from 2017-20 after one season at Luther College.
SHVED: RETURNING ALL-MAC PLAYER
Daniella Shved was named First Team All-Mid-American Conference, the league office announced April 28, 2022. Shved was one of just six student-athletes to be named on the first team and was the only underclassman to be represented on the list. Shved, who joined the Eagles prior to the 2023 spring campaign, is the 14th All-MAC first team selection in program history, and is the first for the Eagles since Ani Gogvadze (2014-18) in 2018. Additionally, Shved became the first “true” freshman to earn first team accolades in program history. One of the most dominant players in the league in 2022, Shved finished her spring with a team-best 12-2 mark in singles play. Her total wins (12), and win percentage (86%) were both the best among all Eagles in 2023.
PRESEASON PROGNOSTICATIONS
The MAC announced its 2024 coaches preseason poll Jan. 17 with the Eagles earning 28 points in the voting, tying Ball State for fourth place. Toledo (47), Miami (38), and Buffalo (35) comprised the top three in the poll with Western Michigan (27), Northern Illinois (14), and Bowling Green (7) ranking sixth, seventh, and eighth, respectively. Toledo (6) and Miami (2) earned the first-place votes with the Rockets (6), RedHawks (1), and Cardinals (1) all earning votes for who will win the 2024 MAC Tournament that will take place in Toledo, Ohio, April 26-27.
ON THE HORIZON
The Eagles return to action at home Sunday, Feb. 4, when the Vikings of Cleveland State University come to town for a 1 p.m. dual inside the Chippwea Club in Ypsilanti. Admission for the dual is free.
FOLLOW US
For all things EMU Tennis, be sure to check out the team’s social media accounts, including EMUEaglesTennis on X (formerly Twitter) and EMU_Tennis on Instagram.