HATS OFF TO YOU
Friday, April 11, will be a busy day on the EMU Athletics campus as fans can cheer their Eagles in four events, starting with the match against Northern Illinois at 1 p.m. and followed by baseball against Toledo at 2 p.m. (Oestrike Stadium), lacrosse hosting Oregon at 3 p.m. (Scicluna Field), and football’s spring game at 6:30 p.m. (Rynearson Stadium). Fans that stop by the marketing table at any of the first three events can secure a Block E snap back hat while fans that stop by all three and get their punch card filled will be eligible to win a Block E adidas hoodie that will be given away at football. For all the details, click HERE.
FIRST SERVES
» Eastern slipped to 9-11 overall and 2-5 in MAC play after falling in two road contests last weekend, including 4-3 at Toledo (April 4) and 5-2 at Buffalo (April 6).
» The program will hold Senior Day festivities at 12:45 p.m. Sunday ahead of the match with Bowling Green. The team will honor four seniors, including Sabina Brichackova, Marta Komar, Lily Tria, and Prerna Vichare for their contributions to the program.
» Eastern is 8-2 at home this year and 19-2 overall in the last two seasons under Ryan Kucera. The eight wins tie with the 2018 team (8-2) for the second-most in a single season behind last year’s perfect 11-0 record at the Chippewa Club.
» The Eagles are 12-of-20 in claiming the doubles point this season. EMU claimed 13-of-23 last year, one season removed from earning the point just four times. All told, the Eagles have won 58.1 percent (25-of-43) doubles points under Ryan Kucera.
» Eastern swept the doubles point last weekend with the team of Sabina Brichackova and Prerna Vichare winning twice at No. 1 to clinch the point each time. For their efforts, they were named the MAC Doubles Team of the Week.
» Daniella Shved won both of singles matches while playing at the No. 1 position, including coming from one set down at Toledo to win in three. She was named the MAC Singles Player of the Week.
» The 5-2 loss at Buffalo ended a streak of five consecutive matches in which the Eagles played to a one-point decision. EMU was 2-3 in those contests that ended in 4-3 scores.
» The 4-3 win over Western Michigan (March 28) marked the 175th MAC win in program history. EMU is now 175-152 all-time in MAC matches (does not include MAC Tournament events).
» The 2025 MAC Preseason Coaches Poll was released Jan. 7 with the Eagles voted to finish third with 35 points while Miami (48) and Toledo (38) were ranked ahead of EMU. Eastern was voted to finish fourth one year ago and did so to earn its first MAC Tournament appearance since 2018.
» The Eagles’ 2024-25 roster features 10 players, including six returnees and four newcomers. In total, nine different nations are represented on the roster, including the U.S., Argentina, Czechia, India, Israel, Mexico, North Macedonia, Poland, and Russia.
» Ryan Kucera returns for his second season as the team’s head coach and will look to guide the team to the MAC Tournament for the second year in a row, which would mark the first time it has happened since the 2014 and 2015 tournaments.
SENIOR SENDOFF
Prior to Sunday’s match with Bowling Green, the EMU program will honor its four seniors on Senior Day. The Class of 2025 features four players, including Sabina Brichackova and Prerna Vichare, who have been members of the program for four years, two-year member Lily Tria, and one-year member Marta Komar.
FEELING HONORED
The league announced its weekly award winners, April 8, with the Eagles sweeping the accolades as Daniella Shved was named the MAC Singles Player of the Week while the duo of Sabina Brichackova and Prerna Vichare earned MAC Doubles Team of the Week honors. Shved was a perfect 2-0 at No. 1 singles, including bouncing back from a first-set loss at Toledo to win in three. Brichackova and Vichare also were 2-0 at the No. 1 position as they clinched the doubles point in both matches while securing their 41st and 42nd career wins together.
KNOW THE FOE: NORTHERN ILLINOIS
The Huskies stand 20-4 (6-1 MAC) and have won six consecutive matches since falling to Ball State, 5-2 (March 21), for their lone conference loss. NIU, who sits second in the MAC standings, has secured at least five points in five of its last six matches with the lone exemption being its 4-3 home win over Toledo. The Huskies are 4-3 away from home following their 6-1 win at Bowling Green (April 4).
IN THE SERIES: NORTHERN ILLINOIS
The Eagles stand 34-13 all-time against Northern Illinois despite having lost the last two meetings, including a 5-2 setback earlier this season (March 16). When playing in Ypsilanti, the Eagles hold a 17-4 advantage with the 6-1 win last year (March 29, 2024) snapping a four-match winning streak for the Huskies at the Chippewa Club.
THE LAST TIME VS. THE HUSKIES
The Eagles and Huskies met in DeKalb, Ill., March 16, in the MAC opener for both teams with the host Huskies taking a 5-2 decision. EMU jumped out to a 1-0 lead by claiming the doubles point as Sabina Brichackova and Prerna Vichare won at No. 1 before Lara Diaz Zayas and Daniella Shved clinched the point with their win at No. 3. From there, Vichare’s win at No. 3 singles was the only point secured as the Eagles fell on the road.
KNOW THE FOE: BOWLING GREEN
The Falcons are 9-11 overall and 0-7 in MAC play with losses in their last seven contests, including a pair of 6-1 setbacks last week at home to both Northern Illinois and Toledo. Bowling Green is 2-5 away from home this year and has lost four in a row, including a 5-2 loss at Buffalo (March 30) in its most recent road contest.
IN THE SERIES: BOWLING GREEN
Eastern leads the all-time series with Bowling Green, 37-17, and has won the last three meetings, including a 6-1 decision in Bowling Green, Ohio, last year (April 21, 2024). When playing host to the Falcons, the Eagles hold an 18-2 all-time record with a 6-1 win in the most recent meeting (March 26, 2023). BGSU last won in Ypsilanti, April 9, 2021, with a 7-0 score, a win that snapped a nine-match home winning streak in the series for the Eagles.
THE LAST TIME VS. THE FALCONS
The Eagles and Falcons last met in last year’s regular season finale (April 21, 2024) with Eastern securing a 6-1 win on the road – its lone away win in 2024. After claiming the doubles point, the Eagles would build a 2-0 lead before the Falcons claimed a win at No. 4 singles. From there, the Eagles would sweep the remaining for singles matches to claim the 6-1 win.
HOME PROTECTION
Since taking over the program ahead of the 2023-24 season, the Eagles hold an 19-2 record at home under Ryan Kucera, a mark that included the Eagles going a perfect 11-0 at home last year and 8-2 this year. In the previous six seasons played ahead of Kucera’s arrival, the Eagles were 21-30, including a 3-4 mark in the 2022-23 season.
KEEPING IT CLOSE
Following their loss at Toledo (April 4), the Eagles had played five consecutive matches that ended in 4-3 scores with the Eagles holding a 2-3 record. The streak stands as the longest single-season streak of one-point scores and tied for the longest overall streak after EMU closed the 2022 season with three consecutive 4-3 scores (home win over Northern Illinois, home loss to Western Michigan, and road loss at Ball State) before opening the 2023 season with back-to-back losses (at Cleveland State and at Chicago State). Overall, EMU is 111-100 all-time in one-point matches and 44-47 in MAC matches.
QUITE THE PAIR
Sabina Brichackova and Prerna Vichare have been quite the team over the past four seasons as the duo has now played 73 career doubles matches together for the Eagles. The duo holds a record of 42-23, including 11-4 this season, with eight more matches marked as abandoned. The tandem, who got the season started well this past fall as they were the runners-up at the inaugural MAC Fall Individual Championships, swept their matches at No. 1 over the weekend at Toledo and Buffalo while clinching the doubles point in both.
MAKING THE CLIMB
Sabina Brichackova has placed her name throughout the EMU record book as she has tallied 116 combined victories with 56 wins in singles play and 60 in doubles. For combined wins, Brichackova needs just five more to reach a tie for 17th place that includes Caryn Stube (1989-92) and Mariya Toncheva (2010-14) with 121 wins. In doubles play, her 60 wins currently ranks 18th all-time in program history with Naomi Mokelke (1989-92) while her 56 singles wins have her one away from tying Victoria Domina (2003-05) for 20th at 57.
UP THE LADDER
Prerna Vichare recently joined her doubles partner on the career wins ledger as her 58 victories place her in the all-time top 20 at No. 20. She has secured 95 combined wins during her time at EMU, needing five more to reach 100 for her career.
IN A CLINCH
Viki Hazmukova has been the closer for the Eagles this season as she has won the clinching point for the team twice in three wins with both coming at the No. 2 singles position. Additionally, of the 10 doubles points won, Hazmukova has been part of four winning teams, pairing with Marta Komar twice and once each with Sabina Brichackova and Iva Daneva.
POINTING IT OUT
In the 15 matches the Eagles played during the 2022-23 season, the team captured the doubles point just four times (26.7 percent). Since taking over the program ahead of the 2023-24 season, the Eagles have shown great growth in doubles play as the team has captured the doubles point in 23-of-41 matches under Ryan Kucera, a 56.1 percent win rate. After the 2023-24 team won 13-of-23 points (.565), this year’s team has captured 10-of-18 (.556) through the dual at home with visiting Miami.
PRESEASON PROGNOSTICATIONS
The 2025 MAC Preseason Coaches Poll was released Jan. 7 with the Eagles earning 35 points to rank third on the list behind Miami (48 points) and Toledo (38). The remaining rankings, which are based upon votes from the league’s coaches, were Northern Illinois (30) in fourth, Ball State (35) fifth, Buffalo (23) sixth, Western Michigan (14) seventh, and Bowling Green (seven) eighth. Additionally, the coaches cast votes on who would win the MAC Tournament, which is slated for April 24-25 in Toledo, Ohio, with Miami earning five votes while EMU, Buffalo, and Toledo each earned one.
In Ryan Kucera‘s first season with the Eagles (2023-24), Eastern was voted tied for fourth in the preseason before finishing fourth and earning a berth in the MAC Tournament for the first time since 2018. EMU dropped a 4-3 decision to host Toledo in the semifinals.
ON THE HORIZON
The final match of the regular season awaits the Eagles next week when they travel to Muncie, Ind., to take on Ball State University in a 1 p.m. match Friday, April 18.
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.
