Women's Tennis | April 7
Box Score YPSILANTI, Mich. – Trailing 3-1 to Eastern Michigan in Ypsilanti, the Northern Illinois University women's tennis team won three three-set matches to claim a 4-3 comeback victory over the Eagles Friday at the Chippewa Club.
The Huskies fell behind 1-0 after EMU earned the doubles point with wins at No. 1 and 2 doubles. NIU's
Diana Lukyanova put the first point on the board for the Huskies with a 6-1, 6-1 win at No. 2 singles over Wendy Zhang of EMU. The Eagles earned victories at No. 4 and No. 3 singles to lead 3-1 and needed just one win in one of the last three singles matches to win the match.
NIU's
Erika Dimitriev,
Isabella Righi and
Angelica Ross had other ideas. At No. 1 singles, Dimitriev and EMU's Andrea Quiroz split the first two sets and were tied 4-4 in the third set. Dimitriev won the next two games to take the set, 6-4, and the point for NIU.
Meanwhile, after losing the first set at No. 5 singles, 6-0, freshman
Isabella Righi and EMU's Linda Nga went to a tiebreaker in the second set. In the tiebreaker, Righi saved four match points, any one of which would have given the Eagles the team victory. After Righi triumphed in the tiebreaker, 11-9, she went on to win the third set 6-3, tying the team score at 3-3.
Righi's victory set the stage for NIU junior
Angelica Ross's comeback win at No. 6 singles to complete the Huskie comeback. After Ross and EMU's Regina Mendez split the first two sets, Ross fell behind Mendez, 5-2, in the third set. Spurred on by her teammates and Righi's win, Ross rallied to force a tiebreaker, which she won by a 7-3 score.
With the win, NIU evened its overall record at 12-12 on the season and broke a four-game losing streak in MAC matches to improve to 2-4 versus league opponents. EMU is 5-6 overall, 2-4 in the MAC. The Huskies and Eagles will face each other again in just one week, this time in DeKalb. That match is scheduled for 1 p.m. on Friday, April 14.
NIU 4, Eastern Michigan 3
April 7, 2023 at Ypsilanti, Mich.
(Chippewa Club)
Singles
1. Erika DIMITRIEV (NIU) def. QUIROZ, Andrea (EMU) 6-2, 1-6, 6-4
2. Diana LUKYANOVA (NIU) def. ZHANG, Wendy (EMU) 6-1, 6-1
3. SHVED Daniella (EMU) def. Nataly NINOVA (NIU) 6-3, 7-6 (7-3)
4. BRICHACKOVA, Sabina (EMU) def. Reagan WELCH (NIU) 6-2, 6-2
5. Isabella RIGHI (NIU) def. NGA, Linda (EMU) 0-6, 7-6 (11-9), 6-3
6. Angelica ROSS (NIU) def. MENDEZ, Regina (EMU) 4-6, 6-4, 7-6 (7-3)
Doubles
1. VICHARE, Prerna/BRICHACKOVA, Sabina (EMU) def. Erika DIMITRIEV /Nataly NINOVA (NIU) 6-4
2. ZHANG, Wendy/SHVED Daniella (EMU) def. Reagan WELCH/Diana LUKYANOVA (NIU) 6-1
3. QUIROZ, Andrea/NGA, Linda (EMU) vs. McKenna CHUDY /Isabella RIGHI,(NIU) 5-6, unfinished
-- NIU --
Twitter: @NIUAthletics
Facebook: NIU Huskies
Instagram: niuhuskies
YouTube: NIU Athletics
