OXFORD, Ohio – The Northern Illinois University women's tennis team earned a split of the six singles matches at Miami (Ohio) Friday in the final regular season match of the year but could not come away with the doubles point as Miami claimed the outright regular season title with a 4-3 win in Oxford.
 
"It was a tough match," said NIU head coach Eric Burns. "Miami is a top team for a reason. They have five seniors, they are experienced. We fought really hard and gave ourselves chances to win, but just didn't get it done in the moments we needed to, especially in doubles. We had trouble closing out games in doubles."
 
The Huskies fell behind 1-0 as Miami duos won at No. 1 and No. 2 doubles to claim the point. The RedHawks took a 2-0 lead with a win at No. 1 singles before junior Nataly Ninova put NIU on the board with a 6-4, 6-1 win, adding to her school record total with her 30th singles win of the year. Miami won at No. 5 singles and clinched the match with a straight set win on the second line.
 
"They were too good today at No. 1 and No. 5," Burns said. "At No. 2, 6-4, 6-4 is a tight match that comes down to a point here or there. We had chances, just didn't get it today. We'll regroup and get ready to play Toledo on Thursday."
 
NIU freshman Lucia Yecora continued her run of stellar play during her rookie season with a 6-4, 7-6 (7-1) win at No. 3 singles to improve her record in dual matches to 18-2 overall and 9-1 versus MAC opponents. Junior Jenna Horne provided NIU's final point as she came back after losing the first set in a tiebreaker for a 6-7 (2-7), 6-1, 1-0 (10-1) win at No. 6 singles.
 
"Jenna battled back in the second set and won the 10-point tiebreaker easily," Burns said. "Nataly was down 3-0 at the start and came roaring back for a win. Lu [Yecora] was down 4-0 in the second and came back to get the win in the tiebreaker."
 
The Huskies (21-6, 7-3 MAC), who clinched the Mid-American Conference West Division title at home last Sunday, will go into the MAC Tournament semifinals on Thursday (April 24) as the No. 2 seed, its best seeding ever in the league championship tournament. The Huskies will take on No. 3 seed and homestanding Toledo in the second semifinal match of the day beginning at approximately 1 p.m. (CT). NIU last played in the MAC Championship, which went to a four-team format in 2022, in 2017.
 
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