Women's Tennis | April 23

DeKALB, Ill. – The Northern Illinois University women's tennis team returns to the MAC Championship Tournament for the first time since 2017, and for the first time since the field was shortened to four teams in 2020, Thursday (April 24) when they take on Toledo at the UT Varsity Tennis Courts in Toledo.
 
The match between the No. 2 seed and MAC West Division Champion Huskies and the No. 3 seed Rockets, is the second semifinal of the day and will begin at approximately 1 p.m. (CT). No. 1 seed Miami and No. 4 Buffalo face off Thursday morning in the other semifinal match.
 
NIU enters the championship 21-6 overall and posted a 7-3 record versus MAC opponents, including a 4-3 win over Toledo in DeKalb on March 28. The No. 2 seed is the highest in school history by a Huskie team. Toledo, which won the MAC Championship a year ago, is 14-6 overall and also went 7-3 in the MAC.
 
"It's been a special year, and the players have done a great job," said NIU head coach Eric Burns, whose 92 wins over the last six seasons rank second in NIU women's tennis history. "We really don't know what to expect going into this; it's so hard to even get in [to the tournament] and then facing Toledo on their home courts is going to be tough. We've done a nice job of staying in the moment and taking each match one by one this year."
 
NIU's success in 2025 has been characterized by solid play from its returning veterans, and the emergence of senior transfer Maria Dzemeshkevich and freshmen Irmak Budak, Lucia Yecora and Theodora Kousiou. Dzemeshkevich, an all-conference player at Houston before transferring to NIU this year, earned first team All-MAC honors on Wednesday from league coaches, the first Huskie to make the first team since 2017.
 
"Masha [Dzemeshkevich] was great this year and we knew she would be," Burns said. "Her confidence and attitude made a huge difference in her game and allowed her to have the type of season she's had.
 
"Then we've had outstanding performances by the freshmen. We didn't know they were going to be ready to come in and win in singles the way they have. I still think we can be better, but overall they've been really good this year."
 
The three freshmen all earned spots in the line-up during the season with Budak playing at the No. 1 and 2 positions and Yecora dominating, first on line four, before moving into third singles spot for the last month of the season. Budak brings a 16-7 record into Thursday's match while Yecora, who earned second team All-MAC honors Wednesday, is 18-2. Kousiou played in 11 matches at No. 5 and 6 singles during the season.
 
Huskie veterans Nataly Ninova, Isabella Righi and Jenna Horne make up the rest of the singles regulars for NIU. Ninova led the Huskies with a 21-4 record in dual matches while playing primarily at the No. 3 and 4 positions. A second team All-MAC choice in 2025, she set the school record for singles wins in a season with 30, including nine during the fall.
 
Righi has a winning record at the No. 5 and 6 singles spots and has teamed with Yecora to go 11-9 at No. 2 doubles. Horne is an impressive 10-3 in singles on the season, while she and senior Reagan Welch have formed NIU's winningest doubles team with 14 victories in 18 completed matches at No. 3 doubles.
 
NIU last won a match at the MAC Tournament in 2009 when all league teams participated in the championship. The field was shortened to six teams in 2013 and to just four teams in 2022.
 
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