KALAMAZOO, Mich.- Western Michigan women's tennis completed the regular season on Sunday at Sorenson Courts against defending champion Miami. The Broncos will head to the Mid-American Conference Tournament with a 17-7 overall record and a 6-2 record in the MAC. The Brown and Gold finished third in the MAC behind Ball State and Miami.
Western Michigan had a chance to earn a share of the regular season MAC Championship but fell at home to Miami 5-2. The team will have an opportunity to win the MAC Tournament Championship in Oxford, Ohio next weekend.
"We had our chances in doubles but didn't finish," WMU head coach Ryan Tomlinson said. "Once again that point is huge."
The duo of Meika Ashby and Denise Azcui defeated Hannah Shteyn and Ana Rajkovic 7-5 at No. 3 doubles. WMU dropped tough back-and-forth matches at No. 1 and No. 2 doubles. Tracy Kuhle and Melina Lyubomirova were defeated 7-5 at No. 1 doubles and Barabare Eristavi and Katja Fevralev were defeated 6-4 at No. 2 doubles.
"We fought hard in singles," Tomlinson said. "It just wasn't our day, credit to Miami they played like defending champs."
Junior Tracy Kuhle finished the regular season with a straight sets win at No. 2 singles 6-3, 6-4 and leads the team with a 25-10 record and a 7-1 MAC record. Junior Barbare Eristavi won at No. 3 singles, after dropping the first set she stormed back to win 3-6, 6-1, 6-4. Eristavi finishes the regular seaosn with a 22-9 record and has won nine straight matches.
"We will go in as the No. 3 seed to the MAC Tournament," Tomlinson said. "We will be playing a motivated Toledo team, we will have to be ready to play."
The MAC Tournament is held at Miami this season and will take place from Friday, April 29 through Sunday, May 1.
"We still haven't played our best tennis," Tomlinson said. "We look forward to the tournament!"
Follow the Broncos on Twitter @WMUWomensTennis for all updates about the team!
Singles vs. Miami
1. Hannah Shteyn (MIAMI) def. Melina Lyubomirova (WMU) 6-2, 6-0
2. Tracy Kuhle (WMU) def. Neli Ponomareva (MIAMI) 6-3, 6-4
3. Barbare Eristavi (WMU) def. AnzhelikaShapovalova (MIAMI) 3-6, 6-1, 6-4
4. Andreea Badileanu (MIAMI) def. Katja Fevralev (WMU) 3-6, 6-3, 7-5
5. Emily Struble (MIAMI) def. Meika Ashby (WMU) 6-1, 6-3
6. Ana Rajkovic (MIAMI) def. Denise Azcui (WMU) 6-4, 6-4
Order of finish: Singles (1,2,5,6,3,4)
Doubles vs. Miami
1. Neli Ponomareva/AnastasiiaVasiukhina (MIAMI) def. Tracy Kuhle/Melina Lyubomirova (WMU) 7-5
2. AnzhelikaShapovalova/Andreea Badileanu (MIAMI) def. Barbare Eristavi/Katja Fevralev (WMU) 6-4
3. Meika Ashby/Denise Azcui (WMU) def. Hannah Shteyn/Ana Rajkovic (MIAMI) 7-5
Order of finish: Doubles (2,3,1)
