Rockets Set for Weekend of Competition from the Great Lakes State

Friday, April 13

Ypsilanti, Mich.

1:00 p.m.

University of Toledo

Eastern Michigan

Junior Thalita Rodrigues and the Rockets are set to play Eastern and Western Michigan in the penultimate weekend of the Mid-American Conference regular season.

Photo by: Will Edmonds

Rockets Set for Weekend of Competition from the Great Lakes State

4/12/2018 12:21:00 PM | Women's Tennis

Toledo, Ohio - The Toledo women's tennis team (13-5, 3-2 MAC) is set to play two matches in the penultimate weekend of the Mid-American Conference regular season. The Rockets travel to Eastern Michigan on Friday for a 1:00 p.m. contest before hosting Western Michigan at 1:00 p.m. Sunday on the UT varsity tennis courts. Weather allowing, UT's match against the Broncos will also be streamed live online via ESPN3 for fans unable to make it out to the match.

"We've done an unbelievable job controlling what happens on our side of the net," head coach Tracy Mauntler said. "The players are gaining confidence and becoming more mentally tough each time they step on the court. We're looking to continue this against EMU and WMU."

Mauntler added that the team doesn't want to have any regrets at the end of the season and is focusing on leaving it all on the courts.

The Rockets are coming off a weekend sweep of Bowling Green and Ball State. Toledo took down the Falcons in last Friday's annual Battle of I-75 match, winning 5-2 in dominating fashion. The No. 1 doubles pairing of senior Sidnay Huck and junior Kokoro Chishaki swept their opponents 6-0 to get UT rolling. Junior Thalita Rodrigues and senior Megan Miller then clinched the doubles point after going 6-4 in their No. 3 match.

In singles, Toledo's bottom four played lights-out against BG, winning all but one match in two sets. Rodrigues dropped her first set in a tiebreak (6-7 (4)) but came back to sweep her opponent 6-1, 6-3.

Sunday saw UT ground Ball State in another strong 5-2 victory. In doubles, the Huck/Chishaki pair won 7-5 in No.1 singles followed by the No. 2 team of senior Colleen O'Brien and sophomore Dee Dee Leenabanchong winning 6-3. With the doubles point secured, the match came down to the singles competition. Chishaki was the standout player on the day for her performance in the No. 4 spot. She finished her match first after sweeping her opponent 6-3, 6-2 to give UT the first singles point of the match. Leenabanchong, Huck and O'Brien fought hard in their respective No. 1, 2 and three 3 matches to round out Toledo's outing.

After last weekend, Toledo remains undefeated at home with a 7-0 record. O'Brien and Leenabanchong also extended their perfect doubles-team record to 14-0 after their weekend performances. As a whole, Toledo is on a three-match winning streak heading into Eastern Michigan.

SCOUTING EASTERN MICHIGAN
The Eagles (14-7, 2-3 MAC) are on a three-match losing streak heading into the weekend. EMU is coming off a double header on Friday, April 6 that saw the Eagles fall 5-2 to both Miami and Dayton. EMU's top performer is Alejandra Barcelo who is 15-3 in dual matches and has won 13-straight singles matches. The Eagles are 6-1 at home, the lone loss coming against Buffalo on March 25.

SCOUTING WESTERN MICHIGAN
The Broncos (11-9, 2-2 MAC) are coming off losses against Akron and Buffalo. WMU dropped the doubles point in Friday's 4-3 loss to the Zips but fought hard in singles, winning the No. 2, 3 and 4 matches. The Brown and Gold fell 6-1 to Buffalo two days later, their only point coming from Melina Lyubomirova in No. 2 singles. Western Mich. is 1-7 in road contests this season and hasn't won an away match since Feb. 25 against Kalamazoo College. The Broncos are 4-2 in their last six outings.