Toledo, Ohio - The Toledo women's tennis team opens Mid-American Conference play at Northern Illinois at 1:00 p.m. CT on Friday before hosting Ball State on Sunday at 1:00 p.m. ET at the UT Varsity Courts. In the event of inclement weather, Sunday's match will be held at Twos Athletic Club in Toledo.  
 
The Rockets return to the court after edging out Oakland 4-3 at Twos last Saturday. UT dropped the doubles point to the Golden Grizzlies, despite senior Thalita Rodrigues and freshman Kiersten Carlson's thrilling 7-5 win over Alexandra Whall/Amanda Nilsson on the No. 2 court.
 
In singles play Rodrigues shut out Nilsson on the No. 5 court 6-0, 6-0, while freshman Christina Fuller defeated Whall 6-3, 6-2 on the No. 4 court. Senior Kokoro Chishaki went to tie-breaks in both her sets against Samantha Galloway (7-6(5), 7-5). For the second time this season freshman Eileen Carney clinched the match point for the Rockets after locking into a three-set battle with Darya Matseva. Carney fell in the first set 3-6, before rising to take the second and third sets 6-2 each.
 
Last Time Against Northern Illinois
UT defeated Northern Illinois 6-1 in Toledo last season. Toledo took the doubles point with victories from Sidnay Huck/Chishaki and Megan Miller/Rodrigues on the No. 1 and No. 3 courts. Four Rockets posted two-set sweeps in singles action. Chishaki fought Evelyn Youel in three sets, winning the first set 6-3 before falling 3-6 in the second. Chishaki came back to clinch the third set 6-3.
 
Scouting Northern Illinois
NIU is currently 5-8 (0-0 in the MAC). The Huskies edged out Milwaukee and swept Green Bay 7-0 before going on a six match losing streak. NIU snapped the streak by narrowly edging out IUPUI 4-3 in Rockford. Shortly after NIU defeated Bethune-Cookman 4-1 and Buknell 5-2.
 
Junior Brodie Walker leads the Huskies, posting a 13-8 singles record in dual match play last season, switching between the No. 5 and No. 6 singles spots.
 
Last season the Huskies went 5-17 (0-8 in the MAC). NIU posted 5-2 victories over Valparaiso and Florida A&M and edged out Eastern Illinois 4-3.
 
Last Time Against Ball State
The Rockets faced Ball State in Muncie last April, clinching a 5-2 victory. UT started off by taking the doubles point with wins from Huck/Chishaki and O'Brien/Dee Dee Leenabanchong on the No. 1 and No. 2 courts. In singles play Leenabanchong and O'Brien clinched wins at the No. 1 and No. 2 spots after three grueling sets. Huck and Chishaki defeated their opponents in two sets.
 
Toledo and Ball State met again in the first round of the MAC tournament, where they swept the No. 6 seeded Cardinals 4-0 to advance to the semifinals. The Rockets took the doubles point with wins from Huck/Chishaki on the No. 1 court and Miller/Rodrigues on the No. 3 court. Huck and Chishaki posted two-set victories in singles action while O'Brien came out victorious after a three-set battle.
 
Scouting Ball State
Ball State is currently 11-2 (0-0 in the MAC), posting 7-0 sweeps of Dayton and Wright State as well as 6-1 victories over Youngstown State, Saint Francis, Oakland, and Azusa Pacific.
 
Peyton Gollhofer holds a 10-1 dual match record, mostly playing at the No. 3 singles spot. Paired with Isabelle Donanics, Gollhofer is 10-2 in doubles action with most time spent on the No. 3 court. Audrey Berger and Rebecca Herrington both hold 9-2 dual match records with Berger putting in time on the No. 2 court and Herrington on the No. 4 court. Duo Victoria Sec/Sarah Swiderski are a force to be reckoned with in doubles action, going 11-1, splitting time between the No. 1 and No. 2 courts.
 
Last Season Ball State went 11-11 (3-5 in the MAC), posting 7-0 sweeps over UIC and Northern Iowa. The Cardinals also managed five 6-1 victories during the regular season. In conference play BSU racked up wins late in April over Western Michigan, Northern Illinois, and Akron.
 
Sunday's match against Ball State will be available on a tape delayed basis on ESPN+ and BCSN. If the match is moved to Twos Athletic Club the match will not be broadcast.