Rockets Look to Corral Broncos

Sunday, April 14

Kalamazoo, Mich.

1:00 PM

University of Toledo

Western Michigan

Senior Thalita Rodrigues and the Rockets are set to venture to Kalamazoo, Mich. to face Western Michigan on Sunday.

Photo by: Will Edmonds

4/12/2019 10:15:00 AM | Women's Tennis

Live Stats

Toledo, Ohio - The Toledo women's tennis team (10-8, 2-3 MAC) is set to venture to Kalamazoo, Mich. to take on Western Michigan on Sunday at 1:00 p.m.

The Rockets are coming off a pair of close losses over the weekend, dropping a pair of 4-3 matches at Miami and Bowling Green.

In Friday's match against Miami, UT and the RedHawks split the singles matches, with the Rockets coming out victorious on the No. 2, No.3, and No. 5 courts with wins from freshman Eileen Carney and seniors Kokoro Chishaki and Thalita Rodrigues . Early in the match, the Rockets dropped the deciding doubles point, which gave the RedHawks the edge over Toledo.

On Sunday, the Rockets locked into an intense battle with Bowling Green in the I-75 rivalry match at the Perrysburg Tennis Center. UT came out on top in doubles, with wins on the No. 1 and No. 3 courts from junior Dee Dee Leenabanchong/Chishaki and senior Claire Aleck/Carney. In singles action Rodrigues clinched a two-set sweep on the No. 5 court and Leenabanchong broke her three-match losing streak after coming out victorious from a three-set battle on the No. 1 court.

Last Time Against Western Michigan
UT defeated the Broncos 4-3 last year in Toledo. The Rockets started out strong by sweeping the doubles point. In singles play Colleen O'Brien and Rodrigues posted two-set victories on the No. 3 and No. 6 courts and Aleck clinched the match with a win on the No. 5 court.

Scouting Western Michigan
Western Michigan is 11-8 (3-1 MAC) and has posted 7-0 sweeps of IUPUI, Chicago State, Green Bay, and Dayton. In conference play the Broncos got away with 4-3 victories over Ball State and Akron in Kalamazoo, and downed Northern Illinois 5-2 in DeKalb.

Freshman Femke Tjon-A-Joe leads the Broncos with a 12-6 dual match singles record, spending most of her time at the No. 4 spot and occasionally playing at the No. 3 spot. WMU's top doubles team is Tjon-A-Joe and senior Melina Lyubomirova, who hold a 13-3 dual match record, playing primarily on the No. 2 court.

Last season WMU went 11-13 (2-6 MAC), finishing the year with a six-match losing streak, five of which were dropped 4-3 to their opponents. The Broncos posted seven 7-0 sweeps in non-conference play before posting conference wins over Northern Illinois and Eastern Michigan.