Dropping to 1-3 in MAC play, NIU women’s tennis (12-8, 1-3 MAC) was defeated 1-6 in its match against the Eastern Michigan University Eagles (8-8, 2-2 MAC). 

The Huskies went down early when the Eagles clinched the doubles point and were unable to recover in singles matches. 

Senior Diana Lukyanova and sophomore Isabella Righi were defeated by sophomore Daniella Shved and junior Prerna Vichare in a 6-2 set. Also in a 6-2 loss, senior Anastasia Rakita and junior Reagan Welch were bested by junior Sabina Brichackova and freshmen Ksyusha Saenko. 

Junior Erika Dimitriev and sophomore Nataly Ninova were battling in a 4-3 set against Eagles senior duo Linda Eloundou and Andrea Quiroz when the match was ruled incomplete. 

Righi earned the only win for the Huskies after coming back and winning her match against Saenko in 6-46, 6-3, 6-3 sets. 

After dropping the first set 6-3, Dimitriev came close to forcing a third set before losing to Shved in a 7-6 (7-4) second set. Lukyanova was also beaten in two sets, with Vichare taking 6-4, 6-3 sets. 

Ninova lost the first set against Quiroz in a 7-7 (7-3) tiebreaker and lost the second set 6-4. Welch was bested by Eloundou in 6-3, 6-1, 6-4 sets despite a dominant second set. Sophomore Jenna Horne was defeated by Brichackova by a score of 6-4, 7-5.

The Huskies have a rematch against the Eagles at 1 p.m. Friday at the Nelson Tennis Center at Chick Evans Field House. A live stream will be available via Track Tennis.