The No. 6 seed NIU women’s tennis team begins the MAC championships at 2 p.m. today in Rockford against No. 3 seed Eastern Michigan.

NIU (8-9 overall, 4-5 MAC) hosts this year’s tournament through Sunday at the Rockford Park District Courts.

The Huskies, who earned a first-round bye, had a chance at a No. 4 seed but dropped their final two matches of the season to Miami-Ohio and Marshall on the road last weekend. As a result, NIU will face Eastern Michigan (14-5, 7-2), winners of 13 of its past 15 matches, including a 6-1 decision over NIU on April 9.

“We need to play them with the same intensity we showed against them in the regular season,” NIU coach Laura Scott said. “Our players definitely wanted this matchup again, so we just need to capitalize on our opportunities this time around.”

Scott also confirmed the return of junior Ivonne Andrade, who has not played in a match since April 3 because of a family emergency. Andrade posted a 22-8 record at No. 3 and 4 singles this year.

If NIU wins today, it will face the winner of No. 2 seed Western Michigan and No. 7 seed Bowling Green.

Thursday’s first-round action saw Bowling Green defeat No. 10 seed Akron 4-0 to set up its match against Western Michigan. No. 8 seed Toledo also defeated No. 9 seed Buffalo 4-2.

“We’ve had some good success in Rockford,” Scott said. “It has a real home atmosphere, and we’ll have plenty of families and friends there to cheer us on.”