Women's Tennis Halts Eastern Michigan, 4-2, in MAC Tourney Quarters

KALAMAZOO -- The third-seeded Western Michigan women's tennis team defeated No. 6 Eastern Michigan, 4-2, to advance through the quarterfinals of the MAC Championships at Sorensen Courts on Friday afternoon. The Broncos (15-10) advance to play No. 2 Akron (19-2) in the semifinals at 2 p.m. on Saturday.

The Broncos opended with a strong performance in doubles as senior Emily Dudzik and freshman Jill Pastunink won 8-3 at No. 1 and then senior Yumi Matsuto and sophomore Maria Nivia completed an 8-2 victory at No. 2 to put the Broncos on top. The tandem of junior Amanda Moccia and sophomore April Kerr trailed at 4-2, but fought back to lead 7-5 when their match was abandoned.

Nivia added to the Broncos' advantage by making quick work of Georgia de'Lisle Tarr with a 6-2, 6-0 triumph at No. 5 singles.

The Eagles came back to earn their first point with a convincing 6-1, 6-2 win at No. 2, but freshman Maggie Remynse won her seventh in a row and improved to 5-0 at No. 4 with a 6-3, 6-3 win over Karina Ahuja to put WMU back up two, 3-1.

Eastern Michigan earned a hard-fought triumph at No. 1 to cut the margin back to one, 3-2, but the Broncos emerged victorious moments later.

Pastunink opened No. 6 singles in a 3-0 hole, but fought back to win 6-3, 6-3 for her ninth consecutive singles victory to advance the Broncos into the semifinals.

Matsuto helped stave off any EMU momentum by rallying back from a first set defeat at No. 3 to force a third set with a 6-0 whitewash of Xu Chang in the second set before the match was abandoned.

#3 Western Michigan 4, #6 Eastern Michigan 2
Apr 30, 2010 at Kalamazoo, Mich. (Sorensen Courts)