April 6, 2012

DeKALB, Ill. - The Northern Illinois women's tennis dropped its first of two home weekend Mid-American Conference matches on Friday to Eastern Michigan (7-12, 3-1 MAC) 5-2. The Huskies (9-8, 0-3 MAC) saw their two-match winning streak end after the team wrapped up non-conference play last weekend.

"We had a tough day," said NIU Head Coach Ryun Ferrell. "We are right there. We had the doubles point and let them off the hook. That is so crucial. We need to execute better against Toledo, which we will do. We are getting better. We are in the toughest part of our season. We need to keep on learning. Tomorrow will be a better day."

NIU's youngsters were again the highlight for the Huskies. Freshman Nelle Youel (Crystal Lake, Ill./Crystal Lake Central) earned her team leading 12th victory of the season over EMU's Miriam Westerink. The other win for the Huskies came from sophomore Haley Dekkinga (Allegan, Mich./Allegan). Dekkinga defeated Ankita Bhatia 6-0, 6-1 for her 10th W on the year.

NIU will look to grab its first MAC win of the season over on Saturday, when the team takes on the Toledo Rockets on the West Tennis Courts in DeKalb. The match is set to begin at 2:00 p.m. CT.

EASTERN MICHIGAN 7-12 (3-1, MAC) DEF. NORTHERN ILLINOIS 9-8 (0-3, MAC), 5-2
APRIL 6, 2012 | WEST TENNIS COURTS | DEKALB, ILL.

DOUBLES
1. Westerink/Mebuke (EMU) def. McLaughlin/Rogers (NIU), 8-3
2. Toncheva/de'Lisle-Tarr (EMU) def. Youel/De La Torre (NIU), 8-5
3. Friedrichs/Rivero (EMU) def. McDonald/Dekkinga (NIU), 8-6

SINGLES
1. Nino Mebuke (EMU) def. Sara McLaughlin (NIU), 6-2, 6-3
2. Nelle Youel (NIU) def. Miriam Westerink (EMU), 6-1, 6-4
3. Haley Dekkinga (NIU) def. Ankita Bhatia (EMU), 6-0, 6-1
4. Daphne Friedrichs (EMU) def. Mary Malkin (NIU), 6-4, 6-5
5. Mariya Toncheva (EMU) def. Arantza De La Torre (NIU), 6-4, 6-3
6. Marcela Rivero (EMU) def. Stephanie McDonald (NIU), 6-2, 6-0