Miami continues conference play against Bowling Green, Eastern Michigan at home

By Scott Sutton, For The Miami Student

Continuing Mid-American match play, the Miami University tennis team (8-9) hosts Bowling Green State University (2-15) and Eastern Michigan University (4-14) this weekend in Oxford.

The RedHawks are coming off a weekend in which they defeated University of Akron (13-9), 5-2, and University of Buffalo (11-6), 5-2.

Freshman Emily Struble is leading the team with an overall record of 24-8. Struble is on a four game winning streak and is 7-2 in her last ten matches.

"We are working on a lot of footwork and consistency drills," Struble said. "We just have to stay positive and fight for every match this weekend."

Sophomore Nelli Ponomareva was named Miami's Athlete of the Week for going 4-0 against BGSU and EMU last weekend, making her 4-0 in MAC matches. She is on a five-match win streak with an overall record of 18-14.

Sophomore Hannah Shteyn believes these wins will continue, especially in the MAC tournament, which begins April 29.

"We're working on just being prepared for anything and just continuing to improve our consistency as well as ability to attack," Shteyn said. "We're going to go out there and learn from the experiences we've had and find ways to apply what we've learned to hopefully make us successful this weekend."

Match play against Bowling Green begins at 1 p.m. Friday. The match against Eastern Michigan begins at 1 p.m. Sunday. Both matches will be held at the Hepburn Varsity tennis courts.