Women’s Tennis Clinches No. 2 Seed in MAC Tournament After Downing Miami

KALAMAZOO, Mich. – On the final day of the Mid-American Conference regular season, Western Michigan was able to defeat Miami, 4-3, in a back-and-forth match.
 
The Broncos honored four seniors prior to today’s match for their contributions to the program: Karin Hamilton, Valeriya Monko, Maya Perkucin and Lindsey Zieglar. The veteran-led Broncos will now head to the MAC Tournament for the first time since 2019. Postseason play is set for April 26-27 at Toledo.
 
DOUBLES
The Broncos cruised to the doubles point, earning wins at the No. 1 and No. 3 spots. Zieglar and Monko were dominant in the top spot, posting a 6-2 victory over Miami’s best pair. Not too long after that, Ariane Souligny and Audrey Smitek recorded a 6-4 win over Lovisa Valentinsson and Lauren Joyce at No. 3. Karin Hamilton and Polina Khotko had their match go unfinished.
 
SINGLES
Miami went on to tie the match at 1-1, as Joyce downed Smitek, 6-3, 6-1, to open singles play. Following that, Monko pushed the Broncos back in front, 2-1, with a win at the No. 3 spot. She upended Sara Zalukar in straight sets, 6-4, 6-4.
 
The RedHawks wouldn’t go away, though, getting the next point to knot the match at 2-2. Hamilton fell to Catherine Slowek, 6-1, 6-4 at No. 2. The back-and-forth match continued, as Khotko claimed a 7-5, 7-5 victory over Emilia Valentinsson.
 
However, Miami was again able to tie the match with a win at No. 5. Sarah Dev defeated Perkucin, 6-3, 7-5. That left each team’s top player on the court to decide the match. Miami took the first set in a tiebreak, but it was all Western Michigan from there as Zieglar dominated the final two sets, 6-1, 6-0 to clinch the match.
 
UP NEXT
The Broncos and RedHawks will square off again to open the MAC Tournament next weekend. The two squads will open play on April 26 at Toledo at 2 p.m.