PREVIEW: Tech Tennis Takes on Tiffin Wednesday
HOUGHTON, Mich. – Both of Michigan Tech's tennis teams serve up their first ball Wednesday at Gates Tennis Center in Houghton. The women host Tiffin at 10 a.m. followed by the men at 2 p.m. Matches are free to attend.
The Huskies played two September events, including the ITA Midwest Regional Tournament, hosted by Grand Valley State, and the Ashland University Doubles Invitational. Wednesday represents their season-opening duel.
MICHIGAN TECH WOMEN
Kristin D'Agostini-Yep was named head coach in February 2020 and guided the Huskies to a fifth-place finish in her first season. Last season, Tech fell 4-1 to No. 35 ranked Grand Valley State in the GLIAC Quarterfinals after posting a 3-10 overall record (3-5 GLIAC).
Senior Dominika Bobik (Wroclaw, Poland) will likely start at No. 1 singles. Bobik holds a 20-17 career singles record and 26-18 doubles record since joining the team in 2019-20. She has been named All-GLIAC First Team (2019-20), All-GLIAC Second Team (2020-21), and All-GLIAC Honorable Mention (2021-22) over the past three seasons.
Bobik made it to the round of 32 at the ITA Tournament in September in the top singles bracket.
Other returners include Marina Fernandez (Reus, Spain), Chiara Heinz (Schwendi, Germany), Neva Manas (Carmel, Indiana), and Lauren Opalewski (Oxford, Michigan). Grace Eland (Penrith, England) transferred to Tech and plays as a graduate student.
MTU also added a pair of freshmen, Emily Cojocaru (Richmond Hill, Ontario) and Ewa Podulka (Trzebnica, Poland). The last time the Huskies played Tiffin was on March 10, 2020 at Lakewood Tennis Club. The Dragons shut out the Huskies 7-0.
MICHIGAN TECH MEN
The Huskies snapped a multi-year conference losing streak when they upset No. 30 ranked Davenport at Gates Tennis Center last spring 4-3.
This year's roster features seven returners and one newcomer, including sophomore Adam Fenjiro (Rabat, Morocco), who played No. 1 singles as a true freshman. Vitor Jordao (Recife, Brazil) returns as a senior, and other upperclassmen include Ricardo Nunez (Ciudad del Carmen, Mexico), Eli Pinnoo (St. Clair, Michigan), Nikolai Prosyanykov (Santiago, Chile), Ambarish Rao (Irvine, California), and Artem Sharkota.
The Huskies also added depth with transfer junior and left-hander Leon Sell (Neuenberg, Germany) this fall. Tech closed the 2021-22 season 1-10 overall, 1-6 in GLIAC matches. The team played in Houghton just twice last season.
