Women's Tennis Flies Past EMU Eagles, 5-2

Denise Harijanto

YPSILANTI, MI – The University at Buffalo women's tennis team kept a firm hold on second place in the Mid-American Conference standings on Saturday with a 5-2 victory over Eastern Michigan. The Bulls are now 14-2 overall and 6-1 in the MAC, a half-game behind Western Michigan (6-0 MAC), who defeated Bowling Green on Saturday.

The Bulls picked up the opening doubles point by winning two of three matches over the Eagles (11-9 overall, 3-3 MAC). UB used two new combinations at the top of the lineup with mixed results. At number one, Denise Harijanto (Jakarta, Indonesia) teamed with Natalie Dean (Feilding, New Zealand/Palmerston North) for an 8-5 win over Vanessa Frankowski and Yana Parfenyuk. UB's new number two combo of Smaranda Stan (Stantu Gheorge, Romania/Economic) and Miglena Nenova (Rousse, Bulgaria/Eurointellect) fell to EMU's Tina Bestehorn and Aditi Krishnan by an 8-4 margin. UB number three team of Katrin Fischer (Ternitz, Austria/Borg) and Tina Jacob (Singapore/Raffles JC) earned an 8-4 win over Laura Fernandez and Flavia Micati.

Smaranda Stan

UB won the match with four singles wins in the six contests, including a pair of third-set comebacks. At number two, Harijanto defeated Krishnan, 7-5, 6-2 while at number six, Fischer scored her seventh consecutive singles win with a 6-3, 7-5 decision over Fernandez.

Both Stan, at number four, and Jacob, at number five, fell behind early in their matches only to rally for victories for the Bulls. Stan earned her team-best 20th singles win of the season with a 1-6, 7-5, 6-0 win over Bestehorn. Jacob, meanwhile, picked up her first win in MAC play with a 1-6, 6-1, 6-4 victory over Emma Czarnecki.

The Bulls return home for the regular season finale on Friday, April 20 when they host Northern Illinois at 1:00 pm.

Buffalo 5, Eastern Michigan 2

Doubles

1 Denise Harijanto/Natalie Dean (UB) d. Vanessa Frankowski/Yana Parfenyuk (EMU), 8-5

2 Tina Bestehorn/Aditi Krishnan (EMU) d. Smaranda Stan/Miglena Nenova (UB), 8-4

3 Katrin Fischer/Tina Jacob (UB) d. Laura Fernandez/Flavia Micati (EMU), 8-4

Singles

1 #96 Vanessa Frankowski (EMU) d. Miglena Nenova (UB), 2-0, Ret.

2 Denise Harijanto (UB) d. Aditi Krishnan (EMU), 7-5, 6-2

3 Yana Parfenyuk (EMU) d. Natalie Dean (UB), 5-7, 6-3, 6-1

4 Smaranda Stan (UB) d. Tina Bestehorn (EMU), 1-6, 7-5, 6-0

5 Tina Jacob (UB) d. Emma Czarnecki (EMU), 1-6, 6-1, 6-4

6 Katrin Fischer (UB) d. Laura Fernandez (EMU), 6-3, 7-5