Northern Illinois University sophomore Jenna Horne defeated Ball State’s Ella Hazelbaker, 6-2, 7-6, to give NIU a 4-3 win over the Cardinals on Senior Day at the Nelson Tennis Center Friday.

The victory improved NIU’s record to 15-10 overall and 4-5 in the Mid-American Conference heading into the 2024 season finale at Buffalo Sunday.

NIU opened the day by winning the doubles point as the Huskies’ No. 2 pair of Erika Dimitriev and Nataly Ninova improved to 6-0 versus MAC opponents with a 6-2 win. After Ball State evened the slate with a win at No. 1 doubles, the Huskies’ Anastasia Rakita and Reagan Welch came through with a 6-4 win at No. 3 doubles to give NIU a 1-0 lead.

“Doubles got us off to a great start,” said NIU head coach Eric Burns. “We played well there. [Ball State] absolutely gave us a beat down in Muncie to start the MAC schedule, and today we turned that around.  Erika had a really good match against a tough and tricky opponent.  Nataly’s match-up was good for us at four [singles] and then Jenna got to be the hero again and come through there at six.  All in all it was a great win.”

Ball State (7-14, 4-5 MAC) recorded the first singles point with a win at the No. 1 spot before Dimitriev and Ninova posted back-to-back wins at lines two and four, respectively, giving the Huskies a 3-1 lead.  The Cardinals came back to tie the match 3-3, setting the stage for Horne’s heroics.

Following the match, the Huskies honored seniors Diana Lukyanova (Moscow, Russia), Anastasia Rakita (Moscow, Russia), Angelica Ross (Painesville, Ohio) and Josefina Trella (Eden Prairie, Minn.) with all four slated to graduate in May.

“We’ve had a good year, we have a winning record, our MAC record is better than last year, and these seniors have advanced the program during their time here,” Burns said. “We want to go to Buffalo, make it a good day and finish our year strong.”

NIU Huskies 4, Ball State 3

April 19, 2024 at DeKalb, Illilnois

(Nelson Tennis Center)

Singles

1. Annika Planinsek (BALLST) def. Diana Lukyanova (NIU-W) 6-2, 6-0
2. Erika Dimitriev (NIU-W) def. Sarah Shahbaz (BALLST) 6-4, 6-4
3. Elena Malykh (BALLST) def. Isabella Righi (NIU-W) 6-2, 2-6, 6-2
4. Nataly Ninova (NIU-W) def. Isabelle Tanjuatco (BALLST) 6-1, 3-6, 6-2
5. Sydney Hrehor (BALLST) def. Reagan Welch (NIU-W) 6-3, 6-0
6. Jenna Horne (NIU-W) def. Ella Hazelbaker (BALLST) 6-2, 7-6 (7-4)

Doubles

1. Isabelle Tanjuatco/Sarah Shahbaz (BALLST) def. Diana Lukyanova/Isabella Righi (NIU-W) 6-4
2. Erika Dimitriev/Nataly Ninova (NIU-W) def. Ella Hazelbaker/Annika Planinsek (BALLST) 6-2
3. Reagan Welch/Anastasia Rakita (NIU-W) def. Elena Malykh/Sydney Hrehor (BALLST) 6-4

Order of finish: Doubles (2,1,3); Singles (1,2,4,3,5,6)