.png&type=webp)
Bowling Green State University Athletics
Veteran Falcon Squad To Open At Home
January 03, 2000 | Women's Tennis
Sept. 13, 1999
THIS WEEK: The Bowling Green State University women's tennis team will begin the 1999-2000 season by hosting the BGSU Invitational this Saturday-Sunday (Sept. 18-19). Other teams scheduled to complete in the tournament include Detroit, Eastern Kentucky, Illinois at Chicago, Xavier and Mid-American Conference rival Toledo. Action is scheduled to get underway at 9:00 a.m. each day at BGSU's Keefe Courts. The courts are located off of Stadium Drive, just east of the BGSU Ice Arena.
The Falcons, after placing fourth in the Mid-American Conference regular-season race in 1998-99, finished sixth at the MAC Championships. Head coach Penny Dean, entering her 10th year at the Falcon helm, welcomes back eight veterans from that squad. BGSU recorded a dual-match record of 16-7, setting a school single-season record for wins. The old record of 15 (15-7) was set in 1989-90. The Brown and Orange went 6-3 in league regular-season play to tie that school record for wins (6-2 in 1983-84).
The team's final win of the 1998-99 season marked Dean's 100th victory at the Falcon helm. That win came over Toledo, where Dean spent four years as head coach.
Three seniors, including co-captains Deidre Bissinger and Beth Wilson, return to the Falcon squad. The third senior, Kelly Dredge, did not compete last spring. She spent the semester abroad, studying and working in London, England.
Four juniors -- Abby Bratton, Tracy Howitt, Meghan Rhodes and Erika Wasilewski -- also return. That group has been a part of the lineup since arriving on campus two years ago. Sophomore Devon Bissinger, Deidre's younger sister, rounds out the Falcon roster.
Both Bratton and Rhodes were named to the All-MAC Second Team last spring, marking the second time each player had earned all-conference second-team honors. Bratton set a school single-season record last year with 30 singles wins. Her 30-7 mark topped the old record of 27 wins, set by Rhodes in 1997-98. Additionally, Devon Bissinger topped that mark with a 27-9 singles record last season. In fact, no fewer than six Falcons won 20 or more singles matches last year.
The doubles team of Howitt and Devon Bissinger, competing primarily at the third flight during league play, posted a 32-7 record. Those two players hold the respective school-record totals for doubles wins in a season, shattering the old record of 24.
Devon Bissinger also set a school record with 59 combined wins last season. Howitt and Bratton had 54 and 50 wins, respectively, to place second and third on that list.
Deidee Bissinger enters her senior season ranked sixth on the BGSU career list with 120 combined wins. She is 23 victories shy of the school record.
A total of 149 of BGSU's 169 singles wins last season were amassed by players that return to the team in 1999-2000.
FINAL 1998-99 MAC REGULAR-SEASON STANDINGS: 1-Miami (9-0), 2-Western Michigan (7-2), 3-Marshall (7-2), 4-Bowling Green (6-3), 5-Eastern Michigan (5-4), 6-Ball State (5-4), 7-Akron (3-6), 8-Northern Illinois (2-7), 9-Toledo (1-8), 10-Buffalo (0-9). WMU and EMU won tiebreakers by virtue of head-to-head wins.
FINAL 1999 MAC CHAMPIONSHIPS RESULTS: 1-Western Michigan, 2-Eastern Michigan, 3-Marshall, 4-Miami, 5-Ball State, 6-Bowling Green, 7-Akron, 8-Toledo, 9-Northern Illinois, 10-Buffalo.
1999 FALL SCHEDULE:September 18-19 BGSU INVITATIONAL (Keefe Courts) 24-26 at Spartan Classic (East Lansing, Mich.)
October 22-24 at Fall MAC Indoor Meet (Kalamazoo, Mich.)
November 3-4 at ITA Rolex Regionals Qualifier (Columbus, Ohio) 5-8 at ITA Rolex Regionals (Columbus, Ohio) FALCON QUICK FACTS
FINAL 1998-99 RECORDS Overall: 16-7 Mid-American Conference: 6-3 (Fourth) MAC Championships Finish: Sixth of 10
HEAD COACH - Penny Dean Alma Mater: Michigan, 1967 Year at BGSU: 10th Record at BGSU: 100-82 Year as a head coach: 14th Overall Career Record: 146-126
