Bowling Green State University Athletics
Women's Tennis To Head To MAC Championships
April 24, 2000 | Women's Tennis
April 24, 2000
BOWLING GREEN, Ohio - The Bowling Green women's tennis team, after completing the regular season with a pair of Mid-American Conference wins last weekend, now prepares for the MAC Championships. The league tournament, hosted by Western Michigan, will run from Thursday through Sunday (April 27-30) at Sorensen Courts in Kalamazoo, Mich.
The Falcons of head coach Penny Dean, 11-8 in dual play and 6-3 in MAC action, have earned the third seed for the tournament and will face sixth-seeded Ball State in a Friday (April 28) match, beginning at 1:00 p.m. BGSU tied with Miami and Eastern Michigan for third place in the final MAC regular-season standings, but the Falcons earn the third seed by virtue of dual-match wins over both the RedHawks and Eagles during the regular season.
MAC TOURNAMENT MATCHUPS: The MAC Championships begin on Thursday (April 27), with #7 seed Northern Illinois facing #10 Buffalo, and #8 Toledo meeting #9 Akron. Friday's quarterfinal round, in addition to the BGSU-Ball State match, will feature #4 Miami vs. #5 Eastern Michigan, #1 Marshall vs. the UT-UA winner, and #2 Western Michigan against the NIU-UB winner.
Semifinal matches for the single-elimination tourney will be held Saturday (April 29), with the championship match set for Sunday (April 30).
FINAL MAC REGULAR-SEASON STANDINGS:
Team (Overall)___________MAC 1-Marshall (18-6)________8-1 2-Western Mich. (16-6)___8-1 3-Bowling Green (11-8)___6-3 4-Miami (11-10)__________6-3 5-Eastern Mich. (9-10)___6-3 6-Ball State (8-12)______4-5 7-Northern Ill. (8-12)___4-5 8-Toledo (5-11)__________2-7 9-Akron (2-16)___________1-8 10-Buffalo (5-15)________0-9 (number listed is seed for MAC Championships)
LAST WEEK: Despite losing the doubles point, the Falcons rallied for a 5-2 victory over Eastern Michigan Friday (April 21). The match, originally scheduled for BGSU's Keefe Courts, was moved indoors to the Shadow Valley Tennis Club in Toledo.
The Falcons dropped two of the three doubles matches, with only the second-flight team of senior Deidee Bissinger and junior Meghan Rhodes earning a win.
In singles, BGSU won at flights two through six. Junior Erika Wasilewski and sophomore Devon Bissinger recorded three-set wins at the second and fifth flights, respectively, while Rhodes (third flight), Deidee Bissinger (fourth) and junior Tracy Howitt (sixth) all won in the minimum two sets. Rhodes did not lose a game, topping EMU's Todorova by 6-0, 6-0 scores.
BG concluded the regular season with a 5-2 win over arch-rival Toledo at BGSU's Keefe Courts Saturday (April 22). The Falcons won the doubles point, with the #2 team of Rhodes and Deidee Bissinger recording an 8-2 win. The third-flight duo of seniors Kelly Dredge and Beth Wilson posted an 8-6 win over their Rocket foes.
In singles action, the Brown and Orange won at the bottom four flights. For the second consecutive day, Rhodes did not lose a game in her third-flight victory. She won a 6-0, 6-0 decision vs. the Rockets' Sarah Rothenberg.
The Bissinger sisters lost four games apiece en route to their wins at the fourth (Deidee) and fifth (Devon) flights, respectuvely. At the sixth flight, Howitt won in two sets to move her team-best singles record to 21-9 on the season.
Deidee Bissinger increased her school-record total to 152 combined career victories. She now has 78 singles wins, just one shy of the school record held by Julie Weisblatt (1994-97).
FALCON QUICK FACTS
1999-2000 RECORDS Overall: 11-8 Mid-American Conference: 6-3 (T-third)NEXT ACTION #3-BGSU vs. #6-Ball State Friday, April 28 * 1:00 p.m. Sorensen Courts *Kalamazoo, Mich. MAC Championships - Quarterfinals
HEAD COACH - Penny Dean Alma Mater: Michigan, 1967 Year at BGSU: 10th Record at BGSU: 111-90 Year as a head coach: 14th Overall Career Record: 157-134
FINAL 1998-99 RECORDS Overall: 16-7 Mid-American Conference: 6-3 (Fourth) MAC Championships Finish: Sixth of 10
BGSU RESULTS LINE 419/372-7076, choose option 4 (same-day scores and brief summaries from all Falcon athletic teams)
