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Bowling Green State University Athletics
Falcons' Season Ends In MAC Semifinals
May 01, 2000 | Women's Tennis
May. 1, 2000
BOWLING GREEN, Ohio - The Bowling Green women's tennis team, after splitting a pair of matches at last weekend's Mid-American Conference Championships, has completed the 1999-2000 season. The Falcons of head coach Penny Dean, after earning the third seed for the MAC Championships, lost to eventual league tournament champion Western Michigan in the semifinals. The Falcons finish the season with an overall dual-match record of 12-9, and BGSU went 6-3 in MAC play.
BRATTON AND WASILEWSKI HONORED BY MAC: Juniors Abby Bratton and Erika Wasilewski picked up Mid-American Conference awards at Thursday's (April 27) league banquet. The banquet, held in conjunction with the MAC Championships, was held in Kalamazoo, Mich.
Bratton was named to the All-MAC Second Team, while Wasilewski was a co-winner of the Leann Grimes-Davidge Sportsmanship Award.
Bratton earns all-league second-team honors for the third consecutive year. She completed the season with a 12-21 dual-match record in singles play. In doubles action, Bratton had an overall record of 19-15, including a 16-15 mark when competing with Wasilewski. Bratton played almost exclusively at the #1 singles and #1 doubles flights.
Wasilewski shared the Leann Grimes-Davidge Sportsmanship Award with Northern Illinois senior Kim Donsbach. The award goes to the player or players judged by their MAC peers as displaying the most outstanding sportsmanship in MAC competition. The award is named in honor of Leann Grimes-Davidge, who served as the women's tennis coach at Miami from 1978 until her tragic death in an automobile accident in January of 1985.
Wasilewski ended her junior season with a singles mark of 12-23. She competed at each of the top-three flights, primarily at the second level. In doubles action, she had an overall record of 18-16.
Eastern Michigan freshman Rebecca Hawkins was named both the MAC Player of the Year and the league's Newcomer of the Year, while Marshall's Laurie Mercer was named MAC Coach of the Year.
DEIDEE BISSINGER ENDS STELLAR CAREER: The BGSU career of Deidee Bissinger came to an end with the Falcons' semifinal loss to Western Michigan Saturday (April 29). Bissinger ends her tenure as the school's all-time winningest player. Earlier this season, she passed Cindy Mikolajewski (1994-97) to become the BGSU leader in career combined wins, and she ended her career with a total of 153. Her final singles win, over Ball State's Susie Miller Friday, was the 79th of her career, deadlocking her for the school record in that category with Julie Weisblatt (1994-97). She recorded a total of 74 doubles wins, good for second all-time.
FALCONS FINISH THIRD: The Falcons finished in a third-place tie in the 10-team Mid-American Conference regular-season standings. BGSU, after tying with Miami and Eastern Michigan, earned the third seed for the league tournament by virtue of head-to-head victories over both the RedHawks and Eagles during the season. The Falcons had been picked to finish sixth in the MAC in the league's preseason coaches poll.
LAST WEEK: The Falcons rallied for a 4-3 victory over Ball State in MAC Championships action Friday afternoon (April 28). The league tourney quarterfinal match was held at Sorensen Courts in Kalamazoo, Mich.
Junior Meghan Rhodes captured the decisive win, taking her third-flight singles match in three sets to break a 3-3 tie. Rhodes downed BSU's Darcy Poulos, 3-6, 6-4, 6-3.
The sixth-seeded Cardinals took an early lead by winning the doubles point from the #3 Falcons. BGSU's third-flight team of sophomore Devon Bissinger and junior Tracy Howitt won by an 8-3 final, but the Cardinals won the other two matches. Rhodes and senior Deidee Bissinger lost a narrow 9-7 match at the middle flight, while juniors Abby Bratton and Erika Wasilewski fell at the #1 doubles flight.
In singles action, the Cardinals again won at the top two flights, but BGSU competitors captured the other four matches for the win.
Deidee Bissinger's 7-6 (5), 6-4 victory over Susie Miller at the fourth flight gave BGSU a short-lived 3-2 lead, but BSU's Julie Beekman evened the score with her win over Wasilewski at the second level. Rhodes won the only singles match that went to three sets, moving BGSU into the semifinal round of the tournament.
Singles winners for the Falcons, in addition to Rhodes and Deidee Bissinger, included Devon Bissinger at the fifth flight and Howitt at the #6 level.
The next day, the Falcons fell to second-seeded Western Michigan, the tournament host, by a 4-0 count at Sorensen Courts. After winning the semifinal match against the Brown and Orange, WMU went on to capture the championship match over top-seeded Marshall Sunday.
Against BGSU, the Broncos gained the doubles point by winning at both the No. 1 and No. 2 slots. WMU was victorious at the first, fifth and sixth singles flights to earn the dual-match victory.
FALCON QUICK FACTS
NEXT ACTION Season CompleteFINAL 1999-2000 RECORDS Overall: 12-9 Mid-American Conference: 6-3 (T-third) MAC Championships Finish: T-3rd of 10
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 Years at BGSU: 10 Record at BGSU: 112-91 Years as a head coach: 14 Overall Career Record: 158-135
1999-2000 ROSTER Deidee Bissinger (Sr., 5-6, Co-Capt.) Kettering, Ohio (Fairmont) Devon Bissinger (So., 5-3) Kettering, Ohio (Fairmont) Abby Bratton (Jr., 5-7) Carroll, Ohio (Bloom Carroll) Kelly Dredge (Sr., 5-4) Elida, Ohio Tracy Howitt (Jr., 5-3) Westlake, Ohio Meghan Rhodes (Jr., 5-9) Arlington Hts., Ill. (Rolling Meadows) Erika Wasilewski (Jr., 5-5) West Chester, Ohio (Cincinnati Hills Christian Academy) Beth Wilson (Sr., 5-9, Co-Capt.) Northville, Mich. (Farmington)
BGSU VICTORIES LISTS
SINGLE SEASON
Singles Wins
1. Abby Bratton (1999) 30 2. Devon Bissinger (1999) 27 3. Meghan Rhodes (1998) 26 4. Erika Wasilewski (1998) 24 T8. Tracy Howitt (2000) 22 Tracy Howitt (1999) 22Doubles Wins
1. Devon Bissinger (1999) 32 Tracy Howitt (1999) 32 3. Jenny Cheung (1998) 24 Jenny Cheung (1995) 24 T7. Meghan Rhodes (1999) 22 Deidee Bissinger (1997) 22Combined Wins
1. Devon Bissinger (1999) 59 2. Tracy Howitt (1999) 54 3. Abby Bratton (1999) 50 4. Meghan Rhodes (1998) 47 5. Erika Wasilewski (1998) 45 6. Deidee Bissinger (1997) 44 Jenny Schwartz (1996) 44CAREER
Singles Wins
1. Deidee Bissinger (1997-2000) 79 Julie Weisblatt (1994-97) 79 3. Carla Marshak (1989-92) 75 Cindy Mikolajewski (1994-97) 75 7. Meghan Rhodes (1998- ) 62 8. Abby Bratton (1998- ) 61 T9. Erika Wasilewski (1998- ) 57 11. Tracy Howitt (1998- ) 53 13. Beth Wilson (1997-2000) 46 14. Devon Bissinger (1999- ) 45Doubles Wins
1. Jenny Cheung (1995-98) 84 2. Deidee Bissinger (1997-2000) 74 3. Jenny Schwartz (1994-97) 71 4. Cindy Mikolajewski (1994-97) 68 5. Meghan Rhodes (1998- ) 60 Erika Wasilewski (1998- ) 60 7. Abby Bratton (1998- ) 59 10. Tracy Howitt (1998- ) 53 T12.Devon Bissinger (1999- ) 49Combined Wins
1. Deidee Bissinger (1997-2000) 153 2. Cindy Mikolajewski (1994-97) 143 3. Jenny Cheung (1995-98) 141 4. Jenny Schwartz (1994-97) 139 6. Meghan Rhodes (1998- ) 122 8. Abby Bratton (1998- ) 120 T9. Erika Wasilewski (1998- ) 117 11. Tracy Howitt (1998- ) 106 13. Devon Bissinger (1999- ) 94
