Bowling Green State University Athletics
Falcon Season Outlook
January 28, 2003 | Women's Tennis
Jan. 28, 2003
BOWLING GREEN, Ohio - The Bowling Green State Universitiy women's tennis team will begin the spring portion of the 2002-03 schedule this weekend. The Falcons (1-0) will head to East Lansing, Mich., for a Friday (Jan. 31) dual against nationally-ranked Michigan State. BGSU and the #64 Spartans will meet in a 6:00 p.m. match at the MSU Indoor Tennis Facility. Michigan State is 2-2 on the season after a 7-0 blanking of Toledo last weekend.
On Sunday (Feb. 2), the Falcons will return "home" for an intrastate dual vs. Youngstown State University. That contest is scheduled for an 11:00 a.m. start at the Shadow Valley Tennis Club in Toledo.
The BGSU 2002-03 season outlook follows...
The Bowling Green State University women's tennis team learned some on-the-court lessons last season.
This year, head coach Penny Dean hopes those hard lessons pay off for her youthful Falcons.
BGSU struggled in dual-match play last season, finishing with a 5-18 overall record and a 3-6 MAC mark. The Brown and Orange did win three consecutive matches in late April, however, before falling to the eventual champions in the quarterfinal round of the conference championships.
This year's edition of the Falcons, despite having lost just one player -- Devon Bissinger -- from last season's squad, is still young, with just one senior. Dean's youngsters, however, have experience belying their years.
"We are young, just like last year," said the 13th-year BGSU head coach. "But, we've now got four sophomores and three juniors that form the foundation of our team.
"The sophomores were thrown right into the fire as freshmen last year. They started slowly, but they gained a lot of experience, and are playing much, much better tennis this year."
BGSU's lone senior, Alyson Gabel, also was a newcomer to the Falcon squad last year. Gabel, a transfer from MAC rival Miami University, now has a year at BG under her belt.
At the outset of last season, Dean's nine-member squad featured only one player who had been with the program for more than one year. Now, Dean has 10 players on the team, eight of whom saw time in BGSU's lineup last season.
That experience was evident in the Falcons' fall action, as BGSU continues to make progress as a team.
"We won way more matches in the tournaments this fall than last year," said Dean. "For example, in Michigan's invitational (Oct. 4-6), we won more than double the amount of matches we won last year.
"And, in our own invite, we won just one flight championship in the fall of 2001. This year, Lisa Maloney made the finals at flight number one, Gaby Coello and Andrea Meister won their flights, and Laura (Kokinda) and Lindsey (Mix) won a doubles crown.
"Then, we had to play without Lisa, our top singles player, and Jessica (Johnson), a mainstay in our doubles lineup, in the final tournament. Everyone had to move up a spot or two.
"They all played tougher competition, which should help us down the road. Really, everything we did in the fall season points to more success."
Dean hopes that success starts at the top, where Maloney returns. The junior had a deceptive 10-25 singles record a year ago, as she was thrown into the top-two spots after playing primarily at the fourth and fifth flights as a freshman.
Maloney did post a 4-5 record in MAC regular-season play a year ago, and she could see time at the Falcons' top singles and doubles spots this spring.
"Lisa is still recovering from her sprained ankle, which she suffered late in the fall," said Dean. "But, she played some outstanding tennis in the fall season.
"She showed that she is very capable of holding down the top spot and having a good record up there. She has gained a lot of mental toughness."
Sophomore Susie Schoenberger is perhaps the best example of a player who was thrown to the lions last season. Schoenberger, in her first weekend of collegiate tennis, was inserted at the top singles flight. Dean feels that Schoenberger's trial by fire last year will pay dividends this season.
"Susie now knows what to expect from the collegiate game," said the coach. "In addition to being placed at #1 singles as a freshman in the fall, she also was bothered by her knee for much of the year.
"Now, she is feeling much better, which has helped her conditioning as well. She has a much-improved work ethic, too, and is one of the top doubles players on the team. I'm looking forward to her future here at BGSU."
Gabel, a team captain along with Maloney, has also stepped up after going through an adjustment period last year. She should hold down the middle of the singles lineup as well as seeing doubles action for the Brown and Orange.
"Alyson has really taken on a leadership role," said Dean. "She's been here for a year and a half now, and she knows what it's all about. Alyson shines in dual matches, and she's faster on the court and better at the net this year."
A trio of returnees, Coello and sophomores Cameron Benjamin and Laura Kokinda, will be vying for spots in the singles lineup. Coello, after sitting out last fall, went 11-7 in the spring to post the best singles winning percentage on the team. According to her coach, the junior has picked up right where she left off.
"Gaby has looked as good as anyone in the fall," said Dean. "She is very motivated, and she is a lot smarter about constructing her points now; she's not in such a hurry.
"We always knew Gaby could play great tennis, and now, she is doing just that."
Benjamin saw some action toward the bottom of the singles lineup a year ago, and was tested in some tough NCAA tournaments over the summer.
"Cameron is much more mature now," said Dean. "She got sick right about when MAC play started last year, and was out for several weeks. But, she worked extremely hard on her game all summer, and it showed when she came back in the fall.
"She always had the speed and athletic ability, and now she has gained a lot of experience at a high level."
Kokinda moved into the singles lineup as a freshman, playing at the fifth and sixth singles flights. She posted a 5-4 MAC record, tying Coello for the best mark on the team.
"Laura is another player who had to adjust last year, not only to the collegiate game, but to college as a whole," said Dean. "Now, having gained experience, she is a player who will be counted on, perhaps in both the singles and doubles lineups."
Junior Jessica Johnson has improved her game, according to the coach, and will likely be in the doubles lineup again this season. She teamed with Maloney for a 3-3 MAC doubles record last year, and that duo went 1-0 in the league tournament.
"Jess has improved in both singles and doubles," said Dean. "But, her biggest improvement has probably been her court speed. She also is taking on a bit of team leadership, which is an important role."
Sophomore Lindsey Mix saw spot duty in the lineup last year, but got the 2002-03 season off to a solid start, teaming with Kokinda for a doubles title in the opening weekend. She had nine wins in the fall after totalling three in her entire freshman campaign.
"Lindsey worked hard on some changes in the summer, and is much better than last year," said the coach. "She will battle for time in the lineup."
A pair of newcomers, Meister and fellow freshman Heidi Romer, will look to make their presence felt. Romer should battle for time in the lineup, while Meister, a walk-on, won a singles crown in her first collegiate weekend.
"Heidi is a fierce competitor, and has all the equipment to be a solid player at #5 or #6 (singles) this year," said Dean. "She improved her doubles skills in the fall, and could see action in that lineup, too.
"Andrea has been a very pleasant surprise. She still is adjusting to the college game, but played a lot better right out of the gate than I had anticipated. She could well see doubles action in the dual matches, and possibly singles as well.
"Both Heidi and Andrea have an excellent work ethic."
Dean is still experimenting with different doubles combinations, and feels that winning the doubles point is a key for the 2002-03 team. Last year, the Falcons won the doubles point just six times in 23 matches, including only two wins in 10 MAC regular-season duals. BGSU's coach wants to set a positive tone from the outset.
"We're starting over, basically, in doubles," said Dean. "The only team we have from last year is Alyson and Gaby, and that is a team that we put together maybe two-thirds of the way through last year.
"They're playing well together, and I'm hoping that Susie and Lisa can play at #1 for us. We tried to develop their chemistry in the fall, and get them used to playing with one another.
"Cam and Jessica did well in the fall, and are likely to get a shot at #3. But, we are not ruling anyone out. We didn't win many doubles points last year, and in a dual match, that puts you in a hole right away."
While looking to build the team's confidence by getting at least a few more early wins than last season, Dean is well aware that the Falcons need to work toward a successful MAC season.
Dean stresses that everything BG does in January, February and March is geared toward a solid conference showing, and she wants the Falcons to be playing their best tennis when the team heads to Ypsilanti, Mich., for the league championships in late April.
"We're looking to improve on last year's record, for certain," said Dean. "We were seventh in the MAC last year, and we feel that Bowling Green's program is better than that.
"We need to move up (in the regular-season standings), and we want to advance deeper into the tournament. We'd like to make at least the semifinals.
"Two of the toughest trips in the MAC are the Northern Illinois/Western Michigan trip and the Marshall/Miami trip. We have those four matches on back-to-back weekends, and our success in those matches will go a long way toward determining our fate in the MAC season. Again, though, we need to move up in the standings, and get back to where we belong.
"It is important to get off to a good start (in dual play) this year. When you keep losing, and when you start off by losing the doubles point, it can be a lot to overcome. We want to get off to a better start this year, to get some confidence and build upon that success. We do have some tough non-conference matches, but hopefully it will help to make us that much tougher for the MAC schedule."
