Bowling Green State University Athletics
Gabel Wins MAC's Sportsmanship Award
April 24, 2003 | Women's Tennis
April 24, 2003
YPSILANTI, Mich. - Bowling Green State University women's tennis senior Alyson Gabel (Toledo, Ohio/St. Ursula Academy) was the recipient of one of the Mid-American Conference's specialty awards at Thursday's (April 24) league banquet. The banquet was held at Eastern Michigan University's Convocation Center, in conjunction with the MAC Championships. Gabel was named the winner of the Leann Grimes Davidge Sportsmanship Award.
The award goes to the player judged by her 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.
Gabel, who played two years at Miami before transferring to BGSU, ended the 2002-03 regular season with a 12-17 singles record, and she went 5-4 in league play. Gabel, who played primarily at the second flight, tied for the team lead in MAC singles wins.
In doubles action, Gabel teamed with junior Gaby Coello for a 10-14 regular-season mark, including a 4-5 record in league action. The duo's four MAC wins led the Falcons.
Gabel went 4-0 in the final weekend of the regular season as the Falcons took a pair of 6-1 matches against Akron and Buffalo. Gabel, a team co-captain, has a five-match personal winning streak (singles and doubles) entering the MAC Championships.
The Falcons, picked to finish seventh in the preseason coaches poll, finished fifth in the final MAC regular-season standings. BGSU, with 10 dual-match wins to date, has doubled last season's overall win total.
Away from the court, Gabel has a 3.93 cumulative grade point average as a financial economics major.
Gabel is the fifth BGSU student-athlete to win the Leann Grimes Davidge Sportsmanship Award, the most among any conference school. Previous Falcons to have won the award include Nanette Zimmerman (1990), Sarah Emdin (1993), Cindy Mikolajewski (1995) and Erika Wasilewski (2000).
In other specialty awards handed out at Thursday's banquet, Western Michigan's Frederika Girsang was named the MAC Player of the Year, while Cassie Drake of Northern Illinois was named the league's newcomer of the year. Marshall's John Mercer was named the MAC Coach of the Year.
The Falcons, 10-10 overall and 5-4 in MAC regular-season action, will begin MAC Championships play Friday morning (April 25). BGSU, seeded fifth for the 10-team tourney, will face #4 NIU in a quarterfinal match at 10:00 a.m. at Ypsilanti High School.
