Bowling Green State University Athletics
Bowling Green State University
NORTHERN ILLINOIS
Huskies Down Falcons, 4-1, In MAC Quarterfinal
April 25, 2003 | Women's Tennis
April 25, 2003
YPSILANTI, Mich. - Northern Illinois took the doubles point and captured three of the four completed singles matches en route to a 4-1 win over the Bowling Green State University women's tennis team Friday morning (April 25). The match, a quarterfinal contest in the Mid-American Conference Championships, was held at Ypsilanti High School.
With the win, NIU improves to 13-6 in dual-match play. The Huskies, the fourth seed for the 10-team tournament, advance to play top-seeded Marshall University in semifinal action. BGSU, the tournament's fifth seed, sees a four-match winning streak come to an end and finishes the season at 10-11.
The Huskies captured a pair of doubles matches to take the opening point. At the second flight, NIU's team of Tanja Sukovic and Kerrie Tyioran recorded an 8-3 win over senior co-captain Alyson Gabel and junior Gaby Coello. BGSU's two freshmen, Andrea Meister and Heidi Romer, battled the Huskies' Branka Savic/Kristi McIntyre team to the end before falling, 8-6, at the third flight.
In the top-flight doubles contest, junior co-captain Lisa Maloney and sophomore Susie Schoenberger were locked in a tight match with NIU's Cassie Drake and Erica Heshelman, before the match was abandoned with the Huskies leading, 7-6.
In singles play, the Falcons got a win from Gabel at the third flight. Gabel, BGSU's lone senior, lost only five total games in her straight-sets won over Sukovic. She ends the season with a total of 13 singles wins.
NIU's Drake, the MAC Newcomer of the Year, defeated Schoenberger in a second-flight match, and the Huskies' Heshelmen topped sophomore Cameron Benjamin in their match at flight number five.
At the top flight, Maloney took Savic, like teammate Drake an All-MAC Second-Team selection, to three sets before succumbing.
Coello and Tyioran were deadlocked in their match at the fourth flight when it was abandoned. Tyioran had won the first set, while Coello had rallied to take the second set, both by 6-3 scores, and the two were tied, 2-2, in the third set.
At the sixth flight, Romer had lost her opening set to McIntyre by a 6-2 score, but had responded with a 6-4 win in the second set. McIntyre held a 5-3 lead in the third set when the match was halted.
The Falcons, as mentioned, have just one senior -- Gabel -- on the 2002-03 squad. Head coach Penny Dean's 10-woman team also includes three juniors, four sophomores and two freshmen.
Northern Illinois 4, Bowling Green 1
Singles 1 - Branka Savic (NIU) def. Lisa Maloney 6-4, 2-6, 6-2 2 - Cassie Drake (NIU) def. Susie Schoenberger 6-1, 7-5 3 - Alyson Gabel (BGSU) def. Tanja Sukovic 6-4, 6-1 4 - Gaby Coello (BGSU) vs. Karrie Tyioran (NIU), 3-6, 6-3, 2-2 AB 5 - Erica Heshelman (NIU) def. Cameron Benjamin 6-0, 6-2 6 - Kristi McIntyre (NIU) vs. Heidi Romer (BGSU), 6-2, 4-6, 5-3 ABDoubles 1 - Drake/Heshelman (NIU) vs. Maloney/Schoenberger (BGSU), 7-6 AB 2 - Sukovic/Tyioran (NIU) def. Coello/Gabel 8-3 3 - Savic/McIntyre (NIU) def. Romer/Andrea Meister 8-6
AB - match abandoned
