Bowling Green State University Athletics
Gabel Named To Academic All-District First Team
May 22, 2003 | Women's Tennis
May 22, 2003
BOWLING GREEN, Ohio - Bowling Green State University women's tennis senior Alyson Gabel (Toledo, Ohio/St. Ursula Academy) has been named to the 2003 Verizon At-Large Academic All-District Team, it was announced Thursday afternoon (May 22). Gabel was one of 10 student-athletes, and the only women's tennis player, named to the first team.
As an all-district first-team pick, Gabel is eligible for the Verizon Academic All-America Team. Her name will be placed on the national ballot.
The team is the result of voting by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) members within District IV. The district consists of schools in the states of Ohio, Michigan, Kentucky, Tennessee and Alabama. To qualify for nomination, a student-athlete must be a starter or important reserve with legitimate athletic credentials and at least a 3.20 cumulative grade point average (on a 4.0 scale). Additionally, she must have reached sophomore athletic and academic standing (true freshmen, red-shirt freshmen and ineligible athletic transfers are not eligible) and must have completed at least one full academic year at the institution.
The at-large team hopefuls consisted of district student-athletes in the women's sports of crew, fencing, field hockey, golf, gymnastics, ice hockey, lacrosse, rifle, skiing, swimming, tennis and water polo.
Gabel ended the 2002-03 season with a 13-17 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. She also picked up BGSU's lone point with a singles win against Northern Illinois in the quarterfinal round of the MAC Championships. Gabel, a team co-captain, ended her career with a five-match singles winning streak.
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 in 2002-03, doubled last season's overall win total.
Last month, Gabel was named to the Academic All-MAC Team, and also was the winner of the MAC's Leann Grimes Davidge Sportsmanship Award, given to the women's tennis player judged by her conference 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.
Away from the court, Gabel has a 3.93 cumulative grade point average (through the fall, 2002, semester) as a financial economics major.
The Falcons ended the 2002-03 season with dual-match records of 10-11 overall and 5-4 in MAC regular-season action. Gabel was the lone senior on the 10-woman BGSU squad.
