Bowling Green State University Athletics
Nationally-Ranked Falcons Begin MAC Schedule This Weekend
March 19, 2008 | Women's Tennis
March 19, 2008
BOWLING GREEN, Ohio (BGSUFalcons.com) - The Bowling Green State University tennis team, having completed the non-conference portion of the schedule with an unblemished record, both concludes a six-match road swing and opens the Mid-American Conference slate this weekend ... the Falcons of head coach Penny Dean open league action with a Friday (March 21) match at Eastern Michigan, before facing Toledo on Saturday afternoon (March 22) ... the EMU contest is scheduled to begin at 1:00 p.m. at the Chippewa Racquet Club, with the Toledo tilt slated for a 3:00 p.m. start the Laurel Hill Tennis Club.
NOTE: The Toledo start time is a change from the originally-scheduled time
BGSU Notes, Stats & Records in PDF Format
QUOTING COACH Penny Dean
"We have been preparing hard for the start of the MAC season, and we are ready to go. We know that every MAC match will be a battle, but we are looking forward to the challenge, and we expect to be a force in the conference this year."
THREE NOTES THAT NO SELF-RESPECTING MEDIA MEMBER OR BG TENNIS ENTHUSIAST SHOULD BE WITHOUT
• The Falcons enter the EMU match having set one school record and tied another ... BGSU has a record of 11-0 to date, the best start in program history ... prior to this year, the best start in BGSU annals was 10-0, by the Janet Parks-coached 1973-74 team ... the Falcons' current 11-match winning streak ties the longest in BG annals, regardless of time of year ... the 2005-06 edition of the Brown and Orange, after a 2-4 start to the dual-match schedule, won 11 consecutive contests from Feb. 11 to March 25.
• BGSU, for a third consecutive week, is listed among the national rankings ... the Falcons are currently ranked 56th in the country in the latest Intercollegiate Tennis Association rankings, released Tuesday (March 18) ... the Falcons debuted at 60th in the March 4 poll, before moving up to 54th in last week's (March 11) rankings ... BG dropped from 54th to 56th without playing a match.
• BG has posted at least 10 dual-match victories for the sixth consecutive season, extending another school record ... prior to the current streak, the longest string of double-digit win totals was four-straight seasons, on two prior occasions (1988-92 and 1996-2000).
 |
BGSU'S LONGEST WIN STREAKS 11 1/20/08 - present 11 2/11/06 - 3/25/06 10 1973-74 season (dates N/A) 8 3/8/99 - 3/27/99 7 three times BGSU'S BEST STARTS TO A SEASON 11-0 2007-08 10-0 1973-74 7-0 1977-78 7-0 1974-75 6-0 1982-83 |
The Falcons are 11-0 in dual-match action this season to date ... BGSU has been idle since posting a pair of road wins in California, a 7-2 triumph at UC San Diego and a 9-0 win over Cal Poly Pomona ... the team is 4-0 on the current road swing, which began with wins at Cincinnati (7-0; Feb. 23) and Xavier (6-1; Feb. 24).
Individually, all eight Falcon competitors have posted at least 21 total wins this year to date ... freshman Christine Chiricosta and sophomore Samantha Kintzel each have 34 overall victories, while sophomore Katia Babina has 32 ... juniors Kelsey Jakupcin and Stefanie Menoff (29 apiece) and senior Andrea Volle (28) are close behind.
In singles play, all eight Falcon players have winning records ... Menoff leads the way with a 16-3 mark, while Chiricosta is 16-4 and Kintzel 15-5 ... Volle has a singles record of 13-5 to date, while Jakupcin is 13-6 and Babina 12-6 ... junior Libby Harrison and senior Jenna Nussbaum have 10 singles wins apiece.
In doubles action, Babina has a stellar 20-3 mark, while Kintzel is 19-4 and Chiricosta 18-4 ... all eight Falcons have winning doubles ledgers, with each of them having posted at least 11 victories heading into the EMU match.
In dual-match action, Jakupcin has a mark of 10-1 at the top singles flight, while Chiricosta is 9-2 at the second level ... Babina has a 8-2 record at the third flight, with Kintzel 7-2 at flight number four ... Menoff (3-1 at flight five, 5-0 at flight six) and Volle (5-1 at flight five, 1-1 at flight six) have rounded out the Falcons' most common singles lineup in dual-match play.
In doubles play, Chiricosta and Jakupcin have teamed up for an 9-2 record at the #1 flight in dual-match action ... the tandem of senior co-captains Nussbaum and Volle are 9-2 at the second level in duals, while the sophomore duo of Babina and Kintzel has gone 9-1 since the dual-match season began.
THE OPPONENTS
Eastern Michigan is 4-9 in dual-match play this year to date ... the Eagles are looking to snap a four-match losing streak, with the most recent match being a 5-2 setback at Michigan State (March 12) ... the team's seven-woman roster features four seniors, including 2007 MAC Player of the Year Vanessa Frankowski ... last year's edition of the Eagles went 12-11 overall and 4-4 in the MAC, tying with BGSU and Miami for fourth place in the league regular-season standings.
The Falcons trail Eastern Michigan, 25-9, in the all-time series between the teams ... the Eagles have won eight consecutive meetings since BGSU's last win in the 1999-2000 season ... last year, Eastern picked up a narrow 4-3 win at BG's former home venue, Keefe Courts (April 20, 2007).
Toledo enters the weekend with an overall record of 9-3, and the Rockets host Western Michigan in Friday action before meeting the Falcons the following day ... UT is riding a five-match winning streak, most recently capturing matches over Florida Gulf Coast, ABAC (Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College) and Hillsborough CC on a three-match swing through the South ... a year ago, the Rockets finished 16-6 overall and 6-2 in MAC action ... UT placed third in the MAC regular-season standings and advanced to the semifinals of the conference championships.
BGSU leads Toledo, 21-13, in that series, but the Rockets have captured the last two meetings ... UT won the teams' 2006-07 meeting, 6-1, at Keefe Courts (April 21, 2007), and the Rockets won the last matchup in the Glass City, 5-2, two years ago (April 14, 2006) ... that match snapped a 12-match BGSU series winning streak.
SHE'S THE DEAN
Falcon head coach Penny Dean has had a great deal of success on both sides of the BGSU-UT rivalry, with her teams winning 18-of-23 matches ... Dean spent four years (1984-85 through 1987-88) at the helm of the Rockets, and had a perfect 5-0 record vs. Bowling Green during that time ... since taking the BGSU head-coaching position prior to the 1990-91 season, Dean has guided the Brown and Orange to a 13-5 record against UT.
GETTING OFF TO A GOOD START
• The Falcons have enjoyed a great deal of success in doubles during the dual-match portion of the season ... BGSU lost a doubles match at UC San Diego, snapping a four-match streak in which the Falcons had swept all three scored doubles matches ... BG has gone 3-0 in doubles in seven of the last nine duals.
• The Falcons have won the doubles point in 10 of this season's 11 dual matches to date ... the lone exception was the Indiana State contest of Feb. 10, and BGSU rallied to win four of the six singles matches for a 4-3 win.
A FEW MORE FASCINATING FALCON FACTS
• With at least nine dual matches remaining in the 2007-08 season, the Falcons already have clinched a winning record ... this will mark BGSU's fourth consecutive winning season, tying a school record (1974-75 through 1977-78; 1996-97 through 1999-2000).
• The Falcons conclude a six-match road swing this weekend with the EMU and UT matches ... BGSU's next scheduled home competition is March 29 vs. Northern Illinois.
• Entering the EMU match, BGSU singles players have combined to post a 105-38 record this year ... Falcon doubles teams are an aggregate 64-24 to date.
• Head coach Penny Dean heads into the weekend with a dual-match record of 195-177 in her 18th season at the BGSU helm ... she is 241-221 in her 22nd year as a collegiate head coach.
