Bowling Green State University Athletics
Falcons Sign Jessica Easdale to NLI
April 14, 2008 | Women's Tennis
April 14, 2008
BOWLING GREEN, Ohio - Bowling Green State University tennis coach Penny Dean has announced the signing of Jessica Easdale to a National Letter of Intent. Easdale will join the Falcon program for the 2008-09 academic year.
"I am very excited to have Jessica join the Falcon tennis family," said Dean. "She is coming off a very successful high-school career, capped by a doubles title in the fall. I expect her to contribute in both singles and doubles for us.
"Additionally, Jessica is a great example of the term 'student-athlete.' She is very strong academically as well as athletically."
Easdale, a native of Dublin, Ohio, is currently a senior at Dublin Jerome High School. She earned First-Team All-Ohio honors after teaming with freshman Kathryn Farrar to win the state Division I doubles title in October of 2007. That duo won their matches by scores of 6-1, 6-1 in both the quarterfinal and semifinal rounds, and also won in straight sets (7-5, 6-2) in the title match.
As a team, Jerome finished second in the state in 2007.
Easdale had teamed with Caroline Farrar until the latter player suffered an injury in late September. Easdale and Kathryn Farrar had never played together prior to 2007 state sectional play in early October. They lost to an Upper Arlington team by scores of 6-3, 6-1 in the sectional final, but rebounded to beat that same team in three sets the following weekend to capture the district title, and never dropped a set thereafter.
Easdale was a first-team all-state selection in doubles as a junior in the fall of 2006, teaming with Caroline Farrar to finish third in the state.
Jessica is the daughter of Bill and Dori Easdale. Both of her parents attended Miami University. Her father played hockey for the then-Redskins, earning four varsity letters. He was a co-captain of the 1984-85 team, and scored a total of 123 career points (55 goals, 68 assists) to rank among the top 20 on the school's career scoring list.
Her mother (maiden name Dori Voelker) was a tennis standout at MU, helping the program to four MAC titles. She won individual conference titles in doubles in three consecutive years, capturing the #2 doubles crown from 1983 to 1985. Additionally, she was the MAC champion at the fifth singles flight in 1983, and won the #4 singles championship in '85.
The 2007-08 Falcon tennis team is 15-3 in dual matches to date. Dean and her team are 4-3 in MAC play, heading into the regular-season's final match, vs. Western Michigan Saturday (April 19). There are two seniors, co-captains Jenna Nussbaum and Andrea Volle, on the eight-woman squad in 2007-08.
