Bowling Green State University Athletics
Bowling Green State University
AKRON
Falcons Down Zips, 6-1, in First Dual Match at New Courts
April 05, 2008 | Women's Tennis
April 5, 2008
BOWLING GREEN, Ohio (BGSUFalcons.com) - The Bowling Green State University tennis Falcons, finally, saw the weather cooperate enough to allow a dual match to be played at the team's new courts. And, the Falcons celebrated the occasion by posting a 6-1 win over the University of Akron Saturday afternoon (April 5). The Mid-American Conference dual was held before a sun-drenched crowd of observers at the BGSU tennis complex.
With the win, the Falcons improve to 14-2 overall and 3-2 in MAC action, while the Zips drop to 5-10 and 0-5, respectively.
BGSU won the doubles point, sweeping all three matches. The Falcons' top-flight team, consisting of junior Kelsey Jakupcin and freshman Christine Chiricosta, made quick work of their UA opponents. The Jakupcin/Chiricosta duo downed the Zips' Lindsey Berry and Tanyaradzwa Gombera by an 8-1 score.
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MAC STANDINGS(through Saturday) Miami (11-5) ---------- 5-0 Western Mich. (11-7) -- 5-0 BGSU (14-2) ----------- 3-2 Toledo (12-5) --------- 3-2 Buffalo (7-7) --------- 2-3 Eastern Mich. (6-12) -- 2-3 Northern Ill. (3-9) --- 1-3 Ball State (8-8) ------ 1-4 Akron (5-10) ---------- 0-5 |
In singles action, the Falcons won convincingly at each of the top-two flights. Jakupcin lost a total of just four games at the number-one flight, defeating Gombera. Chiricosta lost only two games at the second flight, downing Carolina Castro Cota.
Menoff, at the fifth flight, also lost only two games, beating Akron's Alyssa Carlson. Both Chiricosta and Menoff won the second set of their respective matches by identical 6-0 scores.
Sophomore Katia Babina also won in straight sets, with a victory over Berry at the number-three flight. The Falcons' two seniors battled to third-set tiebreakers, with Volle rallying back from a large deficit to defeat Kerry Langworthy at the sixth flight.
In that match, Volle lost the first set, 6-1, and trailed by a 3-0 score in the second set. But, the senior rallied to win the next six games to take the second set, then topped Langworthy in the tiebreaker.
At the fourth flight, Akron's lone point of the day came when Jeremie Benjamin -- the younger sister of former Falcon Cameron Benjamin -- squeaked past Nussbaum in a tiebreaker.
"We are happy with today's win, and with our 2-0 weekend," said Falcon head coach Penny Dean. "We are on a good streak right now, and we look forward to next weekend's road trip."
That trip will see Falcons play two matches, against Miami and Ball State. BGSU will travel to Oxford for a Friday (April 11) match vs. the RedHawks, before heading to Muncie, Ind., for a Saturday (April 12) dual vs. BSU. BG then closes the regular season with a home match vs. Western Michigan, on Saturday, April 19.
FALCON NOTES
* The match, as mentioned, was BGSU's first-ever dual match at the program's new facility ... the Falcons hosted the BGSU Invitational last fall (Sept. 15-16, 2007) at the new courts, but several dual matches this spring had been moved indoors due to inclement weather.
* BGSU now leads Akron, 25-2, in the all-time series between the teams, and the Falcons have won 16 consecutive matches vs. the Zips ... UA's two series wins came in back-to-back seasons, 1991-92 and 1992-93.
* With three regular-season matches remaining, BGSU is tied for third place in the Mid-American Conference ... the Falcons and Toledo each are 3-2, behind only Miami and Western Michigan (see box)... BG's three remaining regular-season opponents include each of the league's co-leaders.
* Of the eight members of the 2007-08 Falcons, four are on the BGSU top-20 list for combined career wins ... junior Stefanie Menoff is the latest Falcon to crack that list ... Menoff's two victories on Saturday give her a total of 92 career victories, moving her past Susie Schoenberger (2002-05) into 20th place on the school chart.
* Junior Kelsey Jakupcin now has 106 career wins, ranking 15th in BGSU annals ... seniors Jenna Nussbaum and Andrea Volle also are in the top-20 ... Nussbaum has 104 career wins, tying her for 16th in school history ... Volle currently ranks 19th on BG annals in wins.
* Volle's two wins on Saturday give her a total of 99 ... she is one win away from becoming the third current Falcon, and the 19th player in school history, to reach the century mark.
* Volle, BGSU's active career leader in doubles wins, now has 58, tying her with Patty Bank (1993-96) for 11th all time ... Nussbaum is right behind, with 57 career doubles victories to rank 13th in Falcon history.
* Jakupcin now has 51 career doubles wins, and is tied for 17th in BG annals.
* Menoff's singles win vs. the Zips was her 60th as a Falcon, tops among all active players ... she ranks 13th in BG history ... Menoff is now a stellar 60-14 in career singles play, including a 14-2 mark in MAC dual-match action.
* BGSU won the doubles point for the 14th time in this season's 16 dual matches ... the Falcons have swept all three doubles matches on nine occasions.
BOWLING GREEN 6, AKRON 1
Saturday, April 5, 2008 - BGSU tennis complex
SINGLES
1 - Kelsey Jakupcin (BGSU) def. Tanyaradzwa Gombera 6-1, 6-3
2 - Christine Chiricosta (BGSU) def. Carolina Castro Cota 6-2, 6-0
3 - Katia Babina (BGSU) def. Lindsey Berry 6-1, 6-4
4 - Jeremie Benjamin (UA) def. Jenna Nussbaum 6-3, 1-6, 1-0 (6)
5 - Stefanie Menoff (BGSU) def. Alyssa Carlson 6-2, 6-0
6 - Andrea Volle (BGSU) def. Kerry Langworthy 1-6, 6-3, 1-0 (6)
DOUBLES
1 - Chiricosta/Jakupcin (BGSU) def. Gombera/Berry 8-1
2 - Nussbaum/Volle (BGSU) def. Castro Cota/Carlson 8-7 (0)
3 - Libby Harrison/Menoff (BGSU) def. Langworthy/Benjamin 8-3
