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Bowling Green State University Athletics
Falcons to Open 2008-09 Season by Hosting BGSU Invitational
September 18, 2008 | Women's Tennis
Sept. 18, 2008
BOWLING GREEN, Ohio (BGSUFalcons.com) - The Bowling Green State University tennis team begins the 2008-09 season this weekend, hosting the BGSU Invitational. The two-day, nine-team event will be held Saturday and Sunday (Sept. 20-21) at Keefe Courts.
BGSU Invitational Brackets (12 pages) in PDF Format
Keefe Courts are located on Stadium Drive, between Steller Field (baseball) and the BGSU Softball Field. Parking is available at the BGSU Ice Arena, located just across Stadium Drive from the courts.
Some matches will be held at the courts across the street from the new facility. Those courts are located behind the Ice Arena, near the Cochrane Soccer Stadium complex.
Play begins at 9:00 a.m. each day.
Head coach Penny Dean enters her 19th season at the BGSU helm. She and the Falcons will host a tourney field that includes Akron, Cincinnati, Cleveland State, Detroit, Eastern Illinois, IUPUI, Xavier and Youngstown State. Team scores will not be kept, but individual champions will be crowned at each of the eight singles and four doubles flights.
"With a veteran team, including three seniors and two juniors, we are looking forward to starting the season," said Dean. "We have several teams coming into town that we haven't played before, which will change the flavor of the matchups a little bit."
The Falcons will be led by one of those seniors, Kelsey Jakupcin, who was named to the All-Mid-American Conference First Team a year ago. Jakupcin will play at the top singles and doubles flights this weekend.
Seniors Libby Harrison and Stefanie Menoff also return for the Falcons, along with juniors Katie Babina and Samantha Kintzel and sophomore Christine Chiricosta. Chiricosta, in her first season at BGSU, was named to the All-MAC Second Team a year ago.
The Falcons' lone freshman, Jessica Easdale, is out indefinitely due to injury.
Several former Falcon standouts will be on the outside of the fence in this year's invite. Cameron Benjamin and Ashley Jakupcin both played under Dean at BGSU, and return to their alma mater this weekend. Benjamin is the head coach at IUPUI, while Jakupcin is an assistant coach at Akron.
Ironically, both former Falcons have a younger sister participating in the weekend tournament. Benjamin's sister, Jeremie, is a sophomore on Akron's team, while Jakupcin's sister, Kelsey, is a Falcon senior in 2008-09.
"We are all excited to see Cam and Ashley as they return to BGSU," said Dean. "It will be the first time I have coached against either one of them, and it should be a lot of fun."
As mentioned, the scheduled format for this year's BGSU Invitational includes eight singles and four doubles flights. In singles, there is an eight-player draw at each of the eight flights. In doubles, there are eight teams in each of the top-three flights, with seven doubles teams in the fourth flight.
The BGSU Invitational is the first of four tourneys on the Falcons' fall schedule. BG will venture to the state of Michigan for each of the other three, including the Spartan Invitational (East Lansing; Sept. 27-28), the MAC Fall Invitational (Kalamazoo; Oct. 10-12) and the ITA Regional event (East Lansing; Oct. 23-28).
EVENT INFORMATION
DATES AND LOCATION
BGSU Invitational
Saturday-Sunday, Sept. 20-21
Keefe Courts
(Matches begin at approximately 9:00 a.m. each day)
PARTICIPATING TEAMS
Bowling Green
Akron
Cincinnati
Cleveland State
Detroit
Eastern Illinois
IUPUI
Xavier
Youngstown State
DIRECTIONS TO COURTS
(From I-75)
Exit at exit 181 (BGSU exit) and head west (toward Perry Stadium). Turn right at the second light, which is Mercer Road. Take Mercer to Stadium Drive, which is just past the BGSU Ice Arena. The Keefe Courts facility is located on the left, just past Steller (baseball) Field. Parking is available in the Ice Arena lot, which will be on your right.
Some matches will be played at the Falcons' former tennis facility, located between the BGSU Ice Arena and the Cochrane Soccer Stadium. NOTE: The BGSU men's soccer team hosts a weekend tournament, with games on both Saturday and Sunday. Tennis fans are encouraged to watch the matches from the Ice Arena side of the courts. Any fans looking to enter the soccer complex will be charged admission.
ADMISSION TO TENNIS
Free
