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Bowling Green State University
Miami
Defending MAC Champions Down BGSU, 5-2
April 01, 2011 | Women's Tennis
Miami tops Falcons at the PTC
Two-time defending Mid-American Conference champion Miami University narrowly won the doubles point, then rode that momentum into singles play en route to a 5-2 win over the Bowling Green State University tennis team Friday afternoon (April 1) at the Perrysburg Tennis Center.
BGSU-MIAMI PHOTO GALLERY
Scroll to the bottom of the page for a post-match interview with Mary Hill
With the win, the RedHawks improve to 12-5 overall and 3-0 in the MAC this season. Miami has won 20 consecutive league regular-season matches and 23-straight overall matches vs. conference foes. The Falcons drop to 10-5 and 1-2, respectively.
The teams split the doubles matches at the lower two flights, with both matches close until roughly the midway point. At the second flight, Miami's team of Riekie Honiball and Jessica Parr pulled away from the BGSU duo of sophomores Katie Grubb and Jade Johnson, winning the last three games for an 8-4 win.
At the third flight, however, the Falcon tandem of freshman Nikki Chiricosta and soph Mary Hill reeled off wins in the last four games to capture a 8-3 decision over Anastasia Dracheva and Cara Wald. The doubles point came down to the first flight.
In that top-flight match, Miami's team of Megan Martzolf and Stephanie Danesis, ranked 78th in the nation, fell behind early, as Falcon senior Christine Chiricosta teamed up with sophomore Maddy Eccleston to take a 2-0 lead. The RedHawks battled back to win three consecutive games, only to see the BG duo win two-straight games for a 4-3 advantage.
The Martzolf/Danesis duo responded by taking a 5-4 lead, but the Chiricosta/Eccleston team answered in kind, winning two games for a 6-5 advantage. But, the RedHawks' tandem won three games in a row to close out the match, 8-6.
For Christine Chiricosta and Eccleston, the loss broke an eight-match winning streak. That BGSU team had not lost since Feb. 4 at Michigan State.
After winning the doubles point with that late rally at the top flight, the RedHawks carried that momentum into singles play. Miami won each of the first four singles contests to complete, clinching the match in the process.
Wald picked up a win over Johnson at the sixth flight, while Dracheva knocked off Eccleston at flight number two. MU's Nimisha Mohan and Falcon freshman Emily Reuland battled through a lengthy first set at the fifth flight, but Mohan pulled it out by a narrow 6-4 margin, then went on to win the second set and clinch the match for the RedHawks.
Both Chiricosta sisters lost by a narrow 7-5 score in their opening set. Nikki Chiricosta, in fact, fell to Martzolf by that identical score in the third-flight match.
Hill, the only BGSU singles competitor to win her opening set, did so in dominant fashion, with a 6-1 result against Honiball at the fourth flight. Honiball rebounded to win the second set, breaking a 5-5 tie to win, 7-5. With the day's result already having been determined, the two played a tiebreaker, and Hill came out on top by a 10-8 score.
At the top flight, Christine Chiricosta and Danesis battled through a back-and-forth match. Chiricosta, as mentioned, lost her opening set by a 7-5 result. But, the winningest player in program history came back for a 6-2 win in the second set. In the third set, Chiricosta fell behind by a game on four separate occasions, but broke Danesis's serve en route to a comeback win. In fact, Chiricosta would win the final three games to take the decisive set, 6-4.
The Falcons return to the PTC on Saturday afternoon (April 2), hosting Ball State University. Doubles play begins at 1:00 p.m.
MIAMI 5, BGSU 2
Fri., April 1 - Perrysburg Tennis Center - Perrysburg, Ohio
SINGLES
1 - Christine Chiricosta (BGSU) def. Stephanie Danesis 5-7, 6-2, 6-4
2 - Anastasia Dracheva (MU) def. Maddy Eccleston 6-2, 6-1
3 - Megan Martzolf (MU) def. Nikki Chiricosta 7-5, 7-5
4 - Mary Hill (BGSU) def. Riekie Honiball 6-1, 5-7, 1-0 (10-8)
5 - Nimisha Mohan (MU) def. Emily Reuland 6-4, 6-0
6 - Cara Wald (MU) def. Jade Johnson 6-2, 6-0
# - Jessica Easdale (BGSU) def. Jessica Parr 8-0
Order of finish: 6, 2, 5, 3, 4, 1
DOUBLES
1 - Martzolf/Danesis (MU) def. C.Chiricosta/Eccleston 8-6
2 - Honiball/Parr (MU) def. Johnson/Katie Grubb 8-4
3 - N.Chiricosta/Hill (BGSU) def. Wald/Dracheva 8-3
Order of finish: 2, 3, 1
# not included in final match scoring
