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Bowling Green State University Athletics
Saturday, April 30
Ypsilanti, Mich.
10:00 AM
Bowling Green State University
0
vs
4
Miami (OH) (Semifinals)
Jade Johnson (left) & Emily Reuland celebrate a point in their doubles win Saturday (photo by Jonathan Knight, EMU)
Falcons Fall to Top-Seeded Miami in MAC Semifinals
April 30, 2011 | Women's Tennis
BGSU ends the season with 15 wins, the third-highest total in school history
The Bowling Green State University tennis team gave top-seeded Miami University quite a battle, but the RedHawks downed the Falcons by a 4-0 count on Saturday morning/afternoon (April 30). The match, a semifinal-round contest in the Mid-American Conference Championships, was held at Ypsilanti High School.
BGSU-MIAMI PHOTO GALLERY - courtesy Jonathan Knight, EMU
With the win, the RedHawks improved to 19-5 on the season, and Miami advanced to the championship match of the league tourney. The Falcons, the fourth seed for the nine-team tournament, saw the season come to an end with a dual-match record of 15-8.
BGSU's win total in 2010-11 was just one shy of tying the school single-season record. Head coach Penny Dean's Falcons won 16 matches in both 1998-99 and 2007-08.
The final score of Saturday's match is quite misleading, as the doubles point came down to a tiebreaker, and the Falcons were leading in two of the three singles matches that were abandoned.
Miami has won 32 consecutive matches vs. MAC opponents, but BGSU went toe to toe with the RedHawks. In doubles play, the duo of sophomore Jade Johnson and Emily Reuland posted a decisive victory for the second-straight day. Johnson and Reuland burst out to a 5-0 lead en route to a quick 8-2 win over Riekie Honiball and Jessica Parr at the second flight.
At the top flight, senior co-captain Christine Chiricosta and soph Maddy Eccleston battled the RedHawks' duo of Stephanie Danesis and Megan Martzolf. The match was tight throughout, with the teams tied or separated by just one game for much of the morning. The RedHawks finally opened up a two-game lead, 5-3, only to see Chiricosta and Eccleston battle back to tie the contest at 5-5.
Danesis and Martzolf won the next game, but the Falcons responded again, tying the score at six games apiece. Ultimately, however, MU won the next two games to take the 8-6 victory and leave the doubles point in the hands of the third-flight tandems.
At that third flight, the Falcons and RedHawks staged an epic battle. Freshman Nikki Chiricosta and sophomore Mary Hill took an early lead over their MU counterparts, Anastasia Dracheva and Cara Wald. The Falcons led for nearly the entire match, and took a 5-3 advantage. The RedHawks stayed within striking distance, however, and finally took the lead by an 8-7 score. In a match filled with twists and turns, Chiricosta and Hill battled back to knot the score at 8-8, setting the stage for an equally dramatic tiebreaker.
That tiebreaker would see the Falcons reach match point on no fewer than four occasions. The BG duo went ahead, 4-2, before MU reeled off three-straight points. BG battled back yet again, taking a 6-5 lead as Hill fired a shot down the line. MU tied the score, but a nifty drop shot by Chiricosta gave the Falcons a 7-6 lead.
MU tied the score again, and after the Brown and Orange took an 8-7 lead, the 'Hawks tied the match for what proved to be the final time. Dracheva and Wald were able to get two more points in succession, taking the tiebreaker by a 10-8 result.
In singles action, Dracheva was clicking on all cylinders, picking up a win over Christine Chiricosta at the top flight. It proved to be the final match in a stellar career for Chiricosta, the BGSU record-holder in all three career wins categories.
Nimisha Mohan picked up a win over Hill at the fourth flight, and at approximately 1:46 p.m., Martzolf completed a win over Nikki Chiricosta at flight number three. That third-flight battle featured the longest opening set of any of the six singles matches, as Martzolf pulled out a 7-5 tiebreaker decision after each player had won six games. In the second set, however, the MU senior posted a 6-2 victory, giving the RedHawks the necessary four points for the match victory.
The doubles point proved to be crucial, as when singles play concluded, each of the three abandoned matches was in a third set, with the Falcons leading two of them. In all three of those matches, BGSU won the opening set before Miami rallied to win set number two.
At the sixth flight, junior co-captain Jessica Easdale was just two games away from victory. Easdale topped Wald, 6-1, in the opening set, winning six-straight games after dropping the first. Wald won the second set by a narrow 7-5 count, but Easdale had responded by taking a 4-1 lead in set number three when play was halted. In all, Easdale won 15 games to Wald's nine in the match.
In fifth-flight action, Reuland led Honiball by a 3-1 score in the third set. The BG freshman had posted a 6-2 win in the first set, before the MU junior won set number two by a 6-3 count. Reuland dropped the first game of the final set, but won the next three before the match was stopped.
Eccleston and Danesis battled through a tight match at the second flight. The Falcon soph won three-straight games to end the opening set with a 6-3 win, but Danesis ended the second set with three consecutive wins, rallying from a one-game deficit for a 6-4 win. Danesis led Eccleston, 4-2, in the third set before the match was abandoned.
As mentioned, Saturday's match was the final contest in the storied career of Christine Chiricosta. Chiricosta, the Falcons' lone senior, finished her career with 178 combined wins, besting the previous total by 25. The Avon Lake, Ohio, native had 89 singles and 89 doubles wins, and has earned Academic All-America accolades twice (with the 2010-11 team yet to be announced).
The other seven players on Dean's eight-woman roster all are slated to return in '11-12. The remainder of the roster includes one junior (Easdale), four sophomores (Eccleston, Hill, Johnson and Katie Grubb) and two freshman (Reuland and Nikki Chiricosta).
MIAMI 4, BOWLING GREEN 0
Sat., April 30 - Ypsilanti H.S. - Ypsilanti, Mich.
MAC Championships - Semifinal Round
SINGLES
1 - Anastasia Dracheva (MU) def. Christine Chiricosta 6-1, 6-2
2 - Maddy Eccleston (BGSU) vs. Stephanie Danesis (MU), 6-3, 4-6, 2-4, MA
3 - Megan Martzolf (MU) def. Nikki Chiricosta 7-6 (7-5), 6-2
4 - Nimisha Mohan (MU) def. Mary Hill 6-4, 6-2
5 - Emily Reuland (BGSU) vs. Riekie Honiball (MU), 6-2, 3-6, 3-1, MA
6 - Jessica Easdale (BGSU) vs. Cara Wald (MU), 6-1, 5-7, 4-1, MA
Order of Finish: 1, 4, 3
DOUBLES
1 - Danesis/Martzolf (MU) def. C.Chiricosta/Eccleston 8-6
2 - Reuland/Jade Johnson (BGSU) def. Honiball/Jessica Parr 8-2
3 - Dracheva/Wald (MU) def. N.Chiricosta/Hill 9-8 (10-8)
Order of Finish: 2, 1, 3
MA - Match abandoned
BGSU-MIAMI PHOTO GALLERY - courtesy Jonathan Knight, EMU
With the win, the RedHawks improved to 19-5 on the season, and Miami advanced to the championship match of the league tourney. The Falcons, the fourth seed for the nine-team tournament, saw the season come to an end with a dual-match record of 15-8.
BGSU's win total in 2010-11 was just one shy of tying the school single-season record. Head coach Penny Dean's Falcons won 16 matches in both 1998-99 and 2007-08.
The final score of Saturday's match is quite misleading, as the doubles point came down to a tiebreaker, and the Falcons were leading in two of the three singles matches that were abandoned.
Miami has won 32 consecutive matches vs. MAC opponents, but BGSU went toe to toe with the RedHawks. In doubles play, the duo of sophomore Jade Johnson and Emily Reuland posted a decisive victory for the second-straight day. Johnson and Reuland burst out to a 5-0 lead en route to a quick 8-2 win over Riekie Honiball and Jessica Parr at the second flight.
At the top flight, senior co-captain Christine Chiricosta and soph Maddy Eccleston battled the RedHawks' duo of Stephanie Danesis and Megan Martzolf. The match was tight throughout, with the teams tied or separated by just one game for much of the morning. The RedHawks finally opened up a two-game lead, 5-3, only to see Chiricosta and Eccleston battle back to tie the contest at 5-5.
Danesis and Martzolf won the next game, but the Falcons responded again, tying the score at six games apiece. Ultimately, however, MU won the next two games to take the 8-6 victory and leave the doubles point in the hands of the third-flight tandems.
At that third flight, the Falcons and RedHawks staged an epic battle. Freshman Nikki Chiricosta and sophomore Mary Hill took an early lead over their MU counterparts, Anastasia Dracheva and Cara Wald. The Falcons led for nearly the entire match, and took a 5-3 advantage. The RedHawks stayed within striking distance, however, and finally took the lead by an 8-7 score. In a match filled with twists and turns, Chiricosta and Hill battled back to knot the score at 8-8, setting the stage for an equally dramatic tiebreaker.
That tiebreaker would see the Falcons reach match point on no fewer than four occasions. The BG duo went ahead, 4-2, before MU reeled off three-straight points. BG battled back yet again, taking a 6-5 lead as Hill fired a shot down the line. MU tied the score, but a nifty drop shot by Chiricosta gave the Falcons a 7-6 lead.
MU tied the score again, and after the Brown and Orange took an 8-7 lead, the 'Hawks tied the match for what proved to be the final time. Dracheva and Wald were able to get two more points in succession, taking the tiebreaker by a 10-8 result.
In singles action, Dracheva was clicking on all cylinders, picking up a win over Christine Chiricosta at the top flight. It proved to be the final match in a stellar career for Chiricosta, the BGSU record-holder in all three career wins categories.
Nimisha Mohan picked up a win over Hill at the fourth flight, and at approximately 1:46 p.m., Martzolf completed a win over Nikki Chiricosta at flight number three. That third-flight battle featured the longest opening set of any of the six singles matches, as Martzolf pulled out a 7-5 tiebreaker decision after each player had won six games. In the second set, however, the MU senior posted a 6-2 victory, giving the RedHawks the necessary four points for the match victory.
The doubles point proved to be crucial, as when singles play concluded, each of the three abandoned matches was in a third set, with the Falcons leading two of them. In all three of those matches, BGSU won the opening set before Miami rallied to win set number two.
At the sixth flight, junior co-captain Jessica Easdale was just two games away from victory. Easdale topped Wald, 6-1, in the opening set, winning six-straight games after dropping the first. Wald won the second set by a narrow 7-5 count, but Easdale had responded by taking a 4-1 lead in set number three when play was halted. In all, Easdale won 15 games to Wald's nine in the match.
In fifth-flight action, Reuland led Honiball by a 3-1 score in the third set. The BG freshman had posted a 6-2 win in the first set, before the MU junior won set number two by a 6-3 count. Reuland dropped the first game of the final set, but won the next three before the match was stopped.
Eccleston and Danesis battled through a tight match at the second flight. The Falcon soph won three-straight games to end the opening set with a 6-3 win, but Danesis ended the second set with three consecutive wins, rallying from a one-game deficit for a 6-4 win. Danesis led Eccleston, 4-2, in the third set before the match was abandoned.
As mentioned, Saturday's match was the final contest in the storied career of Christine Chiricosta. Chiricosta, the Falcons' lone senior, finished her career with 178 combined wins, besting the previous total by 25. The Avon Lake, Ohio, native had 89 singles and 89 doubles wins, and has earned Academic All-America accolades twice (with the 2010-11 team yet to be announced).
The other seven players on Dean's eight-woman roster all are slated to return in '11-12. The remainder of the roster includes one junior (Easdale), four sophomores (Eccleston, Hill, Johnson and Katie Grubb) and two freshman (Reuland and Nikki Chiricosta).
MIAMI 4, BOWLING GREEN 0
Sat., April 30 - Ypsilanti H.S. - Ypsilanti, Mich.
MAC Championships - Semifinal Round
SINGLES
1 - Anastasia Dracheva (MU) def. Christine Chiricosta 6-1, 6-2
2 - Maddy Eccleston (BGSU) vs. Stephanie Danesis (MU), 6-3, 4-6, 2-4, MA
3 - Megan Martzolf (MU) def. Nikki Chiricosta 7-6 (7-5), 6-2
4 - Nimisha Mohan (MU) def. Mary Hill 6-4, 6-2
5 - Emily Reuland (BGSU) vs. Riekie Honiball (MU), 6-2, 3-6, 3-1, MA
6 - Jessica Easdale (BGSU) vs. Cara Wald (MU), 6-1, 5-7, 4-1, MA
Order of Finish: 1, 4, 3
DOUBLES
1 - Danesis/Martzolf (MU) def. C.Chiricosta/Eccleston 8-6
2 - Reuland/Jade Johnson (BGSU) def. Honiball/Jessica Parr 8-2
3 - Dracheva/Wald (MU) def. N.Chiricosta/Hill 9-8 (10-8)
Order of Finish: 2, 1, 3
MA - Match abandoned
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