Akron Blanks Falcons, 7-0, Saturday Afternoon

Saturday, March 31

Perrysburg, Ohio

1:00 PM

Bowling Green State University

Akron %

Doug Sampson photo - Feb. 4 2011 vs Chicago St

BGSU junior Jade Johnson (photo by Doug Sampson)

March 31, 2012 | Women's Tennis

Preseason MAC favorites pick up a win at the PTC

By: PERRYSBURG, Ohio (BGSU Athletic Communications)

The University of Akron won at each flight en route to a 7-0 victory over the Bowling Green State University tennis team Saturday afternoon (March 31). The Mid-American Conference dual match was held at the Perrysburg Tennis Center.

With the win, the Zips improve to 17-2 overall, and UA is now 3-1 in MAC play. The Falcons of head coach Penny Dean fall to 6-6 and 2-1, respectively.

Tennis: MAC standings through matches of Sat March 31 2012

UA got out of the gates quickly, taking early leads in all three doubles matches and hanging on for the win in each case. Then, in singles play, the Zips won each match in straight sets.

The Zips led by a 4-1 score in each of the three doubles matches. On the second court, UA's team of Angelika Jogasuria and Natalia Kuvakina extended that lead to 6-1 before BGSU juniors Maddy Eccleston and Katie Grubb won three of the next four games to cut the margin to three. But, the Zips' duo won the next game for an 8-4 win.

The Falcons' third-flight team of juniors Mary Hill and Jade Johnson, after falling behind by that 4-1 score, traded games with their UA opponents, Angelina Jogasuria and Olga Shkundina. Trailing by a 6-3 count, however, the Hill/Johnson combo rallied back to within a single game, at 6-5. BG could not get any closer, however, as UA won the next game, saw the Falcons cut the lead to 7-6, then closed out the 8-6 victory.

The number-one flight saw BG sophomores Nikki Chiricosta and Emily Reuland match their Zip opponents, Zara Harutyunyan and Prang Pantusart, game for game after that early deficit. However, the UA duo had an answer each time BG won a game, and the Zips won the battle, 8-5.

In singles play, UA won each of the six matches, plus one additional match that did not count in the final scoring, in straight sets.The closest result came at the fourth flight, where Hill dropped a pair of 6-4 results to Angelina Jogasuria. In first-flight action, Chiricosta fell to Harutyunyan by a 6-3, 6-4 outcome. Those two matches were the last to finish, wrapping up within mere seconds of one another.

The Falcons take to the road for a pair of matches next weekend. BGSU plays a Friday (April 6) match at Miami University, and the Brown and Orange will then face Ball State University on Saturday (April 7). BG's next home action comes on Tuesday, April 10, as Valparaiso University comes to Northwest Ohio for a non-conference match.

AKRON 7, BOWLING GREEN 0
Sat., March 31, 2012 - Perrysburg Tennis Center - Perrysburg, Ohio
SINGLES
1 - Zara Harutyunyan (UA) def. Nikki Chiricosta 6-3, 6-4
2 - Olga Shkundina (UA) def. Maddy Eccleston 6-4, 6-2
3 - Prang Pantusart (UA) def. Emily Reuland 6-3, 6-2
4 - Angelina Jogasuria (UA) def. Mary Hill 6-4, 6-4
5 - Angelika Jogasuria (UA) def. Katie Grubb 6-2, 6-3
6 - Natalia Kuvakina (UA) def. Jessica Easdale 6-0, 6-2
# - Ksenia Berestetska (UA) def. Jade Johnson 6-1, 6-4
Order of Finish: 6,3,5,2,4,1
# not included in overall match scoring

DOUBLES
1 - Harutyunyan/Pantusart (UA) def. Chiricosta/Reuland 8-5
2 - Kuvakina/Angelika Jogasuria (UA) def. Eccleston/Grubb 8-4
3 - Shkundina/Angelina Jogasuria (UA) def. Hill/Johnson 8-6
Order of Finish: 2,3,1

RECORDS
BGSU 6-6, 2-1 MAC
Akron 17-2, 3-1 MAC

UP NEXT
BGSU - at Miami; Fri., April 6
Akron - home vs. Buffalo; Sat., April 7