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Bowling Green State University Athletics
Friday, April 27
DeKalb, Ill.
10:00 AM CT
Bowling Green State University
4
vs
0
Eastern Michigan (quarterfinals)
Junior Katie Grubb won in both doubles & singles as the Falcons blanked EMU (photo by Brandon Heiss)
Falcons Blank EMU, 4-0, to Advance to Semifinals
April 27, 2012 | Women's Tennis
BGSU to face top-seeded Miami on Saturday morning
The Bowling Green State University tennis team was clicking on all cylinders Friday (April 27), and the Falcons rolled along to a 4-0 win over Eastern Michigan University at the Mid-American Conference Championships. The match, a quarterfinal-round contest, was held at DeKalb High School.
With the win, the Falcons improve to 10-9 on the season. BGSU, the fifth seed for the nine-team league tournament, will face top-seeded Miami University on Saturday morning (April 28).
The Eagles, the tourney's fourth seed, see the season come to an end with a record of 9-15.
The win came exactly one week after the teams' regular-season meeting in Ypsilanti. Last Friday afternoon (April 20), the Eagles posted a narrow 4-3 win over the Brown and Orange.
In DeKalb, the Falcons got a pair of doubles wins, courtesy of the team's four juniors. Mary Hill and Jade Johnson picked up a win at the third flight, while Maddy Eccleston and Katie Grubb clinched the initial point with a victory at flight number two.
In singles play, BGSU's two All-MAC Team members, sophomores Nikki Chiricosta and Emily Reuland, each picked up victories. Reuland's third-flight match was the first to finish, and Chiricosta then won her match at the number-one flight.
When Grubb closed out a victory over EMU's Mariya Toncheva, the Falcons had the requisite four points.
"This was a great team win," said Falcon head coach Penny Dean. "Turning around the doubles point was big for our confidence, and gave us momentum heading into singles play.
"Katie's match, beating a player who defeated her last weekend, was awesome. In addition to the wins from Nikki and Emily in singles, Jade really stepped up, and Mary was very close to winning her match. We look forward to the challenge of tomorrow's match."
The 2012 tourney marks the second-straight April, and the fourth time in the last six seasons, that BGSU has advanced to the semifinals.
BGSU won the doubles point in six of the eight MAC regular-season matches, but last Friday's match at EMU was one of the two exceptions. A week later, however, the Falcons turned the tables on the Eagles.
Johnson and Hill, after losing an 8-5 decision to Marcela Rivero and Daphne Friedrichs last Friday, led early and often in DeKalb, posting an 8-0 victory. At the second flight, the Eccleston/Grubb duo had lost by an 8-4 final to Toncheva and Georgia de'Lisle-Tarr last weekend. Those same teams met on Friday, and the result was reversed. The score was the same, however, as the Falcons picked up an 8-4 victory.
The top-flight match, pitting Chiricosta and Reuland against Miriam Westerink and Nino Mebuke, was abandoned.
Several of Friday's singles matches were rematches from last weekend. One such match saw Reuland make quick work of Ankita Bhatia. In their regular-season meeting, Reuland dropped only three games in her third-flight victory. In DeKalb, the BG soph lost only one game in her dismantling of Bhatia.
Chiricosta's singles match was the second to finish, as she won a pair of 6-3 sets to down Mebuke at the top flight in a battle of All-MAC performers.
At the fifth flight, Grubb won a tiebreaker to capture a narrow first set over Toncheva. Like Reuland, Grubb did not lose a single game in her second set.
Last Friday, Grubb lost a three-set match to Toncheva in the final match on the court in the Eagles' 4-3 win. This Friday, their fifth-flight battle also decided the match, as Grubb's victory was the all-important fourth point that sent the Falcons on to the semifinals.
Saturday's BGSU-Miami match, the first semifinal of the day, is scheduled to begin at 10:00 a.m. locally (11:00 a.m. ET) at the NIU West Tennis Courts on the campus of Northern Illinois University.
BOWLING GREEN 4, EASTERN MICHIGAN 0
Fri., April 27, 2012 - DeKalb High School - DeKalb, Ill.
SINGLES
1 - Nikki Chiricosta (BGSU) def. Nino Mebuke 6-3, 6-3
2 - Miriam Westerink (EMU) vs. Maddy Eccleston (BGSU) 6-1, 1-6, 5-0, MA
3 - Emily Reuland (BGSU) def. Ankita Bhatia 6-1, 6-0
4 - Mary Hill (BGSU) vs. Daphne Friedrichs (EMU) 6-2, 5-2, MA
5 - Katie Grubb (BGSU) def. Mariya Toncheva 7-6 (3), 6-0
6 - Jade Johnson (BGSU) vs. Marcela Rivero (EMU) 7-6 (5), 1-1, MA
Order of Finish: 3,1,5
DOUBLES
1 - Westerink/Mebuke (EMU) vs. Chiricosta/Reuland (BGSU) 5-4, MA
2 - Eccleston/Grubb (BGSU) def. Toncheva/Georgia de'Lisle-Tarr 8-4
3 - Hill/Johnson (BGSU) def. Friedrichs/Rivero (EMU) 8-0
Order of Finish: 3,2
MA - match abandoned
RECORDS
BGSU 10-9
EMU 9-15
UP NEXT
BGSU - vs. Miami (MAC Championships Semifinal); Sat., April 28
EMU - season complete
FALCON NOTES
* The Falcons now have a record of 11-17 since the MAC Championships went to the current format (teams advance rather than individuals) prior to the 1996-97 season ... BGSU has now advanced to the semifinal round in four of the last six years, after failing to do so in each of the six years (2001-06) prior to that time.
* Junior Jade Johnson is now a perfect 3-0 in doubles play in the MAC Championships ... she teamed with sophomore Emily Reuland for a pair of wins at the second flight in last year's conference tournament, prior to combining with junior Mary Hill for a third-flight win vs. EMU on Friday.
* Another junior, Katie Grubb, increased her overall MAC Championships record to 3-0 ... in addition to her singles and doubles wins on Friday, she picked up a singles victory two years ago, with the Falcons' lone point in a 2010 quarterfinal-round loss to Akron ... in that match, Grubb lost just three total games in a win over Carolina Castro Cota at the sixth flight.
* Reuland, after winning her singles match on Friday, is now 4-0 in her career at the MAC Championships, with two singles and two doubles wins.
* The Falcons are now 3-3 in MAC Championships meetings with Eastern Michigan ... all six tourney matchups have come in the quarterfinal round.
MAC CHAMPIONSHIPS - RESULTS AND SCHEDULE
First Round - Thursday, April 26
#9 Ball State 4, #8 Toledo 3
Quarterfinals - Friday, April 27
#1 Miami 5, Ball State 0
#5 Bowling Green 4, #4 Eastern Michigan 0
#2 Akron 4, #7 Northern Illinois 0
#3 Western Michigan 4, #6 Buffalo 3
Semifinals - Saturday, April 28
Bowling Green vs. Miami, 10:00 a.m. CT
Akron vs. Western Michigan, 2:00 p.m. CT
Final - Sunday, April 29
Semifinal winners, 12:00 p.m. CT
With the win, the Falcons improve to 10-9 on the season. BGSU, the fifth seed for the nine-team league tournament, will face top-seeded Miami University on Saturday morning (April 28).
The Eagles, the tourney's fourth seed, see the season come to an end with a record of 9-15.
The win came exactly one week after the teams' regular-season meeting in Ypsilanti. Last Friday afternoon (April 20), the Eagles posted a narrow 4-3 win over the Brown and Orange.
In DeKalb, the Falcons got a pair of doubles wins, courtesy of the team's four juniors. Mary Hill and Jade Johnson picked up a win at the third flight, while Maddy Eccleston and Katie Grubb clinched the initial point with a victory at flight number two.
In singles play, BGSU's two All-MAC Team members, sophomores Nikki Chiricosta and Emily Reuland, each picked up victories. Reuland's third-flight match was the first to finish, and Chiricosta then won her match at the number-one flight.
When Grubb closed out a victory over EMU's Mariya Toncheva, the Falcons had the requisite four points.
"This was a great team win," said Falcon head coach Penny Dean. "Turning around the doubles point was big for our confidence, and gave us momentum heading into singles play.
"Katie's match, beating a player who defeated her last weekend, was awesome. In addition to the wins from Nikki and Emily in singles, Jade really stepped up, and Mary was very close to winning her match. We look forward to the challenge of tomorrow's match."
The 2012 tourney marks the second-straight April, and the fourth time in the last six seasons, that BGSU has advanced to the semifinals.
BGSU won the doubles point in six of the eight MAC regular-season matches, but last Friday's match at EMU was one of the two exceptions. A week later, however, the Falcons turned the tables on the Eagles.
Johnson and Hill, after losing an 8-5 decision to Marcela Rivero and Daphne Friedrichs last Friday, led early and often in DeKalb, posting an 8-0 victory. At the second flight, the Eccleston/Grubb duo had lost by an 8-4 final to Toncheva and Georgia de'Lisle-Tarr last weekend. Those same teams met on Friday, and the result was reversed. The score was the same, however, as the Falcons picked up an 8-4 victory.
The top-flight match, pitting Chiricosta and Reuland against Miriam Westerink and Nino Mebuke, was abandoned.
Several of Friday's singles matches were rematches from last weekend. One such match saw Reuland make quick work of Ankita Bhatia. In their regular-season meeting, Reuland dropped only three games in her third-flight victory. In DeKalb, the BG soph lost only one game in her dismantling of Bhatia.
Chiricosta's singles match was the second to finish, as she won a pair of 6-3 sets to down Mebuke at the top flight in a battle of All-MAC performers.
At the fifth flight, Grubb won a tiebreaker to capture a narrow first set over Toncheva. Like Reuland, Grubb did not lose a single game in her second set.
Last Friday, Grubb lost a three-set match to Toncheva in the final match on the court in the Eagles' 4-3 win. This Friday, their fifth-flight battle also decided the match, as Grubb's victory was the all-important fourth point that sent the Falcons on to the semifinals.
Saturday's BGSU-Miami match, the first semifinal of the day, is scheduled to begin at 10:00 a.m. locally (11:00 a.m. ET) at the NIU West Tennis Courts on the campus of Northern Illinois University.
BOWLING GREEN 4, EASTERN MICHIGAN 0
Fri., April 27, 2012 - DeKalb High School - DeKalb, Ill.
SINGLES
1 - Nikki Chiricosta (BGSU) def. Nino Mebuke 6-3, 6-3
2 - Miriam Westerink (EMU) vs. Maddy Eccleston (BGSU) 6-1, 1-6, 5-0, MA
3 - Emily Reuland (BGSU) def. Ankita Bhatia 6-1, 6-0
4 - Mary Hill (BGSU) vs. Daphne Friedrichs (EMU) 6-2, 5-2, MA
5 - Katie Grubb (BGSU) def. Mariya Toncheva 7-6 (3), 6-0
6 - Jade Johnson (BGSU) vs. Marcela Rivero (EMU) 7-6 (5), 1-1, MA
Order of Finish: 3,1,5
DOUBLES
1 - Westerink/Mebuke (EMU) vs. Chiricosta/Reuland (BGSU) 5-4, MA
2 - Eccleston/Grubb (BGSU) def. Toncheva/Georgia de'Lisle-Tarr 8-4
3 - Hill/Johnson (BGSU) def. Friedrichs/Rivero (EMU) 8-0
Order of Finish: 3,2
MA - match abandoned
RECORDS
BGSU 10-9
EMU 9-15
UP NEXT
BGSU - vs. Miami (MAC Championships Semifinal); Sat., April 28
EMU - season complete
FALCON NOTES
* The Falcons now have a record of 11-17 since the MAC Championships went to the current format (teams advance rather than individuals) prior to the 1996-97 season ... BGSU has now advanced to the semifinal round in four of the last six years, after failing to do so in each of the six years (2001-06) prior to that time.
* Junior Jade Johnson is now a perfect 3-0 in doubles play in the MAC Championships ... she teamed with sophomore Emily Reuland for a pair of wins at the second flight in last year's conference tournament, prior to combining with junior Mary Hill for a third-flight win vs. EMU on Friday.
* Another junior, Katie Grubb, increased her overall MAC Championships record to 3-0 ... in addition to her singles and doubles wins on Friday, she picked up a singles victory two years ago, with the Falcons' lone point in a 2010 quarterfinal-round loss to Akron ... in that match, Grubb lost just three total games in a win over Carolina Castro Cota at the sixth flight.
* Reuland, after winning her singles match on Friday, is now 4-0 in her career at the MAC Championships, with two singles and two doubles wins.
* The Falcons are now 3-3 in MAC Championships meetings with Eastern Michigan ... all six tourney matchups have come in the quarterfinal round.
MAC CHAMPIONSHIPS - RESULTS AND SCHEDULE
First Round - Thursday, April 26
#9 Ball State 4, #8 Toledo 3
Quarterfinals - Friday, April 27
#1 Miami 5, Ball State 0
#5 Bowling Green 4, #4 Eastern Michigan 0
#2 Akron 4, #7 Northern Illinois 0
#3 Western Michigan 4, #6 Buffalo 3
Semifinals - Saturday, April 28
Bowling Green vs. Miami, 10:00 a.m. CT
Akron vs. Western Michigan, 2:00 p.m. CT
Final - Sunday, April 29
Semifinal winners, 12:00 p.m. CT
BG Tennis : Hannah Neuman Postmatch 2.17
Saturday, February 18
BG Tennis : Coach Bonnell Postmatch 2.17
Saturday, February 18
BG Tennis Highlights vs Findlay 2.13
Sunday, February 13
BG Tennis : Ioanna Tsadari Post-Match 2.13
Sunday, February 13