.png&type=webp)
Saturday, April 13
Perrysburg, OH
1:00 PM
Bowling Green State University
3
vs
4
Miami
Miami Rallies for 4-3 Win in 5-Hour Marathon
April 13, 2013 | Women's Tennis
BGSU falls to RedHawks in epic match
LINKS
Video of Senior Day ceremony
BGSU-MU Photo Gallery - Jordan Sternberg, BGSU Marketing & Comm.
With the win, the RedHawks improve to 10-12 overall and 6-1 in the MAC. Miami has clinched at least a tie for the MAC regular-season title, and the RedHawks will be the number-one seed for the conference tournament in just under two weeks.
The Falcons drop to 15-4 overall and 4-3 in MAC action. BGSU is tied for third place in the league standings heading into the final weekend of the regular season.
In a match that lasted nearly three-and-a-half hours, Miami's Nimisha Mohan clinched the win for her team with a three-set victory over BGSU junior Emily Reuland at the number-one singles flight.
Reuland was on the court for nearly the entire duration of Saturday's five-hour match, as she had teamed with classmate Nikki Chiricosta for a lengthy doubles win prior to her marathon singles match.
| Team (Overall) | MAC |
| Miami (10-12) | 6-1 |
| Akron (16-8) | 4-2 |
| Bowling Green (15-4) | 4-3 |
| Ball State (13-10) | 4-3 |
| Western Mich. (11-12) | 4-3 |
| Eastern Mich. (8-12) | 3-3 |
| Buffalo (11-4) | 2-4 |
| Toledo (8-11) | 2-4 |
| Northern Illinois (14-8) | 0-6 |
"Emily, despite battling an injury and cramping up, really fought hard. Even though she was in terrible pain, she never gave up. Twice, we gave her the opportunity to quit, but she said no and battled through the pain.
"We would not even have been in that position, playing for a chance to win, without the effort of Emily and Nikki in doubles. Again, I could not be more proud of the entire team today."
For the seventh time in as many MAC matches and the 18th consecutive match, the Falcons won the doubles point. BGSU has not dropped the opening point of a match in nearly three months -- since Jan. 18 -- but it was a hard-earned point on Saturday, to say the very least.
On 'Senior Day' at the PTC, two of Dean's four seniors picked up the first win of the day. Mary Hill and Jade Johnson seized control of the third-flight doubles match, winning four-straight games to take a 6-3 lead en route to an 8-4 victory over MU's team of Ramona Costea and Christiana Raymond.
Hill and Johnson improved to a perfect 7-0 in MAC matches this season to date. Additionally, the win was the 100th overall victory of Johnson's BGSU career.
The RedHawks evened the match with a narrow 8-6 victory at the second doubles flight. Mohan and Alix Thurman led Falcon seniors Maddy Eccleston and Katie Grubb by a 6-3 count, but the BGSU duo battled back to even the match. Miami responded, however, by taking the next two games to win the match.
For Eccleston and Grubb, it marked the first time they had lost in MAC play. That duo is now 6-1 in conference matches this season to date.
The number-one flight saw Chiricosta and Reuland open up a 3-0 lead on Christine Guerrazzi and Ana Rajkovic, only to see the MU team rally. The BG duo led by scores of 4-1 and 5-3, and the Falcons had a 6-4 lead when the RedHawk tandem won three-straight games. Suddenly, MU was up by a 7-6 count, just a game away from victory.
But, Chiricosta and Reuland won a lengthy 14th game to knot the score at 7-all. MU again took the lead, but the Falcons evened the match at 8-8 to force a tiebreaker.
In that tiebreaker, the BG juniors won three-straight points to open up a 5-2 lead. Then, after Miami had crept within 5-4, the juniors took the next two points to win the match. With the Falcons up by a 6-4 score, Reuland traded several volleys with the RedHawks before Chiricosta rose up to hit an overhand winner. That winning point came at 2:33 p.m.
Rajkovic defeated Grubb in straight sets at the fifth singles flight to even the match, but Hill returned the favor soon after, closing out a 6-3, 6-1 win over Costea in sixth-flight action.
Raymond swept Eccleston in the first set at the third flight, but the BG senior battled through a lengthy second set before succumbing by a narrow 6-4 score. The match was tied, 2-2, and the remaining three singles matches would not be finished for quite some time.
Freshman Katie Brozovich battled Guerrazzi through an opening set that lasted nearly two-and-a-half hours. Brozovich held serve in the early going, taking leads of 1-0, 2-1, 3-2 and 4-3 in the fourth-flight match.
Guerrazzi took two-straight games for a 5-4 lead, but Brozovich battled back, taking the next two games to forge ahead, 6-5. The MU sophomore evened the match at 6-all, forcing a tiebreaker.
That 'breaker unfolded much as the set itself had, with Brozovich taking an early lead and Guerrazzi battling back. Brozovich went ahead 3-1, and the freshman led by a 4-2 count before Guerrazzi reeled off three-straight points for a 5-4 lead. But, the Falcon freshman responded in kind, taking the next three points and winning the tiebreaker by a 7-5 final. That opening set ended at 4:29 p.m.
In the second set, Brozovich never trailed. She took the first two games, and after Guerrazzi had evened the score at 2-2, Brozovich won the next two games to take the lead for good. The freshman closed out a 6-4 win to take the match.
The second flight saw Chiricosta and Thurman trade blows in a lengthy, three-set match. Thurman won the opening set, taking three consecutive games for a 7-5 win. But, Chiricosta reeled off four-straight games to take a 5-2 advantage in the second set, eventually winning by a 6-4 count.
The third set saw the lead change hands several times, but Thurman rallied from a 3-2 deficit for a 6-3 victory. That tied the overall match score at 3-3, with only Mohan and Reuland still on the court.
Reuland had captured the opening set, 6-4, and the BG junior opened up a 3-2 lead in the second set. Mohan, though, won the next two games, and the MU junior eventually tied the score at 4-4. Reuland, despite showing signs of cramping up, took a 5-4 lead before Mohan captured the next two games. Reuland responded by tying the score at six, forcing a tiebreaker.
Mohan, however, never trailed in that tiebreaker. With the score tied at 1-1, she won the next three points to take the lead for good. Reuland answered with the next two points, but Mohan won two-straight points for a 6-3 advantage. Reuland took two points in a row to again cut the deficit to a single point, but Mohan won the next point to capture the tiebreaker and force a third set.
In that third set, Mohan burst out to a 3-0 lead against Reuland, who was laboring, but the courageous BG junior won two-straight games. Mohan, however, was able to capture each of the next three games to take the match and clinch at least a share of the regular-season title for her team.
That final point came at 5:54 p.m., nearly five hours after the match had begun.
The Falcons have just one match left in the regular season, as BG heads to Kalamazoo, Mich., to face Western Michigan next Saturday (April 20). That match will begin at 1:00 p.m.
NOTES
* BGSU still has a chance to finish as high as the second seed for the MAC Championships, but the Falcons have not yet clinched a berth in the league tournament. Only six of the conference's nine teams will qualify for the tourney, which will be held from April 26-28 in Muncie, Ind.
* Saturday was 'Senior Day' for the BGSU tennis program, and the Falcons' four seniors were recognized in ceremonies prior to the start of the match. That quartet of seniors includes Maddy Eccleston, Katie Grubb, Mary Hill and Jade Johnson.
* Freshman Katie Brozovich has won 18 consecutive singles matches since her last loss back on Jan. 18. Her overall winning streak (singles and doubles combined) now stands at 25 matches since that singles setback. Brozovich leads the Falcons with a 27-8 singles record, and she has an overall record of 42-15 in her first season at BG.
* Freshman Drew Fillis defeated MU's Chloe Heerden, 8-4, on Saturday in a singles match that was not included in the final match scoring.
MIAMI 4, BGSU 3
Sat., April 13, 2013 – Perrysburg Tennis Center – Perrysburg, Ohio
SINGLES
1 – Nimisha Mohan (MU) def. Emily Reuland 4-6, 7-6(5), 6-2
2 – Alix Thurman (MU) def. Nikki Chiricosta 7-5, 4-6, 6-3
3 – Christiana Raymond (MU) def. Maddy Eccleston 6-0, 6-4
4 – Katie Brozovich (BGSU) def. Christine Guerrazzi 7-6(5), 6-4
5 – Ana Rajkovic (MU) def. Katie Grubb 6-1, 6-1
6 – Mary Hill (BGSU) def. Ramona Costea 6-3, 6-1
# – Drew Fillis (BGSU) def. Chloe Heerden 8-4
# not included in match scoring
DOUBLES
1 – Chiricosta/Reuland (BGSU) def. Guerrazzi/Rajkovic 9-8(4)
2 – Mohan/Thurman (MU) def. Eccleston/Grubb 8-6
3 – Hill/Jade Johnson (BGSU) def. Costea/Raymond 8-4
RECORDS
BGSU 15-4, 4-3 MAC
Miami 10-12, 6-1 MAC
ORDER OF FINISH
Doubles: 3,2,1
Singles: 5,6,3,4,2,1
UP NEXT FOR BGSU
Sat., April 20, at Western Michigan
.png&width=84&height=84&quality=100&type=webp)
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