Falcons Douse Flames, 5-2

Sunday, February 9

Perrysburg, OH

9:30 AM

Bowling Green State University

UIC

February 09, 2014 | Women's Tennis

BGSU improves to 3-1 on the young season

By: PERRYSBURG, Ohio (BGSU Athletic Communications)

Emily Reuland - BGSU Invitational - Sept 20 2013 - MJC pic

The Bowling Green State University tennis team improved to 3-1 in dual-match play with a 5-2 win over UIC Sunday (Feb. 9) at the Perrysburg Tennis Center.

Seniors Nikki Chiricosta and Emily Reuland and sophomore Katie Brozovich each posted a pair of wins vs. the Flames, while soph Drew Fillis and freshman Harley Hutchison picked up one win apiece on Sunday.

The Falcons started the day by capturing the doubles point, with Brozovich and Chiricosta topping UIC's Jana Knoppe and Kathryn Sharples by a 6-2 score at the second flight.

The Flames' duo of Veronica Lacerda and Keti Mebuke picked up a victory in third-flight action against Hutchison and fellow Falcon freshman Hannah Drayton, but Reuland and Fillis won at the top flight to give BG the first point of the match.

In that match at the number-one flight, Fillis and Reuland were down by a 5-4 score, and trailed, 30-love, in the next game. But, with UIC's Mariana Palacios and Natalia Kuvakina just two points away from victory, the Falcons battled back to capture the game.

The Fillis/Reuland combo dropped the next game, but again rallied back to tie the match at 6-6, before winning a tiebreaker.

In singles action, four Falcons won in straight sets. Reuland lost just three total games against Kuvakina at the second flight, while both Brozovich and Hutchison dropped only four games in their wins. Hutchison downed Mebuke in fifth-flight play, while Brozovich swept Sharples, 6-0, in the second set at flight number three.

Chiricosta also was victorious, sweeping Palacios by identical 6-4 scores at the top flight. The Flames' two points came at the fourth and sixth flights. Knoppe eked out a 7-5 decision in the second set of her match vs. Fillis at the fourth flight, while Lacerda narrowly won a tiebreaker, 10-7, vs. freshman Brittany Plaszewski at the sixth flight.

UIC was picked to win the Horizon League title in the league's preseason coaches' poll. The Flames have won 17 consecutive league championships, and UIC has advanced to the NCAA Championships in each of the last 15 seasons.

The Falcons now lead UIC, 12-9, in the all-time series between the schools, and BGSU has captured each of the last two matches by 5-2 scores.

The Falcons will be in action next Friday evening, taking on Cleveland State University in Northeast Ohio. That CSU match will be the first of six-straight duals away from home for the Brown and Orange.

BGSU 5, UIC 2
Sun., Feb. 9, 2014 – Perrysburg Tennis Center – Perrysburg, Ohio
SINGLES
1 – Nikki Chiricosta (BGSU) def. Mariana Palacios 6-4, 6-4
2 – Emily Reuland (BGSU) def. Natalia Kuvakina 6-1, 6-2
3 – Katie Brozovich (BGSU) def. Kathryn Sharples 6-4, 6-0
4 – Jana Knoppe (UIC) def. Drew Fillis 6-2, 7-5
5 – Harley Hutchison (BGSU) def. Keti Mebuke 6-1, 6-3
6 – Veronica Lacerda (UIC) def. Brittany Plaszewski 6-7, 6-4, 1-0(7)

DOUBLES
1 – Fillis/Reuland (BGSU) def. Palacios/Kuvakina 7-6(4)
2 – Chiricosta/Brozovich (BGSU) def. Knoppe/Sharples 6-2
3 – Lacerda/Mebuke (UIC) def. Hutchison/Hannah Drayton 6-0

CHIRICOSTA RECORD WATCH
Senior Nikki Chiricosta continues to move up the BGSU career wins lists. Chiricosta now has 88 singles wins as a Falcon, and needs just one more to move into a tie for the career record. That record is held by her sister, Christine, who captured 89 singles matches from 2008-11.

Nikki Chiricosta now has 175 combined career wins, just three shy of matching that record, also currently held by Christine.

And, Nikki Chiricosta has 87 doubles wins to rank third on that BG list. Maddy Eccleston (2010-13) holds the record with 97 career doubles victories at BGSU, while Christine Chiricosta is second with 89.

Nikki Chiricosta has a chance to tie the singles wins record in the Falcons' match at Cleveland State next Friday. She is a native of nearby Avon Lake, Ohio.

REULAND MOVING UP BGSU LISTS
Senior Emily Reuland's two victories on Sunday moved her up at least one spot on all three BGSU career wins lists. Reuland now has a total of 153 wins, with 78 singles victories and 75 doubles wins.

Reuland has moved into a tie for fourth place with Deidee Bissinger (1997-2000) on the overall wins list. She is now in sole possession of fifth place in BG history in doubles victories, and Reuland is in sixth place on the singles wins list.