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Bowling Green State University Athletics
Friday, April 4
Perrysburg, OH
1:00 PM
Bowling Green State University
vs
Northern Illinois
BGSU Begins Four-Match Homestand vs. Two Illinois Foes
April 03, 2014 | Women's Tennis
Falcons face NIU Friday, Chicago State Saturday
PDF LINKS
BGSU Stats & Records | 2013-14 BGSU Media Guide
Both matches are scheduled to be held at Keefe Courts on the BGSU campus, with the NIU match beginning at 1:00 p.m. and the CSU dual scheduled for a 12:00 p.m. start. In the event of inclement weather, matches would be moved to the Perrysburg Tennis Center.
***** UPDATE: Friday's NIU match will be played at the Perrysburg Tennis Center *****
The Falcons enter the weekend with an overall record of 6-6, and BGSU is 1-2 in MAC play after a pair of road losses last weekend. The Brown and Orange dropped a narrow 4-3 decision to Toledo on Friday (March 28) at Shadow Valley Tennis Club, before falling to MAC unbeaten Eastern Michigan by a 7-0 count on Saturday (March 29).
Senior co-captain Nikki Chiricosta won a pair of matches vs. UT, with victories at both singles and doubles. She teamed with sophomore Katie Brozovich to win at the second doubles flight, but the Rockets captured the other two doubles matches. All three matches went down to the wire, with two ending in 8-6 outcomes and the third requiring a tiebreaker. That initial point proved to be crucial, as Chiricosta, sophomore Drew Fillis and freshman Hannah Drayton each won in singles play, but the Rockets took the other three singles matches to eke out the 4-3 victory.
If the regular season ended today, the Falcons would earn the sixth and final spot in the MAC Championships. The 2013-14 season marks the second year of the current format, where the top-two teams in the final regular-season standings earn first-round byes and the bottom three teams in the final standings do not qualify for the league championships.
EMU currently holds a 4-0 MAC record to lead the league, while Miami is 2-0, UT 3-1 and Buffalo 2-1. Ball State sits in fifth place with a 1-1 record, with BGSU 1-2, NIU 1-3 and Akron and Western Michigan both 0-3 in conference competition so far.
On the season, Chiricosta leads the Falcons with 33 overall wins, while Brozovich has 29 and senior Emily Reuland 24. Chiricosta has a team-leading 14 singles wins this season, with Brozovich and Reuland right behind with 13 apiece. In doubles, Chiricosta paces the team with a record of 19-8, including a 15-6 mark when competing with Brozovich. Brozovich has an overall doubles mark of 16-8 this season to date.
Drayton has 18 overall wins this year to date, while Fillis and freshman Harley Hutchison each have won 17 matches. Freshman Brittany Plaszewski currently has seven wins in her initial season with the Falcons.
In her young career, Brozovich now has a singles record of 28-6 in dual-match play. Despite suffering a pair of three-set losses last weekend, she is 8-4 at the third flight this year after spending time at the fourth (10-1), fifth (2-0) and sixth (8-1) flights last spring.
Dean's two seniors are ranked high atop the school's career wins lists. Chiricosta and Reuland each are listed among the top-five players in BGSU history on all three lists.
Chiricosta is the winningest player in BGSU history, with 182 overall wins, and she also holds the school record with 91 singles victories. The Avon Lake, Ohio, native broke both records, originally set by her sister, Christine (2008-11), in the Falcons' win over Western Michigan on March 22. Nikki Chiricosta has 91 doubles victories to rank second on that list, six behind record-holder Maddy Eccleston (2010-13).
Reuland is fourth in school history with 158 total victories, and the Oswego, Ill., native is tied for third on the singles wins list. With 81 singles victories as a Falcon, she has tied Stefanie Menoff (2006-09) on that list, and is eight wins behind second-place Christine Chiricosta. Reuland has 77 career doubles wins, good for sole possession of fifth place on that list.
The BGSU season and career records can be found by clicking the "BGSU Stats & Records" PDF link near the top of this page.
Northern Illinois enters Friday's match with a 6-8 overall record, and the Huskies are 1-3 in MAC play to date. Northern split a pair of home conference matches last weekend, downing Akron by a 4-3 score before dropping a 6-1 decision at the hands of Buffalo. NIU's other two MAC matches came on the road at Ball State and Miami. Last season, head coach Ryun Ferrell's team finished with a 14-10 record, marking the most dual wins by the Huskies since 1997. Northern was 0-8 in the MAC a year ago.
Chicago State will enter Saturday's match vs. the Falcons with an overall record of 5-14. The Cougars have been idle since a 5-2 loss to Saint Louis on March 21. Head coach Jack Barton's team will be looking to snap a four-match losing streak. CSU has played two MAC opponents this year to date, and the Cougars downed NIU by a 4-2 final on March 6. Chicago State's other victories have come against South Dakota, Dayton, Wright State and Green Bay. Last year, the Cougars finished with a 5-19 overall record.
BGSU holds a 14-11 lead over Northern Illinois in the all-time series between the teams, and the Falcons have won the last nine meetings. Last season's matchup saw the Brown and Orange down NIU, 5-2, on the road (March 29, 2013). Two years ago, in the teams' last meeting in Ohio, the Falcons downed Northern, 7-0, at Keefe Courts (March 24, 2012). NIU's last win over BGSU came at the old Keefe Courts in April of 2004.
The Falcons lead CSU, 2-1, in that series, and BGSU has won two-straight meetings vs. the Cougars. CSU posted a 6-3 win over BG in a neutral-site match in Milwaukee, Wis., during the 1992-93 season. The following year, the teams were scheduled to meet, but the match was canceled due to inclement weather. The Falcons have posted 7-0 wins over the Cougars in each of the last two seasons, including a victory at the PTC two years ago (Feb. 4, 2012) and a win in Illinois last season (Jan. 27, 2013).
Following this weekend's matches, the Falcons will conclude the home portion of the schedule with two more matches next weekend. BGSU will face Akron on Friday, April 11, before meeting Buffalo the following day (Saturday, April 12). The UB match will be Senior Day for the Falcons, with Chiricosta and Reuland recognized in ceremonies prior to the match.
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