Battle of I-75 Goes to the Rockets Friday Afternoon

Friday, April 3

Perrysburg, OH

1:00 PM

Bowling Green State University

Toledo

Feb 14 2015 tennis v Cincinnati - Ruben Kappler photo

Photo by: Ruben Kappler, BGSU Marketing & Communications

April 03, 2015 | Women's Tennis

By: PERRYSBURG, Ohio (BGSU Athletic Communications)

The University of Toledo won a closely-contested doubles point, then rode that momentum into singles play en route to a 7-0 win over the Bowling Green State University tennis team. The Mid-American Conference dual match was held at the Perrysburg Tennis Center.

"I don't think the score indicated what kind of match we had," said BGSU coach Olga Elkin. "We were very competitive today. We were very close to taking the doubles point, the singles matches at (flights) one and four, and we weren't far off at two. They did a great job today. They were very competitive, they fought, and they played as well as they could.

"We're young, and that kind of what hurt us today. But, the score does not reflect how close this match was. This could easily have been a 4-3 match either way."

The Rockets got a 6-2 win at the second doubles flight, with Emily Mazzola and Lexy Pitt downing BGSU sophomore Brittany Plaszewski and freshman Emily Witt. That match saw the UT tandem won the first two games, then take a 4-1 lead. Plaszewski and Witt won the next game, but the Rockets captured the next two for the victory.

The other two doubles matches went right down to the wire. At the third flight, BG walk-ons Antonina Farrar and Sydney Seeley played a stellar match. Farrar, a sophomore, and Seeley, a freshman, took multiple leads against UT's Katelyn Nguyen and Kayleigh Hall. The two Falcons, both products of St. Ursula Academy in Toledo, led by scores of 1-0, 2-1, 3-2 and 4-3. Each time, however, the Rocket duo responded by winning the next game. The young Falcons battled back to tie the match at 5-5, before the UT tandem won the next two games to close out the match and give the Rockets the doubles point.

"Nina and Sydney have shown so much improvement since they joined us in early January," said Elkin. "It's night and day. Their energy and attitudes were amazing today. They played great, and they almost pulled out that doubles match. We can see their hard work starting to pay off, which is great."

At the top flight, UT's Pia Rygh and Lauren Thai burst out to a 3-0 lead against BGSU sophomore Harley Hutchison and freshman Megan Miller. But, the Falcons proceeded to win the next four games. The Rockets tied the match at 4-4, the Falcons won the next game, and the UT team again knotted the score at 5-all before the match was halted.

In singles, the visitors won all six matches, including a pair of narrow matches at the first and fourth flights. At the fourth flight, Mazzola picked up a 6-1 win over Plaszewski in the opening set, but the BG soph rallied from a 5-4 deficit in the second set, taking the last three games. The pair played a 10-point tiebreaker in lieu of a third set, and after Plaszewski took an early 2-1 lead, Mazzola burst out to an 8-3 advantage. The BG sophomore, however, rallied all the way back to even the 'breaker before Mazzola captured two-straight points for the win.

At the top flight, Rygh got past Miller in three sets. The Rocket senior won a 6-0 opening set, but the Falcon freshman responded by taking a 3-0 lead in the second set. Rygh captured the next two games, but Miller surged ahead by a 5-3 score. After Rygh won one more game, Miller closed out the set, 6-4.

The Rockets had not yet won the necessary four points when Miller captured that second set, so the number-one flight match went to a third set. Miller again took an early lead, but this time, the Rocket senior rallied back for a third-set victory.

At the third flight, UT's Sidnay Huck downed Witt by identical 6-3 scores, while Pitt defeated Hutchison in a pair of sets that ended in a 6-4 result. Mackenzie Bowman topped Farrar at the fifth flight, while Thai got past Seeley at the sixth.

Toledo's doubles and singles lineups each featured two seniors and two juniors. Two sophomores participated in doubles play for the Rockets, while UT's singles roster featured one sophomore and one freshman.

BGSU's lineup for both doubles and singles featured three sophs and three freshmen, and only one player (Hutchison) who was in the lineup during the MAC portion of the schedule last season.

"We've definitely taken huge strides since the beginning of the year," said Elkin. "All of the hard work is paying off, and it is starting to come together. We're playing hard, and we're competitive in all of these matches. That's something that is great to see, and that's something we are able to take into the last few weeks of this season and into next season."

The Falcons now prepare for a match against defending MAC champion Miami University next weekend. BGSU will meet the RedHawks in a 1:00 p.m. dual at Keefe Courts.

TOLEDO 7, BGSU 0
Friday, April 3, 2015 – Perrysburg Tennis Center – Perrysburg, Ohio
SINGLES
1 – Pia Rygh (UT) def. Megan Miller 6-0, 4-6, 6-2
2 – Lexy Pitt (UT) def. Harley Hutchison 6-4, 6-4
3 – Sidnay Huck (UT) def. Emily Witt 6-3, 6-3
4 – Emily Mazzola (UT) def. Brittany Plaszewski 6-1, 5-7, 1-0(10-8)
5 – Mackenzie Bowman (UT) def. Antonina Farrar 6-2, 6-0
6 – Lauren Thai (UT) vs. Sydney Seeley 6-0, 6-2

DOUBLES
1 – Hutchison/Miller (BGSU) vs. Rygh/Thai (UT), 5-5 DNF
2 – Mazzola/Pitt (UT) def. Plaszewski/Witt 6-2
3 – Kayleigh Hall/Katelyn Nguyen (UT) def. Farrar/Seeley 7-5

ORDER OF FINISH
Doubles – 2,3
Singles – 5,6,3,2,4,1

RECORDS
Toledo 13-6, 4-1 Mid-American Conference
BGSU 0-14, 0-5 MAC

UP NEXT FOR BGSU
Saturday, April 11, vs. Miami – 1:00 p.m.

NEXT BGSU HOME MATCH
Saturday, April 11, vs. Miami – 1:00 p.m.

DNF - did not finish