Tennis Remains Undefeated at Home and in the MAC with 4-3 Victory over Ball State

Sunday, March 25

Perrysburg, OH

1:00PM

Bowling Green State University

Ball State University

Tennis Remains Undefeated at Home and in the MAC with 4-3 Victory over Ball State

March 25, 2018 | Women's Tennis

By: Jenna Jorgensen (Assistant Director of Athletic Communications)

PERRYSBURG, Ohio – In a marathon of a match, the Bowling Green tennis program (10-5, 2-0 MAC) defended its unbeaten streak at home when it was able to down Ball State (7-7, 0-2 MAC) by a 4-3 score on Sunday afternoon. The Falcons extended its win streak to a season-best of four straight as it earned one doubles win and four singles victories over the defending MAC Regular Season Champions, and first win over the Cardinals since 2013.

With the victory, Bowling Green remains undefeated at home this season with a 6-0 record at the Perrysburg Tennis Center, and will return back for two more matches next weekend against Akron and Buffalo for continued conference competition.

Results BGSU 4 vs. Ball State 3
March 25, 2018 – Perrysburg Tennis Center – Perrysburg, Ohio

SINGLES
1 – Paula Comella (BGSU) def. Peyton Gollhofer (BSU) 7-6 (4), 6-1
2 – Audrey Berger (BSU) def. Polina Radeva (BGSU) 6-4, 4-6, 6-3
3 – Marharita-Sophia Tavpash (BGSU) def. Sarah Swiderski (BSU) 6-1, 6-1
4 – Ayumi Sasaki (BGSU) def. Isabelle Dohanics (BSU) 5-7, 6-2, 6-2
5 – Victoria Sec (BSU) def. Vanesa Pardo (BGSU) 6-1, 3-6, 6-2
6 – Marta Bettinelli (BGSU) def. Rebecca Herrington (BSU) 7-5, 6-1

DOUBLES
1 – Comella / Tavpash (BGSU) def. Sbircea / Dohanics(BSU) 6-3
2 – Berger / Herrington (BSU) def. Radeva / Sasaki (BGSU) 7-6 (5)
3 – Gollhofer / Sec (BSU) def. Bettinelli / Pardo (BGSU) 6-1

Statistical Standouts

With its 10th victory of the season, the Falcons have successfully doubled its wins from the 2016-17 campaign, and earned its most wins since the 2013-14 season. Additionally, the Falcons are off to an undefeated 2-0 mark in Mid-American Conference play.
Doubles competition tested the Falcons, although the pairing of junior Paula Comella and sophomore Marharita-Sophia Tavpash was able to pick up a victory against their opponents. The duo rebounded from a 3-2 deficit when they regained the lead at 5-3 with three straight game wins, and ultimately persisted for a strong 6-3 victory over the Cardinals. With the win, the pairing is on a two-match win streak at No. 1 doubles.
A notable match, the pairing of junior Polina Radeva and sophomore Ayumi Sasaki battled through a marathon of a match at No. 2 doubles against the Cardinals. After trailing by a game throughout the first half of the match, the team rebounded to tie the game at 5-5 as well as 6-6. The point deciding game went to an extensive tiebreaker, although Ball State was able to squeak past with the win in a 7-6 (5) final.
Tavpash got the Falcons on the board with the first singles win by earning straight set victories of 6-1, 6-1. The Lviv, Ukraine native is now on a season-best four-match win streak in her singles play after the victory in the No. 3 slot.
The heroics of the day came from Sasaki, as the pair of conference rivals were tied at a 3-3 stalemate with just the No. 4 singles court remaining. After dropping a narrow 7-5 result in the opening set, Sasaki immediately rebounded to claim an outright set win of 6-2 to force a third set. With her momentum rolling, the Montreal, Quebec native gained a 4-0 lead quickly in the decisive third set, before claiming the Bowling Green victory by a 6-2 final. With the win, sophomore Sasaki is now on a two-match win streak in singles play.
In earning a straight set win of 7-6 (4), 6-1, Comella is now on a four-match win streak on the court No. 1, and improves to a 12-2 record on the season. A native of Ciutadella de Menorca, Spain, Comella rebounded from being down 4-3 and regain the lead at 5-4 in the first set leading to her eventual 7-6 (4) win. The stride stuck with Comella as she went up immediately with a 1-0 score in the second set, before earning the 6-1 victory.
Now on a three-match win streak, freshman Marta Bettinelli earned the third point for the Falcons on the day when she earned straight set wins of 7-5, 6-1 against her opponent at No. 6 singles. The Milan, Italy native had a back-and-forth first match where she fought to tie the game at 5-5 before earning the eventual win. After going up 2-0 in the second set, Bettinelli led outright for the match winner of 6-1.

Coach Dalmacio's Take

"We played really well, and really smart tennis today. We had a lot of resilience today and our team knows it's about having grit. The energy was great here to help us earn another win at home. The crowd was into it and to have other student-athletes joining us makes it more special."
"We are going to try to go for the undefeated home record, but as always, it is one day at a time, and one match at a time. They are going to be very tough matches coming up and we'll try our best like we did today and leave everything out there."
"We talk about how every court matters. A lot of times it may not be one player's day and even though it's an individual sport, it is also a team sport and that's difference. You understand that all courts matter just as much as any other. Court one, or court six, it's worth one point. So as a team we emphasize to always do the best you can do each time you're out there."

Up Next

The Falcons will remain at home as it hosts Akron and Buffalo in continued conference competition next weekend. First serve is set for 1 p.m. on March 30 vs. the Zips, and 11 a.m. on April 1 against the Bulls. Both matches are currently scheduled for indoor play at the Perrysburg Tennis Center, but keep an eye on BGSUFalcons.com for updates.

Follow the Falcons

For the most up-to-date information on the Bowling Green tennis program, follow the Falcons on Twitter at @BGSUTennis and @BGAthletics, as well as on the web right here at BGSUFalcons.com.