Falcons Host Cardinals Before Heading Up North For Battle Of I-75

BOWLING GREEN, Ohio – The Bowling Green Falcons tennis team will have their first back-to-back conference competition this weekend, hosting Ball State on Friday (April 8) before heading up the road for Saturday's (April 9) Battle of I-75. The Falcons and Cardinals will meet at 1 p.m. in the Perrysburg Tennis Center. BGSU and UT will play at the UT Varsity Tennis Center at 1 p.m. In case of inclement weather, the match will move to Twos Athletic Club, with the start time remaining at 1 p.m. Both opponents have a 4-1 conference record and were tied at the top of the preseason poll.

Last Time Out
The Falcons dropped a pair of conference matches. On Friday, Ioanna Tsadari notched a No. 2 singles win in a 6-1 loss to Western Michigan. Selina Karg and Hannah Neuman also tallied a win at No. 1 doubles. Two days later, the Orange and Brown dropped a close 4-3 match to Buffalo. Tsadari earned another No. 2 singles win, pushing her MAC record to 4-1. Karg (No. 1) and Annika Vetter (No. 4) also logged singles wins, while Karg and Neuman won again at No. 1 doubles. The sophomore duo has a 3-1 record in MAC doubles matches and was named MAC Doubles Team of the Week on Wednesday (April 6).

Opponent Outlook: Ball State
The Cardinals enter the weekend with a 13-3 overall record and a 4-1 record in the MAC. BSU opened the spring season with a 7-0 win against Eastern Illinois, with Isabelle Behrman and Amy Kaplan earning MAC Doubles Team of the Week for their performance. Ball State also notched non-conference wins against Oakland, Youngstown State, and Cleveland State, a trio that Bowling Green has a 1-2 record against.

In conference play, the Cardinals started with three straight wins, defeating Western Michigan, Buffalo, and Toledo. They dropped a road match to Eastern Michigan last Friday (April 1) but rebounded with a home win against Northern Illinois. Following their battle with the Falcons, BSU returns home for a match against Miami on Sunday (April 10).

Series History: Ball State
The all-time series between BGSU and BSU favors the Cardinals slightly, 24-20. Ball State won both matches last season en route to their MAC title and NCAA Tournament berth. Selina Karg won in singles both times, with Ioanna Tsadari adding a singles victory in the second match. They each won one doubles match against the Cardinals.

On the Courts: Bowling Green vs. Ball State
Saturday's match will be held at the Perrysburg Tennis Center in Perrysburg, Ohio. Admission and parking are free. Live updates will be provided on the official BGSU Tennis Twitter page, @BGSUTennis.

Opponent Outlook: Toledo
The Rockets have a 14-4 overall record, the highest win total in the MAC. They are 4-1 in the conference and 7-0 at home. Toledo defeated Youngstown State, Findlay, and Cleveland State, a trio that Bowling Green earned a 2-1 record against. The Rockets began MAC play with wins against Eastern Michigan and Northern Illinois before falling to Ball State. They answered with two wins last weekend, defeating Buffalo and Western Michigan.

Toledo has swept the MAC weekly awards twice, once in February and once in March. Cassie Alcala earned Singles Player of the Week and paired with Sloane Teske for Doubles Team of the Week following their wins over Youngstown State and UIC. A month later, the Rockets earned wins over George Washington and West Virginia, with the victory over WVU marking the program's first win over a Big 12 team. For their efforts, Alcala and Julia Kuszynski earned Doubles Team of the Week while Teske was awarded Singles Player of the Week. On Wednesday (April 6), Alcala earned MAC Singles Player of the Week for the third time this season. The Rockets compete on Thursday (April 7), hosting a Miami squad that is 5-0 in the MAC.

Series History: Toledo
Bowling Green has a 29-21 advantage in the Battle of I-75, taking three of the last five matches. Last season, the Falcons and Rockets split, with BGSU winning the opener and UT winning the rematch. Ioanna Tsadari won in singles and Selina Karg won in doubles both times, with Karg adding a singles win in the second match.

On the Courts: Bowling Green at Toledo
Saturday's match will be held at the UT Varsity Tennis Courts, with Twos Athletic Club serving as the backup location in case of inclement weather. Parking and admission will be free at both locations. The match will have live stats, found HERE. If held at the UT Varsity Tennis Courts, the match will be broadcast live by BCSN. For BCSN streaming information, please click HERE. It will be simulcast on ESPN3 HERE.

Coach Dalmacio's Outlook
"We had a good week of practices and are ready for the challenging weekend ahead of us."

Up Next
Bowling Green has one away match next week, a Friday (April 15) battle against Buffalo. The Falcons and Bulls will meet for the second time this season at 1 p.m.

Follow the Falcons
Be sure to follow the Falcons' tennis team throughout the season on social media.
Twitter – @BGAthletics and @BGSUTennis
Instagram – 'bgfalcons' and 'bgsuwtennis'
Facebook – 'BGSU Athletics'
YouTube – 'Falcon Athletics'

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