Falcon Insider with Derek van der Merwe: May 22
5/22/2024
Important news happening in and around Bowling Green Athletics compiled by Director of Athletics Derek van der Merwe. This Falcon Insider shares upcoming dates to remember and news to be aware of in regards to Bowling Green State University Athletics.
Falcon Family,
Bowling Green State University baseball ended its historic regular season with a sweep of rival Toledo last Saturday. This year will go in the record books for a team that, during the preseason, was selected to finish eighth in the Mid-American Conference. Last season, baseball finished the regular season with a 20-30 record. This season, they ended with a 32-18 record and a growing list of significant accomplishments:
- Outright regular season MAC Champions for the first time since 2009
- Most MAC wins by a BGSU team in school history with 24 wins
- Secured the top seed in the MAC Tournament
- Set the MAC baseball record for best start at 17-0
- MAC Player of the Year Nathan Archer
- MAC Freshman of the Year Garrett Wright
- MAC Coach of the Year Kyle Hallock, who became the first student-athlete in MAC history (any sport) to win player of the year and coach of the year honors.
This week, the Falcons will head to Mercy Health Stadium in Avon, Ohio, as the top seed in the MAC Tournament. Earning the top seed awards BGSU with a first-round bye, and the Falcons will play on Thursday at 2 p.m. against the lowest remaining seed after Wednesday’s game. To find out more information about how you can be a part of this historic journey and join us in Avon, please access the following link: https://getsomemaction.com/tournaments/?id=211&path=basebal If you want to purchase tickets, please click here.
The 2023-2024 academic year has been an outstanding year for the Falcons. We continue to measure our success by our relentless commitment to improvement, innovation and success. We finished the academic year with a cumulative grade point average of 3.49, which is the highest mark achieved in the history of the department since tracking started. Over 330 (82 percent) student-athletes achieved a 3.0 or higher GPA, while 230 finished above a 3.5 (57 percent), and over 70 achieved a perfect 4.0 (17 percent). Being leaders in the classroom and in athletics continues to be our commitment to every one of our sports.
This spring, our sport programs graduated 76 student-athletes. As you review the list of graduates, you begin to have extraordinary pride in the diversity of academic programs that are represented: business, mathematics, architecture, psychology, dietetics, graphic design, health science, biology, chemistry, sport management, political science, criminal justice, etc. Our student-athletes truly mirror the undergraduate population at BGSU and are part of the academic mission of the University. Our student-athletes are always students first, and we are so proud of how they will represent BGSU in the future.
Last week, we were saddened by the news of the passing of former BGSU Hall of Famer (1992) and 1980 Olympic Gold Medalist Mark Wells. Mark was a member of the 1980 “Miracle on Ice” Olympic hockey team and was the 176th overall pick in the 1977 NHL Entry Draft by the Montreal Canadiens. Mark’s legacy and contributions to BGSU hockey will forever be an important part of our history.
Next month, BGSU Football will once again feature its annual women’s clinic on June 20th from 5:30-8 p.m. at Doyt Perry Stadium. Last year, over 100 women from the region enjoyed this evening of socializing, mingling, and learning about football from the coaches and football student-athletes. In addition to the food and refreshments that are served, participants are eligible to receive raffle prizes from local business partners. For more information or if you would like to participate in the Women's Clinic, please click the following link: https://connect.bgsu.edu/events/2024-womens-football-clinic.
On June 17, BGSU Athletics will be hosting its single largest annual fundraising event, which is the Gridiron Classic. While the field of golfers for the event is close to full, all non-golfers are encouraged to attend the social starting after golf and the dinner and auction at 6:30 p.m. at the Toledo Country Club. This year’s dinner will feature BGSU alum and two-time Super Bowl-winning coach, Dean Pees ‘72. See the included link for more information about attending and participating in the 2024 Gridiron Classic: 2024 Gridiron Classic - Bowling Green State University (bgsu.edu)
It is less than 100 days from our first football game. Many of our student-athletes have stayed on campus or returned to campus to start their preparation for the fall. We hope you enjoy these summer months, but we are looking forward to continuing our preparation for events on campus to resume in early August.
Sincerely,
Derek van der Merwe
Ay Ziggy
Roger McDowell narrates the Road to the MAC Tournament. The next chapter starts tomorrow.
— BGSU Baseball (@BGSU_Baseball) May 22, 2024
???: https://t.co/EmIG8x2NcR#AyZiggy pic.twitter.com/ggzkw6U7RI
Big congrats to our Spring 2024 graduates ??#AyZiggy ???? pic.twitter.com/w3YN9gH63B
— BGSU Football (@BG_Football) April 27, 2024
Congratulations to our newest graduate! Kat Mandly earned her Bachelors degree in Psychology with a minor in Advertising! ????????? #BGSUgrad#AyZiggy || #BGVB24 || #BGWarriors || #DreamBiG pic.twitter.com/mUSRapnRso
— BGSU Volleyball (@BGSUVolleyball) April 28, 2024
?????? ?????? ???? ????
— BGSU Gymnastics (@BGSUGymnastics) April 27, 2024
Congrats to our amazing Senior class on graduating this weekend! We are so proud of you and all the hard work you put into being a student-athlete these past 4 years ??#AyZiggy x #NCAAGym x #Graduation2024 pic.twitter.com/GTG1wCi1fG
?? Lexi Fleming graduated today!
— BGSU Women’s Basketball (@BGSUWBB) April 27, 2024
Congrats, Lex! We are so proud of you! ???? pic.twitter.com/07QxgOxnTb
.@BGSU_Baseball is officially on their way to the @MACSports tournament! Good luck and #AyZiggy!???? pic.twitter.com/CxQKBaTXTG
— Bowling Green State University (@bgsu) May 21, 2024
The Falcons picked up some hardware at practice today. ????@BGSU_Baseball | #MACtion pic.twitter.com/b2RBc0Ck5f
— #MACtion (@MACSports) May 21, 2024
Time for a @MACSports Tournament week Falcon Four!@BGSU_Baseball's TJ Takats shares his Falcon Four favorite baseball jerseys ?? ?? pic.twitter.com/4Yt4DZjRr1
— Falcon Media Sports Network (@BG_FMSN) May 21, 2024
Athlete of the year award winners: Lauren Hovey and DJ Newman pic.twitter.com/k8d2llnPrg
— Falcon Media Sports Network (@BG_FMSN) April 21, 2024
In collaboration with @BGSU_Athletics, a recap of tonight's 2024 Ziggy Awards?? ?? pic.twitter.com/02f8i5YyO5
— Falcon Media Sports Network (@BG_FMSN) April 22, 2024
Bowling Green mourns the passing of Hall of Famer and "Miracle on Ice" Olympic gold medal winner Mark Wells ??
— BGSU Athletics (@BGSU_Athletics) May 18, 2024
Mark played at BGSU from 1975-1979 and was a two-time first-team All-CCHA honoree ??
MORE INFO: https://t.co/8NrJEDjwxu pic.twitter.com/zqAqEi80Ju
???????????? ??
— BGSU Football (@BG_Football) May 22, 2024
Once a Falcon, Always a Falcon ??
Congrats to @0jstay1k on signing a Free Agent deal with the @AtlantaFalcons ??#ToTheMoon x #FalconsInTheNFL pic.twitter.com/IIkl2izBKF
Great night and win for the Falcons tonight in Toledo! Most @MACSports wins for @BGSU_Baseball program in its history! Join the ORANGE WAVE ????tomorrow at 3 pm at Stellar for the sweep of the I-75 challenge! ??????@bgsu @BGSU_Athletics @CoachHallock5 pic.twitter.com/vfavZcyljy
— Derek van der Merwe (@vandermerwe63) May 18, 2024
BG’s Mateya Haintz threw for 58.44m to win the Women’s Hammer Throw! ??@BGSUXCTF | #MACtion pic.twitter.com/5g6jlzkaDu
— #MACtion (@MACSports) May 9, 2024
Fabulous Falcon Freshman Aaralyn Nogay has been named to the All-MAC Second Team AND the MAC's All-Freshman Team!#AyZiggy | ??????
— BGSU Softball (@BGSUSoftball) May 7, 2024
??????https://t.co/k8VqM97rAF pic.twitter.com/ivF9w5110B
First section of steel for mezzanine installed in Slater! #AyZiggy pic.twitter.com/72UKGq6VJ6
— BGSU Hockey (@BGSUHKY) May 17, 2024
Dates to Remember
- NOW – Football and volleyball season tickets are on sale. Hockey season ticket holders may now renew tickets. Visit BGSUFalcons.com or call 419-372-0000 for more information. You can also purchase season tickets by clicking here. Purchase Football Tickets By Clicking Here. Purchase Volleyball Tickets By Clicking Here.
- May 31 – Deadline to renew football season tickets for current ticket holders to retain same seats.
- June 3 – Single-game tickets for football go on sale.
- June 17 - Gridiron Golf Classic at the Toledo Country Club. Click here to sign up or for more information.
- June 20 – The second annual women’s football clinic at Doyt Perry Stadium. You can register by clicking here. The cost of the event is $75, which includes a T-shirt, hors d'oeuvres and refreshments. By attending this event or making an additional donation, you are supporting the nutritional needs of our student-athletes throughout the year.
- June 28 – Deadline to renew volleyball season tickets for current ticket holders to retain same seats.
- July 1 – Single-game tickets for volleyball go on sale.
?????? ?????????? ???? ?????? ????????
— BGSU Baseball (@BGSU_Baseball) May 21, 2024
??First MAC student-athlete to earn MAC Player of the Year as a player and MAC Coach of the Year as a head coach
??Program Record 23 MAC Wins
??Broke Program Records for Team Strikeouts (Pitching) and Team Walks (Batting)#AyZiggy pic.twitter.com/52iZkwiqR2
Good luck to @levigaz1 and @BGSU_Baseball as they take on Toledo in the annual Fifth Third Field Game ??@Finneas05 x @GriffinLittle4 ?? pic.twitter.com/3AeVm8STH8
— BGSU Football (@BG_Football) May 17, 2024
2024 #MAC REGULAR-SEASON CHAMPS ??
— Bowling Green State University (@bgsu) May 13, 2024
This @MACSports conference title marks the first for @BGSU_Baseball since the 2009 season! Go Falcons! ??#MACtion | #AYZIGGY pic.twitter.com/J7p6uOmOIV
WOMEN’S GOLF
• The Falcons faced Toledo (April 13) in the Battle of I-75 Match Play and won, 5-4.
• Ava O’Sullivan’s bogey on hole No. 17 clinched the victory for the Falcons.
• Falcons head to Grove City, Ohio for the MAC Championship on April 21-23.
BASEBALL
• Off to a 15-0 start in MAC play, best in program history.
• The 7-0 record at home is the best start since 2006.
• Already surpassed most MAC wins since 2021 and only at the halfway point of conference schedule.
• Top 15 in the nation for runs per game.
• Entered weekend one of seven teams in the nation inside the Top 40 for home runs per game and triples per game (Virginia Tech, Florida State, Oregon State, Notre Dame, Wright State, Saint Mary's (CA)).
• Sam Seidel has 27-game on-base streak this season (every game he's played) and 38 games going back to last season.
TRACK & FIELD
• Mateya Haintz has finished in the top-3 in all of BGSU’s outdoor meets this spring.
• Ashley Kisor has set three PRs this spring, including twice in the 200m.
• Kailee Perry set a PR in the 5000m at the Raleigh Relays.
• Kristin Groppe won the 3000m steeplechase with a PR of 11:28.90 at Cincinnati’s Oliver Nikoloff
• Kylee Cubbison won the 5,000m at Azusa Pacific’s Bryan Clay Invitational with the program’s fourth-best time of 16:29.29.
SOFTBALL
• Senior Reagan Williamson had the 100th hit of her BGSU career on Sunday (April 14) at Ball State. Williamson has a career batting average of .265.
• The previous Sunday, the Falcons eclipsed the Zips, beating Akron in walk-off fashion. Freshman Aaralyn Nogay’s two-out single scored sophomore Ashley Chevalier in the bottom of the seventh, capping a two-run rally that gave BG a 7-6 win at Meserve Field.
GYMNASTICS
• Kathryn Weilbacher won the MAC Championship on floor with a 9.900. She shared the honor with five others. Weilbacher is the 19th-different Falcon to tally an individual MAC Championship.
• The championship on floor gave the Falcons their 36th individual MAC Championship.
• Weilbacher's floor MAC Championship is just the sixth won by a Falcon.
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
• Four Falcons were named to the Academic All-MAC Team. That quartet includes Sophie Dziekan, Olivia Hill, Emily Siesel, and Amy Velasco.
• Dziekan, Hill, Velasco and Erika Porter all were named to the Academic All-District Team, selected by College Sports Communicators.
• Porter ended the season ranked second in the nation in field-goal percentage. She broke the school record – and the Mid-American Conference record – by shooting 66.3 percent from the floor.
WOMEN’S SOCCER
• BGSU had a record of 3-0-2, allowing just one goal in those five matches, during the spring season. Head coach Chris Fox and the Falcons defeated Xavier, Bethel (Ind.) and Cleveland State while battling to scoreless draws against Michigan and Kentucky. The Falcons outscored the opposition, 9-1, in those five matches.
MEN’S SOCCER
• Head coach Eric Nichols recently announced the addition of Stu Riddle to his staff as an assistant coach. Riddle has been a head coach at three NCAA Division-I institutions, including Western Michigan, Buffalo, and Northern Kentucky.
• The Falcons went 1-1-2 in North Division action in the College Spring League, with a win over Michigan, draws against Akron and Dayton and a narrow loss to Michigan State.
FOOTBALL
• Bowling Green placed three players on the National Football Foundation’s Hampshire Honor Society. Darren Anders, Demetrius Hardamon, and Austin Osborne all received the honor by maintaining a cumulative undergraduate GPA of 3.2 or higher and be a starter or significant contributor as a college graduate or in their final year of eligibility. BGSU now has 30 Falcons that have received the honor.
