2008 Woodie Awards
Tennis wins 16 matches at Western Michigan's Fall MAC Invitational
By: Craig Vanderkam
Issue date: 10/15/08 Section: Sports
Falcon tennis was well-represented last weekend, winning 11 singles matches and five more in doubles play in the Fall MAC Invitational at Western Michigan.
No team scores were kept at the three-day event, but results did count toward individual records. BG was involved in six flights of singles and three flights of doubles, each featuring an individual flight champion and runner-up.
Three of the Falcons singles players reached their flight finals, as did two of the three doubles pairings.
Christine Chiricosta dropped her first singles match of the season, losing to the Kersten Pahl (Western Michigan) in the top singles flight final.
"[Pahl] is a top-level player, she was MAC player of the year last year and went undefeated in the conference," said Chiricosta. "There was really nothing I could have done much better, I thought I played well all weekend."
Katia Babina lost in the fourth flight final, as did Stefanie Menoff in the sixth, both to Western Michigan opponents.
Western Michigan won six of the seven singles flights and two of the three doubles flights. The Broncos have won four straight MAC regular-season championships.
BG's top doubles flight of Chiricosta and Kelsey Jakupcin lost on a tie-breaker set in the finals vs. Toledo, and the third flight of Menoff and Libby Harrison fell to Western Michigan in their flight final.
"Really we did the second best in the MAC," said head coach Penny Dean. "I feel that through the tournament we had a lot of good wins, and most of our losses were to WMU and we need to compete right at the outset of a match better against them."
At the Invitational, the team went 11-7 in singles play and 5-4 in doubles. Their year-to-date cumulative record is now 37-17 in singles and 12-12 in doubles.
The Falcons only freshman, Jessica Easdale, has not played yet this year due to a wrist injury.
"She offers a lot of coaching help," Dean said. "It is tough to come in as a freshman and have wrist surgery right away, but she is very knowledgeable about the game and strategy."
Selected members of the Falcons tennis team will travel to East Lansing, Mich., for the ITA Midwest Regional, Oct. 23-28.
No team scores were kept at the three-day event, but results did count toward individual records. BG was involved in six flights of singles and three flights of doubles, each featuring an individual flight champion and runner-up.
Three of the Falcons singles players reached their flight finals, as did two of the three doubles pairings.
Christine Chiricosta dropped her first singles match of the season, losing to the Kersten Pahl (Western Michigan) in the top singles flight final.
"[Pahl] is a top-level player, she was MAC player of the year last year and went undefeated in the conference," said Chiricosta. "There was really nothing I could have done much better, I thought I played well all weekend."
Katia Babina lost in the fourth flight final, as did Stefanie Menoff in the sixth, both to Western Michigan opponents.
Western Michigan won six of the seven singles flights and two of the three doubles flights. The Broncos have won four straight MAC regular-season championships.
BG's top doubles flight of Chiricosta and Kelsey Jakupcin lost on a tie-breaker set in the finals vs. Toledo, and the third flight of Menoff and Libby Harrison fell to Western Michigan in their flight final.
"Really we did the second best in the MAC," said head coach Penny Dean. "I feel that through the tournament we had a lot of good wins, and most of our losses were to WMU and we need to compete right at the outset of a match better against them."
At the Invitational, the team went 11-7 in singles play and 5-4 in doubles. Their year-to-date cumulative record is now 37-17 in singles and 12-12 in doubles.
The Falcons only freshman, Jessica Easdale, has not played yet this year due to a wrist injury.
"She offers a lot of coaching help," Dean said. "It is tough to come in as a freshman and have wrist surgery right away, but she is very knowledgeable about the game and strategy."
Selected members of the Falcons tennis team will travel to East Lansing, Mich., for the ITA Midwest Regional, Oct. 23-28.
Be the first to comment on this story