CLEVELAND – Bowling Green State University tennis standout Nikki Chiricosta has been named the Mid-American Conference Scholar-Athlete of the Week, the league office announced Friday (Feb. 8). Chiricosta, a junior, earns the honor for the first time in her BGSU career.
Chiricosta, a native of Avon Lake, Ohio (Avon Lake H.S.), picks up the award after going a perfect 4-0 last weekend, as the Falcons won a pair of matches at the Perrysburg Tennis Center to run their winning streak to five. Chiricosta won all four of her matches by relatively lopsided scores.
On Saturday (Feb. 2), Chiricosta teamed with classmate Emily Reuland for an 8-0 win against a Youngstown State team at the No. 2 doubles flight. Then, she lost only four total games in a 6-1, 6-3 victory over Marta Burak at the second singles flight.
Sunday morning (Feb. 3) against Evansville, Chiricosta played at the No. 1 flight in both singles and doubles. She and Reuland posted an 8-1 win in doubles, and she then thrashed Natasha James, 6-2, 6-0 in singles play. Bowling Green won both matches by 6-1 scores.
On the season, Chiricosta has an overall record of 35-11, leading the team in wins, after picking up two more victories in Friday's (Feb. 8) win over Cleveland State. Her 16-5 singles record is the best on the Falcons, as is her 19-6 doubles mark. Just a junior, Chiricosta already ranks 15th in school history in career singles wins, with 67. She is tied for 13th all-time at the school with 66 doubles victories, and her career total of 133 combined wins places her 12th al-time at Bowling Green.
The award was Chiricosta's second league honor in a three-day span. On Wednesday (Feb. 6), she was named the MAC Player of the Week for the fourth time in her BGSU career.
The award also marked the second consecutive week that a BGSU tennis player earned Scholar-Athlete-of-the-Week honors. Reuland received that award last Friday (Feb. 1).
In the classroom, Chiricosta has a 3.96 cumulative grade-point average as a journalism major.
The Falcons are now 6-1 this season, and Bowling Green has won six consecutive matches after a season-opening loss on the road against No. 19 Notre Dame. Head coach Penny Dean's club continues a season-long seven-match homestand by facing Cincinnati on Sunday morning (Feb. 10). First serve is set for 9:30 a.m. at the Perrysburg Tennis Center, and admission is free.
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