BGSU Tennis: Falcons down UIC, 5-2, on record-tying day - WICU12/WSEE Erie, PA News, Sports, Weather and Events

BGSU Tennis: Falcons down UIC, 5-2, on record-tying day

GRIFFITH, IND.-- The Bowling Green State University tennis team tied several school records on Sunday (March 17), as the Falcons downed UIC by a 5-2 score.  The non-conference dual match was held at Match Point Tennis.

With the win, the Falcons improve to 11-1 on the season, and BGSU has won 11 consecutive matches since a road loss against No. 19 Notre Dame on Jan. 18.  The 11-match winning streak ties the school record for consecutive victories.

Additionally, senior co-captain Maddy Eccleston tied the BGSU career record for doubles wins on Sunday afternoon.  Eccleston teamed up with fellow senior Katie Grubb for an 8-4 win at the second flight, in the process winning the 89th doubles match of her BG tenure.  She has tied the school record set by Christine Chiricosta (2008-11).

UIC drops to 7-3 on the year with Sunday's loss.  The Flames' other dual-match losses have come against Marquette and Wisconsin.

That win by Eccleston and Grubb helped the Falcons capture the doubles point for the 11th consecutive match. The BG duo defeated UIC's Kathryn Sharples and Jana Knoppe to improve to 15-5 this season and 7-1 at flight number two since the start of dual-match play.

At the top flight, BGSU's two juniors came away with a narrow victory, as Nikki Chiricosta and Emily Reuland pulled out a 9-7 win over Haley Craig and Mariana Palacios.  The Chiricosta/Reuland tandem is 8-2 in dual-match play, 20-6 this season to date and 36-14 in their Falcon careers.

At the third flight, the Flames' Natalia Kuvakina and Ann-Sophie Hahn defeated BG seniors Mary Hill and Jade Johnson by an 8-2 final.

In singles play, four Falcons captured straight-sets wins, with a senior, two juniors and a freshman posting those victories.  At the top-two flights, the juniors were never headed, losing a total of eight games while winning 24.  Reuland downed Craig by scores of 6-3 and 6-2 at the number-one flight, while Chiricosta dropped only three games -- all in the second set -- in a second-flight win over Palacios.

Chiricosta has captured 11 consecutive singles matches having last lost in the Notre Dame dual of Jan. 18.  She has won 20 of her last 21 overall matches (singles and doubles combined) since a doubles loss on Jan. 19.

Freshman Katie Brozovich and Hill won at the fourth and fifth flights, respectively, capturing a narrow second set to clinch the win in each case.  Brozovich lost just one game in her first set against Sharples, while Hill dropped just two games in her opening set vs. Keti Mebuke.

The Flames got victories at the third flight, where Kuvakina squeaked past Eccleston in a third-set super tiebreaker, and the sixth flight, with Knoppe downing Grubb.  For Grubb the loss was just her second since the start of the dual-match season.

Chiricosta's two wins on Sunday give her a 44-12 overall record this season. Reuland also has topped the 40-win mark for the year, and is now 41-15.  Brozovich and Grubb each have 34 wins on the year, while Eccleston has 30 victories this season to date.

The Falcons now return home to prepare for the Mid-American Conference opener.  BGSU will face the arch-rival University of Toledo on Friday (March 22), with first serve scheduled for 1:00 p.m. at Keefe Courts.  In the event of inclement weather, the match would be held at the Perrysburg Tennis Center.