The BG tennis team fought hard, but once again fell short to seemingly unbeatable Western Michigan.
The Falcons are now 0-33 all time against the nationally-ranked (No. 62) Broncos after a 5-2 loss on Saturday at BG’s Keefe Courts.
With the loss, BG (15-4, 4-4) earned a fifth-seed in this weekend’s Mid-American Conference Championships.
With the win, WMU (15-7, 8-0) clinched its fourth-straight MAC regular-season title and a No.1 seed in this weekend’s tournament. The win also marks the Broncos’ 34th straight MAC regular-season win.
To beat the unbeatable, the Falcons needed strong performances from their doubles teams.
Coach Penny Dean predicted the doubles point would be a “humongous battle,” and she was right.
After the duo of Stefanie Menoff and Katia Babina was defeated 8-2 at the third flight, BG needed to win the next two matches to win the point.
BG won the first after the tandem of Christine Chiricosta and Kelsey Jakupcin rallied from a 6-3 deficit to win, 8-6, at the top flight.
The doubles point came down to seniors Jenna Nussbaum and Andrea Volle, who were playing in their final home match. With the remaining Falcon players cheering them on, the duo fought hard, but fell short, as WMU won, 8-5, in a closely-contested and lengthy match at the second flight.
Being down 1-0 after fighting hard for the doubles point didn’t discourage the team. In fact, it encouraged them.
“In the past when we’ve played them, our doubles scores were, 8-2, 8-3, but we saw how close [the doubles matches were] and knew if we went out and fought in singles it would be just as close,” Volle said. “We saw how close we were to them and how similar our talent levels were.”
Unfortunately, the outcome of the singles matches wasn’t what BG would’ve liked.
The Falcons lost four of the six singles matches.
Jakupcin lost to WMU’s Kerstin Pahl, who finished conference play 8-0, in straight sets at the top flight.
Chiricosta won at the second flight, 6-2, 6-4, over Priyanka Parekh, while Babina lost in straight sets at the third flight.
After the first three flights were complete, a light rain began to fall, and the teams headed to Shadow Valley Tennis Club in Toledo to finish the remaining matches.
Needing to win two of the three matches for the victory, BG only won one.
That one was Menoff, who beat Ashley Moccia at the fifth flight in straight sets.
Even though the Falcons lost, Dean and Volle were pleased with the way the team performed.
“I was proud of our team because we competed better and harder against WMU than we have in 10 years,” Dean said.
“It’s the best we’ve ever competed against them,” Volle said. “I think it’s a big confidence booster going into the MAC tournament.”
Ending the MAC season with a .500 record after entering 11-0 wasn’t what the team expected, and Dean was the first to admit her disappointment.
“I think our finish in the MAC (4-4) isn’t up to what our potential was,” she said.
The fifth-seeded Falcons will look to get back to their early-season winning ways as they enter MAC Championships this Friday against fourth-seeded Eastern Michigan in Buffalo, N.Y.
With a win, the Falcons may get another opportunity to face WMU.
“I think that if we get a chance to play [WMU] again in the MAC tournament, we all have the confidence now,” Volle said. “We all saw their level of play and know we’re just as good, and on any given day we can beat them.”